Our projects aim at giving the young women and men of Sivagangai and Ramnad districts opportunities to develop their own skills and knowledge for better livelihood to themselves and to the local communities, especially children, in future.

1. Strengthen Employability Skills and Job Placement

By nature the people of Sivagangai and Ramnad districts are energetic and enterprising, farm-loving and hard working. As the two districts are drought prone with erratic and failing monsoon almost every year coupled with its remoteness in connectivity and infrastructure, young people although they have studied up to under-graduation and post-graduation, majority of them lack skills and support system for gainful employment both in the private sectors and in the government sector. Youth migration in large numbers as cheap labour is a regular phenomenon. One of Chemman’s priorities is to build up their knowledge and skills, connect them with support system and mechanism so that the youth help themselves for gainful employment and better future.

Projects:

• Coaching Centres for competitive examinations for gainful employment
• Career guidance and orientation to the high/higher secondary and college students

2. Promotion of innovative, organic agriculture and farming practices for sustainable livelihood

The degradation of soil fertility over the years and depletion of ground water potential coupled with high input cost and low income from agricultural produce have almost destroyed the hope of the people for the future. However, for the people of Sivagangai and Ramnad, their only source of life and livelihood is their lands. Majority of them are small and marginal farmers, almost 90%. Recently the land, their only main source, has been facing the peculiar situation of changing hands to the outsiders – the investors for cash crops and orchids, thereby threatening the food safety and security of the people. CHEMMAN would like to put a stop to this trend and ensure land as the basic asset and resource with which the people could go on improving their life and the future of the children with better scientific innovative skills and knowledge of soil and water management practices, with less input cost and remunerative returns.

Projects

• Integrated sustainable agricultural demonstration and training
• Cooperative agricultural and allied marketing services

3. Initiate, support and develop small and medium young entrepreneurs

The demographic dividend of young people compared with other districts in Tamil Nadu is quite positive. Moreover, the people in general are hard-working and endowed with ethical and communitarian values, and this is very much acknowledged by those who have employed them all over the country though as cheap labour. Cotton, chilly, groundnut, paddy and vegetables are grown in the districts largely and no worthwhile industries exist either for value addition or for commercial expansion. Also though the entire two districts have very few urban centres, one would find these centres are increasingly becoming business hubs for mostly people from other states and districts. The irony is that while there are good potential for business development and entrepreneurship, majority of the youth migrate to other states and districts as cheap labour. CHEMMAN would like to and is interested in developing the spirit of entrepreneurship among the youth through which the youth not only could find better business engagement opportunities for themselves but, more importantly, could create employment opportunities for many more youth in the area.

Projects:

• Training and capacity building of potential young entrepreneurs for business development plans and linking them with development financial institutions
• Hand holding and incubatory support to young entrepreneurs
• Business networking and market expansion services

4. Volunteers Forum for civic consciousness and responsibility

Human capital and investment for over all development is the prime mover for change process with inclusiveness and more humanity. There is energetic spirit and willingness among the women and men of the two districts, especially among the youth, which is untapped. If and when this is given a positive and creative avenue, there would be tremendous development not only in the field of infrastructure but more towards inclusive growth with democratic attitude and secular values and participation in the governance systems and mechanisms. CHEMMAN believes this is an area which has to be focused for the greater benefit for all the people, especially those still to capture and involve in the mainstream development and participation for a just and equitable social order.

Projects:

• Training and capacity development for village community development services
• Formation of child rights protection committees in the villages

5. Promotion of ecology, environment and protection of natural resources

Ecology and environment are the worst casualty making the human life become increasingly unlivable and unbearable as the years go by. This is explicitly seen by the increasing temperature every year not only in India but in the whole world. Protection of natural resources and promotion of ecology and environment are the two sides of the same coin. Failure to do this not only affects the human living but the entire living mechanisms which in turn is detrimental to the whole universe and life on earth. CHEMMAN would like to contribute in all its developmental process, the promotion and protection of ecology, environment and natural resources as an integral part and way of its work and engagement.

Projects:

• Protection of water bodies in the village communities and tree plantation
• Sanitation and waste management