RDA
Rural Development Association (RDA) is a registered non-Government social service organization. It was founded in 1989. RDA has been working in the western part of Midnapore District (presently known as Paschim Medinipur) of West Bengal since 1980. In the year 1984, RDA extended its area of operation to the neighboring Ghatshila Block of East Singhbhum District of Jharkhand (erstwhile South Bihar). The West Bengal chapter is known as Midnapore Project and the chapter in Jharkhand is known as Singhbhum Project.
In Midnapore, RDA has been working with and for the poor in remote rural areas falling under Jhargram, Sankrail, Keshiary and Narayangarh Blocks. Under Singbhum Project of Jharkhand RDA is working in Ghatshila, Dhalbhumgarh and Jamshedpur blocks. All the areas have almost similar geographical and climatic condition. Demographic profile is also more or less the same.
RDA envisions an equitable society where sustainable development and livelihoods will allow tribal populations to lead a better life and people are enabled able to make independent choices and decisions.
The mission of RDA is as under:
Socio-economic empowerment of the women through promotion of self-help groups to ensure food security and improvement in the quality of their lives and their families and develop them as self-reliant individuals. Mainstreaming the SHGs with the government and other institutions to access resources so that they can act as self sustaining village institutions devoted to meeting the micro finance needs.
RDA works with the tribal community through SHG approach. Major activities of RDA include:
- Community mobilization and institution building
- Development of a pool of community level para-professionals in natural resource management, agriculture and livestock
- Integrated natural resource management (INRM) – resource mapping, problem identification, activity planning, technical training and implementation
- Improved agriculture – paddy, vegetables, pulses, oilseed, vermin compost, kitchen garden
- Sorting, grading, packaging and collective marketing
- Livestock development – goat and backyard poultry
- Baseline survey, data collection, analysis, case study documentation
RDA has received grant support from government as well as private philanthropies. They include the Tata Trusts & CInI Jamshedpur, Terre des Hommes Switzerland, NABARD WB & Jharkhand, Central Social Welfare Board; Ministry of Rural Development Government of India, Government of Jharkhand and Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotiopn Society (JSLPS).
In Jharkhand, RDA is active in 250 villages across 33 gram panchayats spread over 3 blocks.
RDA is registered as a society under the West Bengal Societies registration Act (1961). It is also registered under Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act (FCRA). The owners of RDA are its general body, which constitutes of eleven members. They include individuals from academic and social service institutions. The person responsible for day-to-day functioning and decision-making is its Secretary-cum-Director.
Contact:
Registered office: Mirzabazar,
Post: Judge court, Midnapur,
District: Paschim Medinipur,
West Bengal, PIN-721101.
Contact Person: Nandini Basu, Secretary cum Director
E-mail ID: nandini.ceo.rda@gmail.com
Phone: 03222-275309, 274008
RDA’s Project office in Jharkhand state is at Village:
Soradabor, P.O.: Barajuri, Ghatsila – 832303,
District: East Singhbhum.
Contact Person: Sujoy Bhattacharyya, Project Manager
E-mail ID: sujoy.rda@gmail.com / sujoybhatty@yahoo.co.in
Mobile: 7250275243 / 9431952495.
Geographical Presence: East-Singhbhum
Areas Of Operations: Livelihood promotion of mostly tribal families by Natural Resource Management through SHG and SHG-Clusters. Working on Tomato and Poultry Value chain development.
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