Overview

Project Head Quarter's location

GV is headquartered in Honnasethalli, Mulbagal Taluk of Kolar District, about 100 km from Bangalore. One of Karnataka's 30 administrative districts, Kolar presents a mixed picture of agricultural wealth as well as agricultural crisis. It has thousands of irrigation tanks and is yet seriously water-deficient. During 1965-96, the groundwater table was at about 40 feet and now it is at about 1000 feet. It produces the largest amount of silk and milk in Karnataka. And yet it has rampant unemployment, and an alarmingly high prevalence stunted growth in children because of child malnutrition.

The District is chronically drought prone. Almost every alternative year brings a drought. Most of the forest cover in the District has disappeared, resulting in erratic rains. Soils are poor and biomass is depleted. Ground water table has dropped to below 1000 feet, with minor irrigation tanks (the main rechargers of groundwater) having lost their water-holding capacity due to silting.

Farmers are forced to exploit precious ground water through bore wells. The commercially driven agriculture, dependence on agriculture, unstable prices, neglect of tanks, droughts and over exploitation of ground water have created an crises in agriculture, endangering the livelihoods of the poor and marginal farmers.

Grama Vikas works in 54 villages located in the interior parts of Mulbagal, Bangarpet, Kolar Taluks of Kolar District and Raichur Taluk of Raichur District of southern Indian State of Karnataka.

The people are dependent on agriculture for livelihood as district. The major source of employment in the district, the gold mines at K.G.F. have closed down. Agriculture is mainly dry farming. Located in the Eastern Agro Dry Zone of Karnataka, Kolar District has low rainfall - annual average of 760 m.m. The rainfall is erratic, making the district drought-vulnerable. There are no perennial rivers and no canal irrigation. Rich and middle farmers have tube wells and use groundwater for farming. The poor and marginal farmers depend on rains.

Almost every alternative year brings in a drought. Most of the forest cover in the district has disappeared. Soils are poor and biomass is depleted. Ground water table has gone to below 1000 feet due to lack of recharging from minor irrigation tanks that have lost much of their water-holding capacity due to silting because of unhealthy watershed management practices.

The project area has extended to Raichur district in January 2007. Assessment of 8 Grama Panchayats was completed and 9 villages were identified to initiate an Integrated Child Development Project. Subsequently, district administration and Zilla Panchayat supported GV to work in 30 Grama Panchayats with communities in the area of Behavioral change and communication (BCC) and to prevent school dropout rate of children through strengthening School Development and Management Committees(SDMC).

GV facilitates and implements development programmes through locally constituted groups of stake holders including Village Development Councils comprising citizens of different subject oriented groups, Grameena Mahila Okkuta, Children's clubs at the village and district level, Youth clubs and Citizen Fourms.

Locally appointed volunteers selected from the villages implement the programme at the grassroots with guidance and support from GV core team (Executive Director, Administration & Financial Co-ordinator, Project Manager of Child Fund India & Arghyam, Sector Co-ordinators, Accountant and Community Mobilisers.