Our Focus

Integrated watershed development program has been one of the major thrust areas of BGVK. Given the severe drought conditions in Ahmednagar, BGVK works with the farmers to conserve water through various watershed and climate resilience initiatives to mitigate the water crisis. It also creates awareness among the people about water budgeting and management of water.

BGVK provides a host of training programs to various government organizations, NGOs, as well as farmers. Most of these are conducted at our training center, while some may be in rural settings as well. We provide trainings on capacity building of staff, good governance, Panchayati Raj, sustainable agriculture, watershed management, animal husbandry, etc.

Taking into consideration the problems arising on account of climate change, BGVK promotes sustainable agricultural practices among the farmers. It promotes chemical-free farming, organic farming practices, mixed cropping patterns, less water-intensive crops, etc.

Ahmednagar is a drought-prone district and the region receives very little and often untimely rainfall. Many a time crops fail. Hence, BGVK works towards providing alternative means of livelihood for the farmers such as poultry, goatery, dairy farming, food processing, etc.

This has been one of the core components of BGVK's work. We help build the capacities of women by organizing them into self-help groups, and enabling, educating and empowering women through various training programs and group activities to take responsibility for their own development. Women's groups have also become pressure groups to resolve village issues.

The topics covered include: Creating awareness about the importance of savings, inculcating saving habits, how to invest, preparing budgets for the family, making a spending plan for the family, difference between different financial institutions and the rates of interest.

BGVK works towards empowering people to participate actively in the local decision-making processes. It encourages people to take ownership of the development of their villages through active participation in Gram Sabhas in order to identify and resolve their problems.

BGVK has various initiatives for promoting the use of renewable energy such as biogas, solar, solar equipment for agriculture etc. This helps in decreasing farmers' dependency on electricity and also making agriculture economically viable.

Keeping in mind the third Sustainable Development Goal ‘Good health and Well-being’, BGVK constantly works towards creating awareness among the people on the importance of a healthy diet and regular meal times.

• We organize health camps in collaboration with Primary Health Centers and other NGOs and hospitals. More serious patients are referred to various hospitals.

• We also motivate people to get insured under health insurance schemes.

• We work towards promoting open defecation free villages.

• We work towards eliminating malnourishment among children, adolescent girls and women in the villages.

There is a significant difference between the educational status of rural and urban populations. The quality of education in the villages is still a cause of concern. BGVK runs support classes in primary schools in the villages to reduce the dropout rate and help improve the quality of education through various extracurricular activities, games, etc.