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Social mobilisation is the cornerstone of participatory approaches in rural development and poverty alleviation programmes. It strengthens participation of rural poor in local decision making, improves their access to social and production services, it leads to efficiency in the use of locally available financial resources and enhances opportunities for asset‐building by the poorest of the poor. Self Help Groups (SHGs) are emerging as the most important tool in the realm of gender development and poverty alleviation. Institutions in the country are providing financial services to the poor, largely due to the realisation that the cost of service delivery can be decreased through innovative approaches, and also due to the reality that the poor actually save, and repay loans.
Implementing vast potential of micro‐finance programmes for improving the livelihood and well being of the poor requires development of appropriate human resources that can work at the grass roots level. The staff at organisations such as Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna (RGMVP) aim at organising SHGs, nurturing them, and putting them on the road to financial and social self sufficiency and sustainability. My diploma project explored ways to guide the staff to form such institutions that are sustainable, self‐reliant, have a relevant understanding of the environment; thereby, equipping them with requisite tools and training. An iterative design process incorporating various methods such as PRA, PAR and user testing to convert the desired effects to appropriate training module were developed. |