Entrepreneurial Skills

Alternative Livelihoods Options:

Besides providing means of food security, CYSD also helps the community in the process of income generation by imparting various training programmes to develop entrepreneurial skills amongst women self-help group (SHG) members and the local youth.Micro enterprise of goat, pig, and poultry rearing; bee-keeping; fish and farming; leaf plate making; terracotta and bamboo craft; running grocery and confectionery stalls; rice and pulses processing; mushroom cultivation; vegetable vending; pickle making; and oil expelling are promoted with groups linked to financial institutions to access credit facilities to start their enterprises.

Promotion and strengthening of People’s Institutions:

CYSD promotes People’s institutions of different kinds and at various levels to build solidarity among the people and also to create a platform for meeting their different needs like credit, mutual support for livelihoods activities, convergence with mainstream development programmes etc. At the grassroots level, CYSD promotes women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) which are them federated at the Panchayat, Block and District levels. Apart from women’s SHGs, there are Producer/ farmer groups/ collectives, Common Interest Groups etc. These groups are federated at the Panchayat, Block and District levels to carry out several tasks.

Farmer Federations collectively analyze local farming conditions, examine the local markets, and emerge as pressure groups to effectively negotiate with mainstream support agencies to access resources like fertilizers, high yielding variety seeds and saplings, technical support on land and water management, credit, minimum support price for food grains, market facilities, crop insurance, and scientific agricultural expertise from resource agencies like KrushiVijnanKendras and Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology. Farmers were organised towards the assertion of their rights, to develop a shared understanding on the locally relevant issues and challenges to lobby before the government.

Preparation of BDPs:

The success of any livelihood activity depends on how well it is planned and implemented. The Business Development Plan (BDP) plays a critical role in this effect. It may be called a blue print of how the livelihood activity is going to be implemented and become a viable business or business expansion. CYSD facilitates in the development of a systematic business development plan for every identified Income Generating Activity (IGA) for the members of SHGs. Prior to the development of BDP, the SHGs are graded to identify the mature and viable groups who can take up IGAs. The business planshelp in thinking through issues of how we are going to create or expand a viable Income Generating Activity (IGA). Following a business plan for an IGA ensures the success to a large extent.

Capacity Building of People:

CYSD is a pioneer in capacity building of the community, Community Based Organizations (CBOs)& Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for various activities like strengthening and maintenance of groups/ institutions, livelihoods activities, NRM activities, BDP, value addition of products, accessing resources like credit, agri-inputs, land, employment etc. from mainstream agencies etc. CYSD also promotes a cadre of Panchayat level Organizers (PLOs) for reaching out to a larger community, providing hand-holding support and also to follow-up activities at the grass-roots. The PLOs are capacitated to take the activities forward beyond the existence of CYSD.

Value Addition:

CYSD promotes value addition of selected products to ensure a higher return to the people and also to increase the value of the products. A few products where CYSD has intervened in the field of value addition are Leaf-plate making, incense-sticks, de-seeding and making of tamarind cakes, broom making, mango jelly, and bamboo craft etc.

Market Linkages:

Access to market is important for the farmers for an informed choice to sell their products. Market Intelligence System (MIS) at the reach of the farmers would help them to know the selling price of different products at different markets and also the quality of products needed. This information would help them to decide which market they would like to sell their products and also if any value addition would fetch them a better price. CYSD helps in providing the farmers with this information at their door-steps.

IGASA Project:

The IGASA project is a joint project of CYSD and MART funded by JICA that is being implemented in six Forest Divisions of Odisha. The main objectives of the project are to build the capacities of the SHGs/CIGs in handling microfinance & Micro enterprise process, project staffs, Van Sangrakhhyana Samitis (VSS)& Animators in facilitating and managing IGAs, assisting cluster IGA & developing Micro-Enterprises, facilitate the clusters in moving up the value chain and provide market linkage support to different categories of SHGs (New-IGA, Cont.-IGA, Cluster-IGA).