Ladakh is a geographical region situated in the northeastern part of
the Indian state of Jammu an Kashmir. It is a high-altitude cold desert,
with settlements as high as 16000 feet above sea level and winter temperatures
as low as – 40o C. most of Lakakh’s population stays in
villages and follows an agrarian lifestyle. Resources are scarce, making
everyday life difficult in this harsh environment. Still, Lakakh has
been home to a centuries old indigenous culture that has not survived
this hard land, but has come to thrive in it.
In recent times, the sudden advent of globalization in Ladakh has thrown
up a unique set of development challenges for this region. Of particular
importance is the need to bridge the gap between Ladakh`s traditional
life and the ways of the modern worlds, so as to reach a middle ground
that allows Ladakhis to enjoy the benefits of moderns civilization while
at the same time cherish their traditional values.
It is this quest for meaningfully blending thee old with the new,
along with a desire to improve the lives of Ladakh’s predominantly
rural populace, that lies at the heart of Rural Development and You
(RDY)
RDY
RDY is a non-profit NGO. It was founded in the 1990s by a group of young
Ladakhi volunteers, and is committed to promoting integrated, sustainable
development m4easures amongst Ladakh`s rural population. It is a registered
body under the Society Registration Act VI (1941), J&K, State, India.Some
of the issues that RDY sought to address when it was founded were the
difficult work and living conditions of Ladakh`s rural population, the
misguided development programmes of the central and state governments
(ill-suited to ladakhi’s unique environment), and the waning prestige
of Ladakh`s traditional culture in the eyes of its own people.Since
its inception, RDY has placed great faith in the power of youth and
the spirit of volunteerism to achieve its goals. Today, they continue
to form the twin pillars on which the organization bases all its initiatives.
OUR VISION
RDY envisions a rural society in Ladakh whose every village would be
able to enjoy within this bounds such amenities as plentiful food, adequate
drinking water, 24 hours electricity, elementary healthcare and quality
education. The members of such a society would live in harmony with
their natural surroundings, and be proud to their values and culture.
OUR MISSIONS
In order to achieve its vision, RDY has formulated a three-pronged
strategy that contains the following components:
Capacity Building amongst Rural Population, Rural infrastructure improvement.
Other initiatives, such as addressing the HIV/AIDS issue in Ladakh etc.
These three broad programmes are not in any way an exhaustive list of
al RDY’s activities. There is much more that we do that we simply
cannot mention in the limited space available in this brochure.
The above initiatives are carried out by a voluntary work force RDY
in a spirit of participation with the local community. In doing so,
we hope to achieve RDY’s objective of integrated and sustainable
development, that is by the people, for the people, and of the people.
Our work
The many projects undertaken by RDY in the past and present fall under
the following three categories.
Capacity Building
Helping rural people regain a sense of pride in the local Ladakhi culture
… Making villages self-sufficient in their basic needs…
Urging people to realize the importance of their vote and the accountability
of public servants towards them Guiding the rural population towards
greater economic prosperity.
Rural Infrastructure
Working towards ensuring basic infrastructure facilities for all villages
in Ladakh… Helping to mitigate the problems of water scarcity
and road connectivity in remote rural areas…. Seeking to address
the increasingly serious issue of rural-urban migration in Lakakh Building
model villages for emulation.
Other Initiatives
Tackling the specter of HIV/AIDS in Ladakh … Working to chanelise
the youth in the region …. Addressing environment- related problems..
Taking up any issues of relevance to Ladakh requiring urgent attention,
that may be within our powers to handle.
CAPACITY BUILDING
Self Help Groups (SHGs)
RDY has formed many such groups that save a fixed amount on a monthly
basis and also sell indigenously made products (such as processed food
items, local handicrafts etc.
Trainings & Workshops
We organize such activities for various groups of people, on such wide
ranging topics as vocational trades, the importance of traditional values,
and the right of common people to question government officials.
Exposure Visits
RDY frequently organizes exposure tours and visits outside Ladakh for
people living in rural areas, so as to raise their awareness levels
and make them more confident.
Village Resource Centres (proposed)
RDY envisages a Villages Resource Centre in each Ladakhi village, which
will be run by the people themselves and will be a meeting point for
all developmental activities in the community.
RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Large Reservoirs, Irrigation Channels, Artificial Glaciers
To alleviate the problems caused by water scarcity in Ladakh, RDY has
built several large reservoirs in the region. By tapping streams and
rivulets that were earlier simply flowing into the Indus (and thus being
wasted), these reservoirs become valuable sources of water for rural
people in the agricultural season. We have also strengthened many old
irrigation channels in villages and built several artificial glaciers
to further ease the water-related problems of Ladakh’s rural areas.
New Land Development, Cash Crop Cultivation
In order to arrest the disturbing trend of rural-urban migration that
has begun in Ladakh in recent years, RDY has taken several steps to
make people realize the importance of their village-based assets. As
part of this initiative, we have done much to develop new land by planting
thousands of trees every year, and have built many soil conservation
‘bunds’ to maintain land already in use. We have also been
encouraging people to cultivate cash crops and use modern farming technologies,
so that they may earn more money and therefore have no need to rush
towards cities.
OTHER INITIATIVES
HIV/AIDS
RDY was the first organisation in Ladakh that started working on the
HIV / AIDS threat in the region, in 1996. Today, we are happy to report
that Ladakh is still officially an HIV / AIDS free zone. However, we
continue with our efforts to sensitize the local population about the
dangers of this dreaded disease.
Youth Development
We believe that the youth of any community has great potential, provided
it is harnessed properly. Towards this end, we strive to make young
Ladakhis aware of modern fields (such as information technology, media
studies etc), and engage them in constructive developmental activities.
Environmental Issues
RDY was one of the organizations that helped make Ladakh a plastic-free
zone. We also celebrate the 5th of June as the World Environment Day
every year, and encourage local people to participate in matters of
environmental importance.
PROPOSED FUTURE WORKS
In addition to the various initiatives that RDY is currently involved
with (outlined over the last few pages), there are many other programmes
that we hope to organize in the coming years. The prominent among these
are:
Building model villages
Youth Development Programmes
Setting up an in-house media studio
Establishing Village Resource Centres
Encouraging community based tourism
Working towards increased power generation in Ladakh
Compaigning against alcohol consumption and drug abuse in Ladakh.
If you wish to work with us on any of the above programmes, Piz, contact
us.!