Rehabilitation work for flood hit Himalayan villages

From the onset of its relief operations for the flood affected Himalayan districts in June 2013, Pragya staff has been involved in carrying out area specific need assessments, which helped in formulation of effective rehabilitation strategies with inputs from key stakeholders. Pragya is in the midst of implementing its rehabilitation plan in the four affected districts viz. Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttarkashi. The interventions are spread across various sectors to reinstate people most affected by the floods. Click here for more on Pragya's work related to flood rehabilitation in Uttarakhand.

Regular health camps & psycho-social counselling sessions are being conducted in flood-affected villages by competent & qualified personnel. Pre-fabricated toilets (in order to ensure quicker installations) are being set up for households that have suffered severe damage to their houses. Covered water storage tanks with filtration units are being provided to the communities for ensuring safe potable water. A cadre of youth volunteers has been created in the flood affected districts as a Helpline to spread awareness and assist people to avail newly introduced schemes and provisions for flood-affected people/communities in the state, facilitating them with necessary paper work and procedures. Pragya is also working to ensure livelihood security for the households that are severely affected in terms of livelihoods due to the flashfloods in Uttarakhand. Households are being provided material support and technical assistance for setting up suitable low-cost greenhouses, along with vegetable seeds & saplings, farm tools etc., for undertaking cultivation of short-gestation, high-value vegetable crops for sale. Pragya is in process of initiating an in-depth research for customised livelihood solutions for the flood affected families.

Call for papers on Gender, Governance and Agriculture

Abstracts are invited for a special issue of International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology. Last date for submission of abstracts is: 28th February 2014. Guest Editor for this issue: Gargi Banerji, Pragya. Once shortlisted, the full papers would be due by 30th April 2014. (View the full announcement)

Cultivation packages for Kenyan farmers

As part of its initiative to conserve and ensure the sustainable utilisation of the medicinal & aromatic plants of East Africa, Pragya Kenya has developed training manuals for cultivation of 6 prioritised medicinal plants and necessary post harvest procedures. Training manual and awareness pamphlets have also been developed in Swaihili language for grassroots conservation planning workshops.