Kabil

In its third year of a four-year project initiated in April 2018, the organisation aims to boost the income of 15,000 families affiliated with SHGs supported by the Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ASRLM). Kabil collaborates formally with Axis Bank Foundation (ABF) and ASRLM to execute this initiative, with ABF providing financial support. It also maintains an active partnership with the Udalguri district administration. Amidst challenges including the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, the project faced additional obstacles such as an African swine fever outbreak, floods, hailstorms, and delays due to tribal council and assembly elections, impacting government poverty alleviation schemes.

In 2019, Kabil initiated an action research project in Madhya Pradesh, invited by the Tikamgarh district administration, to rejuvenate the Ur rivulet. The project's goal was to develop micro watersheds in the river's catchment area using MGNREGS resources. This would create short-term employment and ensure long-term agricultural moisture. Kabil collaborated with Panchmukhi Samavaya, a consortium of CSOs, as a technical support agency. It crafted a natural resource management plan for nine villages, including field tanks for 559 households. However, COVID-19 disrupted progress, leading to delays in approvals and implementation. Despite challenges, the project demonstrated the benefits of individual beneficiary schemes (IBS) to farmers and officials, encouraging their replication and influencing a shift in Government officials' approach at the district and block levels.

Kabil partnered with Gram Gaurav Santhan (GGS) in Karauli, Rajasthan, in January 2021 to enhance MGNREGS engagement. It assisted GGS in improving fund leverage, creating livelihood-focused natural resource development plans, and implementation. Karauli, a rocky region, faces agricultural challenges, which GGS addresses by converting wastelands into arable areas using traditional Pagara and Pokhar structures. GGS had difficulty gaining approval for MGNREGS proposals, mainly due to cost distribution issues. Kabil engaged with officials, local authorities, and farmers, eventually securing approval for Pagara as an Individual Beneficiary Scheme. This approach aims to combat land degradation and erosion, promoting sustainable resource use and improving local livelihoods.

Through a formal agreement, Kabil collaborated with SeSTA (Assam) to facilitate their access to funds from MGNREGS. Working closely with SeSTA professionals, Kabil focused on skill enhancement and engaged with block and district officials to advocate for the implementation of Individual Beneficiary Schemes (IBS) under MGNREGS. With Kabil's support, SeSTA achieved significant milestones: they successfully integrated 2,160 individual livelihood plans, generated through Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) planning, into the annual action plans of Panchayats and included all these plans in the online projection of the MGNREGS portal. Furthermore, out of the 2,160 schemes, 480 received the necessary technical, administrative, and financial approvals, leading to the initiation of implementation for 119 schemes. Kabil also played a pivotal role in training 13 SeSTA professionals across various blocks in INRM planning and fund mobilization through MGNREGS.

Kabil is actively assisting Trust Community Livelihoods (TCL) in implementing the Cluster Facilitation Project (CFP) in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district. The CFP, a Government initiative, aims to raise awareness about MGNREGS among community members, ensure timely work availability, promote the participation of SC/ST/Women, foster Government department coordination, and create individual livelihood assets for beneficiaries. NGOs are enlisted to work in economically disadvantaged districts. Kabil's engagement with TCL began in November 2020 and yielded significant results: 129 community-generated livelihood plans were integrated into panchayat action plans, while 29 plans made it onto the MGNREGS portal, with 23 receiving necessary approvals.