Samarthan carried out the intensive micro planning exercises block in 53 Panchayats in Churia block of Rajnandgaon district and 55 Panchayats of Bastar Block of Bastar district with support from the Chattisgarh District Poverty Reduction Project (CGDPRP). The Government of Chattisgarh is implementing the CGDPRP project with assistance from The World Bank. The broad objective of the project is to support the rural poor and particularly the poorest of the poor, strengthen and secure their asset base, to improve income generating opportunities and quality of life.

The micro planning assignment required preparation of Gram Panchayats wise micro plan for a Churia and Bastar block. Using various tools and methods it was taken care that the villagers and Panchayati Raj representatives actively participate in the plan formulation. The problems of the area and peoples’ priority in solving these problems were addressed in the Panchayat developmental plan. Based on the findings from the structured set of questionnaires and the tools of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) the team developed a detailed micro plan for a period of 5 years, in consultation with villagers and functionaries of Gram Panchayat. The micro plans were presented and approved in a special meeting of the Gram Sabha.

Training on Visual Communication

Comics and pictorial messages are powerful communication tool for the widespread illiterates amongst the rural population. Keeping this is mind, three day training was organised for the NGOs and CBOs of Chattisgarh to encourage expression of social issues through visual media in the related work areas. Representatives from twenty organisations participated in the training.

Each participant created a grass root comics and pictorial messages relevant in a local setting. Most of the pictorial messages practically dealt with subjects varying from alcoholism, corruption, organisation building to protection of forests and governance issues. Even ordinary subjects were brought to life through vivid imagination resulting in the depiction of the same within the paper. With more than 30 minds devoted in the task the material produced was varied as well as exhaustive. Participants of the workshop learnt to express themselves through comics/pictorial messages.

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