Indo Swiss Participative Watershed Development - Karnataka

ngo partners

The non governmental organisation (NGO) partners have the responsibility for technical, social and economic aspects of watershed development. They provide guidance and assistance in these areas. Giving special attention to ensure that the programme is people-centred, people-owned and people-controlled, they promote non land-based livelihood activities, mainly to address the equity issues in watershed development. The NGOs are also accountable for fund utilisation.

The following are the NGO partners in ISPWDK Phase 2. They were also partners in Phase 1.

MYRADA in Maramuri Watershed, Gulbarga district. The organisation that pioneered the PIDOW project as a replicable model in participatory development of watersheds, it has rich experiences in participatory natural resource management, integrated development, self help/affinity groups, capacity building, documentation etc.

SAMUHA in Kanakanala Watershed, Koppal district. The organisation's core competencies are watershed development, organising the rural resource poor for food security, community based rehabilitation of people with disabilities, savings/thrift groups, micro enterprise development, HIV/AIDS, child development, innovative education and appropriate information technologies.

PRAWARDA in Upper Mullamari Watershed, Bidar district. Started in 1994. this organisation mainly focuses on participatory natural resource management, tank restoration, sustainable agriculture, self help groups, livelihood promotion etc.

NGOs facilitate community organisation; support building of self reliant people's institutions; provide guidance and support to community level institutions for planning, implementing and monitoring of land-based and non land-based development; provide support for identifying the non land-based development activities to improve the livelihoods of the resource poor, marginalised sections and women in the villages; build capacities of the VDS/WMC/ local resource persons in the areas of planning for watershed treatment works, sustainable agriculture, livestock promotion and fodder development for sustainable land-based development; release funds to Village Development Societies for land-based and non land-based activities and support them in fund management; monitor the implementation of land-based and non land-based development activities; coordinate with the local government and people's representatives; participate in different events related to project interventions / project cycle; contribute to influencing of policies at state and national level; and document experiences for wider dissemination.