Pragya is a development organisation which addresses the needs of people living in areas such as high- altitude regions and areas emerging from conflict. Pragya implements projects in the high- altitude Himalayan regions of India and Nepal, and the highlands and savannahs of East Africa.
Pragya shapes and enables sustainable development with a focus on communities and ecosystems in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the world, focusing on social development, natural resource management, appropriate technology, and enterprise development.
History
Pragya was founded in 1995 to address the serious issues that face indigenous communities in the high Indian Himalayas. Since then, Pragya has worked to protect the natural environment of the Himalayas and support the people. Pragya is an alliance of practitioners.
In his early work, Pragya took care of the ecosystems and cultures of the people who lived in the Indian Himalayas. Pragya has been successful in developing solutions such as the reduction of available water, medicinal plants, and livelihood options. The area of focus has now grown to include working in Nepal and East Africa. Pragya is conducting research and delivering services in the fields of education, health, water and sanitation, natural resource management, renewable energy, women's empowerment, and sustainable livelihoods.
Programmes
Pragya's work engages with the specific needs and challenges faced by people in remote and ecologically sensitive areas. The goals of these projects are to build the skills of people within the local communities. The projects also provide them with security and access to facilities for health and education. It also helps these communities find ways to make use of the natural resources available to them, helping to preserve the balance between local communities and their natural environment.
Pragya focuses on research and advocacy to highlight the needs of people in these areas so that they have the opportunity to be included in mainstream development.
Pragya projects have directly benefited 31,583 people in the Himalayan region in 2010-11. 21,570 (68.2%) of these were children. Apart from this, Pragya's projects reached 700,000 people, including 490,000 children.
Social Development Projects
Education and information facilities - Pragya has been developing alternative learning centres and libraries for remote and marginalized communities that remain excluded from mainstream education. 112 education centres, 38 resource centres (19 IT-enabled) are serving to reduce the education and information gap in the Himalayas and Sub Saharan Africa. Pragya has piloted several innovations to reach education to the marginalised communities, and have been internationally recognised for its efforts.
Basic welfare services for migrant workers in the Himalayas - Pragya is implementing a programme to address the basic welfare needs of migrant labourers working on road construction/maintenance in the high altitude Himalayas. Creches deliver early childhood care and ‘schools on wheels’ (mobile vans with computers and learning toys) provide primary education to the children in the labour camps. Protective gears, water filters and health camps are ensuring improved health, while advocacy is working towards long-term benefits.
Community managed resource centres - Integrated community development is being facilitated through community resource centres. These centres are equipped with libraries, computers, databases for marketing and government support and facilities for training and vocational skill-building.
Health and nutrition for disadvantaged communities - Pragya has been working to improve the nutritional and health status of rural communities. The work addresses critical levels of malnutrition and associated health problems in the region. A pilot scheme in Nepal is now being expanded to Indian Himalayas and Kenyan Arid and Semi Arid provinces.
Livelihoods and income generation - Pragya is developing 16 enterprises, 95 women's self-help groups, and more than 45 small enterprises and cooperatives. It has also set up buyer-seller linkages, production and sales centres in the region. For increasing visibility of local heritage based enterprises, 15 heritage museums/eco-trails have also been set up.