Six Monthly Updates

[vaagdhara]

1. Overall Updates:
   During the last six months, Vaagdhara has advanced regenerative and agro-ecological interventions through community mobilization, capacity building, participatory assessments, soil health campaigns, seed sovereignty initiatives, women’s collectives, and Gram Panchayat–level planning processes.
   a. Monthly Meetings with Village Development Committees on Regenerative Agro Ecological Farming System
   Monthly meetings of Village Development Committees which been called Gram Swaraj Samooh have become the core platform for introducing regenerative ecological farming practices at village level. In 1,168 villages, these groups met regularly to discuss soil health, water conservation, native seeds and circular use of local resources, while also reviewing access to government schemes and planning convergence with Gram Panchayats. Through these meetings, 829 Gram Swaraj Samuh prepared and submitted village development plans comprising 13,618 community-identified issues and demands. reflecting a growing capacity among community institutions to translate regenerative farming concepts into concrete actions and local investments.
   b. Developing the design Resource and Need Assessment Score Board (RNASB) through a participative approach
   The Resource and Need Assessment Score Board (RNASB) has been developed as a community-driven planning toolthat enables villagers to collectively map, assess and interpret the status of their key natural and livelihood resources—soil, water, seeds, trees and livelihoods—using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) processes. The emphasis of RNASB is on local analysis and local decision-making, rather than external assessments.
   In the previous year, RNASB was implemented across 47 Gram Panchayats, where village-level discussions, transect walks and household-level data were facilitated by community institutions. Building on this foundation and the growing ownership of the process, RNASB has now been scaled to 150 Gram Panchayats—covering 47 Gram Panchayats in 2024 and an additional 103 Gram Panchayats in 2025.
   At the village level, the process combines FGDs, transect walks and household data to develop scoreboards that communities themselves can read, question and interpret. Women’s groups, Saksham Samuh members and Gram Swaraj Samooh actively participate in analysing trends—such as declining soil fertility, water stress or erosion of local seed diversity—and linking these insights to practical, village-led responses.
   To strengthen collective planning and convergence, an interactive dashboard is being populated with RNASB data, enabling Saksham Samuh, Gram Swaraj Samooh and Gram Panchayats to visualise resource gaps and livelihood vulnerabilities across villages. The dashboard supports evidence-based prioritisation of agro-ecological investments, including water conservation measures, promotion of seed sovereignty, and transition towards organic and low-chemical farming practices.
   Anchored in the principles of Gram Swaraj, RNASB has emerged not merely as a diagnostic tool, but as a platform for community ownership, where villages move from data generation to collective action—planning and implementing solutions that are locally relevant, ecologically sound and socially inclusive.
   Figure 1 RNASB dashboard radar charts for community planning of resources

c. Exposure Session with Women Resource Person on Resilient Sustainable Livelihoods
Exposure sessions were organised for Women Resource Persons (WRPs to strengthen their sense of ownership over resilient and sustainable livelihood pathways rooted in regenerative farming. The exposure visits were designed not as demonstrations, but as spaces for WRPs to engage as local practitioners—observing, questioning and reflecting on what could be realistically adopted and sustained within their own village contexts.
During the visits, WRPs interacted closely with practising farmers across villages that have transitioned to diversified farming models. In one village, WRPs observed how integration of vegetables, pulses and fodder crops reduced dependence on a single crop and ensured year-round household nutrition and income. Women farmers shared how even partial diversification helped them manage erratic rainfall and fluctuating market prices.
In another village, WRPs learnt about the use of solar pumps and biogas units at the household level, where women spoke about reduced expenditure on diesel and firewood, and the time saved for farm and household work. These interactions helped WRPs critically assess how renewable energy solutions could be introduced gradually in their own villages through collective planning and convergence with government schemes.
WRPs also participated in hands-on sessions on the preparation of bio-inputs such as Unnat Ukheda and botanical pesticides. In one village, women explained how preparing these inputs collectively reduced input costs and revived soil health, enabling them to move away from high-cost chemical inputs. WRPs reflected on how similar collective preparation could be anchored through women’s groups in their own villages.
These field learnings were reinforced by earlier Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes which focused on leadership, PLA facilitation and climate-resilient agriculture. Together, these processes have strengthened WRPs’ confidence to translate learning into action.
Following the exposure, WRPs have begun initiating village-level conversations—facilitating PLA sessions with women’s groups to map livelihood risks, identify locally feasible solutions and plan small, collective actions. In several villages, WRPs have supported women’s groups to experiment with kitchen gardens, bio-input preparation and crop diversification as first steps, reinforcing the idea that resilient livelihoods can be built through locally owned knowledge and practice.
The exposure process has positioned WRPs not as messengers of external models, but as local custodians of resilient livelihood knowledge, capable of nurturing, adapting and sustaining solutions from within their communities.

d. World Soil Day Celebration
World Soil Day 2025 was observed across 959 villages in Hiran, Mahi–MP, Mahi and Mangarh units, creating a large scale campaign on soil health and climate resilient farming. The communities worshipped the soil, did soil testing demonstration, rally and awareness sessions conducted on the soil health practices. Communities organised Halma (collective labour) for activities such as plantation, grazing land development, cleaning 124 community water sources, school campus cleaning in 116 villages, construction of recharge pits, check dams and soil erosion control structures, with 790 villages (82.3 percent) conducting at least one Halma action. Farmers soil health practice assessments showed that around half of farmers practice crop rotation and field bunding, 62.3 percent use Ukheda compost, and a majority are reducing DAP/urea and pesticide use, indicating a live transition towards soil friendly, low chemical farming that the programme can now consolidate through targeted trainings and demonstrations.
e. Submission of Gram Panchayat Development Plans
Using evidence generated through RNASB and monthly Gram Swaraj Samuh meetings, communities have actively engaged in Gram Panchayat Development Plan processes. In the reporting period, 1,281 Gram Swaraj Samuh submitted 13,634 village development plans to their Gram Panchayats, embedding priorities on water, forest, land, livestock, solar energy and indigenous seeds. Block wise GPDP submission show thousands of individual and common actions proposed indicating a strong shift toward agro ecological regeneration in local public investments.
f. Seed Sovereignty for plant diversity
Under the banner of Beej Swaraj, the project has advanced seed sovereignty as a pillar of ecological farming by conserving, exchanging and documenting indigenous seed diversity. Beej Utsav 2025, organised with Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan and CBOs, brought together 9,454 participants and showcased 122 local seed varieties in eco friendly way, while reviving eight nearly extinct seeds including Rala Batti, Arbi (Taro), White Sandalwood, Akola, Hajwara, Amal Kanda and Power/Pawari. Through seed exhibitions, seed ball preparation (2,812 seed balls), pledges by 2,030 participants to preserve 20–30 traditional seed varieties and emerging community seed banks, farmers are reclaiming control over seeds, reducing dependence on markets and strengthening agro biodiversity for climate resilient livelihoods.
g. Krishi Evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan meeting
Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (KASS) has evolved as a federated people’s platform in the Mahi basin through a phased process that moves from initiation to engagement, collective action and self-driven functioning. In the initiation phase, the Sangathan was anchored by bringing together Swaraj Samooh, women farmers’ collectives, youth leaders and traditional knowledge holders from different villages around shared concerns of seed loss, declining soil health and increasing climate uncertainty. Early meetings focused on reconnecting communities with the ideas of Adivasi Swaraj and regenerative farming, helping establish the Sangathan as a trusted organisational space rather than an external forum.
The engagement phase deepened this foundation through sustained Swaraj Samvad processes and Ratri Chopals held at the village level. In several villages, night-time dialogues enabled women farmers and youth—often excluded from daytime meetings—to openly discuss issues such as dependence on market seeds, rising input costs and water stress. These conversations connected everyday farming challenges with broader themes of food sovereignty, women’s leadership and natural resource governance, and were carried across villages to build a shared understanding at the basin level.
These dialogues then translated into collective action during the action phase. The Sangathan co-led Beej Utsav 2025, where farmers from multiple villages exchanged indigenous seeds and shared practices for seed saving and low-chemical farming. Building on insights from Swaraj Samvad, communities jointly developed Agrah Patras outlining demands related to soil regeneration, protection of indigenous seeds, water conservation and decentralised energy solutions. These charters were taken forward by the Sangathan to district and state platforms, enabling village voices to influence development planning and climate discussions. At the same time, local institutions strengthened their internal leadership and facilitation capacities, allowing them to engage more confidently with Panchayats and line departments.
Over time, these processes have moved KASS into an autopilot phase, where key functions are increasingly led by community members themselves. Ratri Chopals and Swaraj Samvad are now being convened by local leaders without external facilitation, and Swaraj Samooh are independently engaging Gram Panchayats on issues such as water conservation works, support for seed banks and promotion of organic farming. Through this progression, Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan has emerged as a self-driven people’s organisation—rooted in village practice, strengthened by collective action and capable of sustaining agroecological and self-governance efforts i

h. Mahi Mahila Kisan Manch- meetings
The Mahi Mahila Kisaan Manch (MMKM) has emerged as a cross-state collective of women farmers spanning Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, creating a shared platform for dialogue, learning and advocacy on regenerative ecological farming and women’s rights in agriculture. What began as periodic interactions among women leaders has now taken shape as an organised Manch, with quarterly meetings initiated in December and annual conventions planned to consolidate learning, leadership and collective voice.
Led by experienced women farmers and community leaders, MMKM functions as a space where women collectively surface and address practical livelihood and climate challenges. During recent meetings, members discussed issues such as water conservation in rainfed landscapes, adoption of climate-resilient practices, preservation of indigenous seeds and the use of solar energy for farming operations. These discussions have directly informed the organisation of trainings on organic and natural farming, seed banking and sustainable water use, ensuring that learning remains rooted in field realities rather than abstract models.
Beyond practice, MMKM is gradually stepping into a rights-based and policy advocacy role. The Manch has begun preparing recommendation letters and demand charters calling for improved access to natural farming subsidies, community seed support systems and renewable energy solutions for small and marginal women farmers. These collective positions are being used to engage with block, district and state-level platforms, marking a shift from informal exchange to organised advocacy.
At the village level, MMKM is contributing to the strengthening of women’s representation in Gram Sabha and Panchayat forums, with women leaders increasingly speaking on issues related to agriculture, water and energy. This progress is taking place despite persistent structural constraints, including limited land ownership, restrictions on mobility and unequal access to resources. By operating as a cross-state collective, MMKM has enabled women to draw strength from shared experiences, peer learning and collective assertion.

Knowledge Dissemination: Multi-media approach combining radio, video, and print
Knowledge dissemination on Regenerative Ecological Farming (REF) is being strengthened through a multi-media approach that integrates radio, video and print to reach farmers across different literacy levels and learning preferences. During the reporting period, two dedicated radio programmes on REF were developed and aired through Vaagad Community Radio, while three short video clippings on key REF practices and community experiences were produced. With these, a total of six REF videos are now available, and their screening in village-level meetings, trainings and PLA sessions is ongoing, reaching farmers collectively rather than as isolated viewers.
To support deeper uptake, 25 REF system materials were printed as user-friendly manuals and used by Women Resource Persons and community facilitators during village trainings. These materials reinforce practical steps on soil regeneration, water management and indigenous seed practices, and are increasingly being referred to during follow-up discussions and field demonstrations.
The reach of these efforts has been enhanced by linking media content with RNASB processes and community scoreboards. For example, in one village, a video on soil health and bio-input preparation was screened during a PLA session after the community reviewed its RNASB score showing declining soil fertility. The screening triggered discussion on locally available biomass and led women farmers to plan collective preparation of bio-inputs as a low-cost response. Similarly, radio programmes on water and seed sovereignty are being aired in alignment with village-level assessments, ensuring that messages resonate with the realities reflected in community-generated data.
By embedding radio, video and print within participatory processes, the approach moves beyond awareness to collective reflection and action, increasing both the reach and practical uptake of REF practices in locally relevant and accessible formats.

2. Progress on the goals

• Strengthening community ownership and leadership: Communities are increasingly leading the identification, prioritisation and sequencing of soil, water and seed interventions through RNASB and PLA processes. The role of external facilitation is gradually reducing, with Women Resource Persons and local leaders emerging as trusted knowledge anchors who enable peer learning and collective decision-making at the village level.
• Institutionalisation of participatory processes: RNASB has evolved from a one-time assessment exercise into a recurring planning and reflection mechanism within Gram Panchayats. PRA and PLA practices are being embedded into routine village meetings, enabling communities to analyse seasonal trends, review progress and adapt plans related to agriculture, water conservation and seed management.
• Integration of a climate lens into everyday farming decisions: Climate variability, including erratic rainfall and extreme weather events, is now being explicitly discussed in village forums. Farmers are increasingly linking soil health, water retention and crop diversity to climate resilience, and experimenting with locally adapted strategies such as staggered sowing and diversified cropping patterns.
• Advancement of women’s leadership and collective agency: Women’s collectives are moving beyond participation towards influencing decisions on regenerative practices, seed systems and water use. Platforms such as the Mahi Mahila Kisaan Manch are strengthening women’s confidence to speak in Gram Sabha and Panchayat spaces, with women’s experiential knowledge increasingly shaping village-level priorities.
• Strengthening community-based knowledge systems: Knowledge dissemination has shifted from top-down information sharing to dialogue-based learning using community radio, videos and PLA sessions. Integration with Vaagad Community Radio and RNASB processes has helped ensure that messages on soil, water and seed management are grounded in locally generated data and village realities.
• Building collective voice and movement spaces: People’s platforms such as the Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan are gaining legitimacy as collective spaces for dialogue and action. Events like Beej Utsav and World Soil Day campaigns are reinforcing shared identity around agroecology, seed sovereignty and Gram Swaraj, while enabling communities to articulate common concerns and aspirations.
• Early signals of systems and policy engagement: Village-level plans and Agrah Patras developed through participatory processes are increasingly being presented to Panchayats and line departments. While convergence remains gradual, communities are developing the language, confidence and organisational strength required to engage with governance systems and climate-related programmes.

3. Any Challenges
   • Adoption of regenerative practices is uneven; several blocks still show medium or low knowledge on soil health, chemical risks and local soil testing, requiring intensive handholding.

• Only about 22 percent of farmers have ever tested their soil, and many villages did not adopt all recommended soil‑health practices, limiting evidence‑based nutrient management.

• Heavy rainfall events have damaged crops and washed away compost in some areas, highlighting vulnerability of smallholders and the need for more robust climate‑resilient measures.

• Women’s collectives like Mahi Mahila Kisaan Manch face constraints such as limited land ownership, mobility and variable local government support, which slows their ability to influence decisions and access schemes.

• Integrating community‑generated plans and RNASB findings into government programmes and budgets remains challenging, as convergence and policy uptake are gradual and require sustained advocacy.

4. Any new avenues of collaboration (with other Grantees of RCF or other NPO/NGO)
   A new collaboration was initiated with the Rashtriya Yuva Yojna in New Delhi through a Yuva Shivir focused on youth engagement in climate‑resilient, regenerative farming. The Shivir brought together rural youth leaders to learn about soil health, indigenous seeds, and circular farming practices, and to explore their role as community resource persons and local advocates. This partnership opens a pathway to link the Rainmatter–Vaagdhara initiative with youth‑centric government programmes, enabling wider outreach, leadership development, and future joint campaigns on ecological farming and climate action.

5. Outcomes you are chasing for the next 6 months (these can remain the same if unchanged since the last update)

• Scale up the RNASB methodology in action to 150 Gram Panchayats. bringing knowledge into practice to improve the status of resource utilization so that more communities can independently track soil, water, seed and livelihood resources and use this data for planning.
• A process of land degradation neutrality and improve biodiversity where communities have adopted tress as component of agro ecological livelihood approach.
• Five million plants with average economic gain worth Rs.20000-25000 from fifth of adoption for 50000 S&M Indigenous families, altogether reaching Rs.100 crores annually.
• Participating families starts following circular economy principles which includes revive,
reuse, recycle thus reducing system wastage and ultimately result in positive ecological footprint.

6. KPIs (please use this section to let us know of the impact and reach of your work since the last update)
   Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) highlighting the impact and reach of the Rain Matters initiative since the last update:

7. Community Participation:
   • 959 villages observed World Soil Day activities, with 790 villages (82.3 percent) conducting at least one Halma action on soil and water conservation.
   • Across these villages, 27,939 women and 23,813 men participated in events, reflecting strong engagement of both genders in soil and climate resilience efforts.
   • 829 Gram Swaraj Samuh prepared and submitted village development plans, comprising 13,618 community identified issues and demands for agro ecological development.

8. Sustainable Agricultural Practices:
   • Around 50.8 percent of farmers practice crop rotation and 50.5 percent adopt field bunding, while 35.7 percent use mulching to conserve soil and moisture.
   • Use of Ukkeda or improved Ukkeda compost averages 62.3 percent of farmers, and 63.3 percent report reducing DAP/urea use, with 53.7 percent reducing pesticide application, indicating a clear shift away from chemical intensive farming.
   • Climate resilient measures such as rainwater conservation structures (47.7 percent adoption) and continued use of traditional indigenous seeds (62.29 percent adoption) are strengthening long term sustainability of farming systems.

9. Can Rainmatter be of help with anything at all

10. Any additional details you would like to provide
    • Deepening Gram Swaraj–led planning and decision-making: Over the last six months, Vaagdhara has further strengthened Gram Swaraj–based processes by anchoring RNASB, PLA and village dialogues as community-owned planning tools rather than project activities. Village institutions are increasingly using these spaces to prioritise soil, water, seed and livelihood actions based on their own analysis, reflecting the Rain Matters ethos of decentralised, people-led governance of natural resources.
    • Strengthening women’s leadership as ecological stewards: Vaagdhara’s facilitation has focused on positioning women not only as participants but as custodians of regenerative knowledge. Women Resource Persons and platforms such as the Mahi Mahila Kisaan Manch have been supported to lead discussions on soil health, seed conservation and water use, reinforcing Rain Matters’ emphasis on women’s leadership in climate-resilient livelihoods.
    • Embedding regenerative ecology into everyday village practices: In alignment with Rain Matters, Vaagdhara has emphasised integration of regenerative ecological farming into routine agricultural decision-making. Over the past six months, increased attention has been placed on low external input practices, indigenous seed revival, composting and crop diversification as locally controlled responses to climate stress, rather than externally promoted packages.
    • Strengthening community knowledge systems and feedback loops: Vaagdhara has actively linked knowledge dissemination efforts—radio programmes, video screenings and print materials—with RNASB findings and PLA discussions. This has helped ensure that information on soil, water and seed management responds directly to village-level realities, reinforcing Rain Matters’ principle that data and knowledge must return to communities in usable, meaningful forms.
    • Revitalising collective platforms and movement spaces: People’s institutions such as Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan and women-led collectives have been actively nurtured as spaces for dialogue, reflection and collective action. Events like Beej Utsav, World Soil Day campaigns and Swaraj Samvad sessions have strengthened shared ecological identity and collective responsibility, central to the Rain Matters movement-building approach.
    • Advancing convergence and systems engagement: Vaagdhara has supported communities to use RNASB outputs and Agrah Patras as tools for engagement with Panchayats and line departments. While convergence with government programmes remains gradual, the last six months have seen improved articulation of community priorities and growing confidence in engaging governance systems—an important step towards institutionalising Rain Matters principles within public planning processes.
    • Shifting facilitation roles towards community leadership: Consistent with the Rain Matters ethos, Vaagdhara has consciously reduced directive facilitation, enabling community leaders, women facilitators and Sangathan members to take on planning, dialogue and coordination roles. This transition reflects progress towards self-driven, locally anchored systems capable of sustaining regenerative and climate-resilient pathways beyond project cycles.