Hello! My name is Mallory A. and I am a rising Junior at the School of Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell. This summer, I am working with the South Indian NGO, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement. They help build human and social capital to benefit the communities they work in and increase their standard of living. I am happy to be volunteering with the Vivekananda Rural Livelihood Centre in Kenchanahalli, SVYM’s main center of its Socio Economic Empowerment Program. At the centre, they provide agricultural training for tribal and rural farmers, vocational training for women and youth, and academic training for youth.
I am working with data concerning the impact of the agricultural training on the farmers’ income that the VLRC has collected for seven years. Typically, SVYM offers several types of training to the farmers, such as apiculture, worm composting, sericulture, dairy production, and mushroom production. After the training at the centre, SVYM continues their efforts by providing farmers with seeds and fertilizers. SVYM tries to empower people through this training, the facilitation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and clearer access to healthcare. They fight for the community by always prioritizing and supporting them.
The VLRC mainly interacts with local tribal people. In 1972, they lost their land, livelihood, and home to the creation of national parks. SVYM helps them cultivate their land, provide them vocational training, and supports them in community disputes. With the data analysis I am conducting, SVYM will be able to understand the full impact they have on the local farmers besides perhaps simply income increase.
