Sampark is working closely with the Bhil community in 125 Village of Petlawad and Rama blocks of Jhabua district since 1987.

The interventions have been in the areas of:

• Organising the Bhil community to form village development committees,
• Conducting awareness camps on various issues like promotive and curative aspects of diseases, social issues, legal issues, safe drinking water, pre- and post-natal care, improved agricultural techniques, land and water development,
• Forming women’s forums and promoting savings,
• Constructing water harvesting structure like stop dams, dug outs and farm ponds, bunding and gully plugs in case of land development, and
• Promoting the use of organic manure, bio pesticides and local seeds.

The organisation has a vast experience in the field rural development. It has both the human and infrastructure resources for better implementation of various programmes:

1. Community Mobilisation and Empowerment for Social Change
The Bhil community is being organised to revive and adopt socially useful traditions and discontinue harmful social practices. Broader issues regarding food and employment security too are being addressed to strengthen the village network.

2. Promotion of Sustainable Livelihoods and Natural Resources Management
Development works like water and soil conservation measures and afforestation are undertaken to augment the people’s livelihood options based on natural resources on which they are dependent. This also includes the promotion of the use of indigenous seeds and farming practices.

3. Microfinance
Recognising that debt bondage is a major reason for the economic backwardness of the people, major strides have been made in the sphere of microfinance to build up community safety nets to take care of regular and unexpected financial needs.

4. Promotion of Environment Friendly Technology
Alternative energy sources such as solar energy and environment friendly smokeless chulhas are being promoted among the target group.

5. Environment Education and Functional Literacy
The communities are involved in the running schools for their children. These schools impart knowledge that is both socially and environmentally relevant to their present livelihood. At the same time education makes them proficient to negotiate the complexities of the modern market and governance system of which they have now become an inalienable part.

6. Making the Community Healthy
Health and hygiene consciousness of communities is being raised. Modern curative system of medicine is being demystified so as to put an end to its irrational use. Effective and cheap traditional systems as viable alternatives to the modern curative system of medicines are being promoted.

7. Information Education and Communication (IEC)
An important aspect of any development or organisational work is its IEC Component. This assumes even greater importance when the people are Adivasis (tribals), who are both socially and economically deprived. Audio-visual and written dissemination and training tools are being developed continuously to aid this process.