SWERA is working to combat poverty by promoting horticulture and cultivation of medicinal plants through SHG members. Cultivation of fruit plants like amla, guava, pomegranate, etc., is being promoted and the most of farmers are adopting this technology. Goat rearing is one of the essential parts of livelihood and natural resource management.
Recently, the organisation has become involved in survey, research and management of Prosopis juliflora (in Hindi called angaraji babul, Kabuli kikar, vilayati babul, vilayati khejra or vilayati kikar) as a part of Natural Resource Management.
Myriad training programs like stitching/embroidery training, artificial jewellery making training, training on SHG record keeping for leaders, vermicompost training, health training (to impart health education) and so on were taken up to enable women to supplement their livelihoods.
In Gadi Arjunpura and Mangliyawaas villages a total of 58 women were imparted training on solar, jewellery making, stitching and embroidery under strategic name ‘Literacy to Livelihood’. Sole objective of these trainings was to capacitate them to augment their family income.
Furthermore, working on an entirely new initiative, the organisation formed Farmers Field Schools (FFSs) in Navav and Balad Ka Dada villages under strategic name ‘Family Livelihood Resource Center’ (FLRC). Core objective of FFS was to facilitate people’s livelihoods through goat promotion which has now established as principle livelihoods support strategy in such arid parts of Rajasthan. Farmers groups were trained on management of goats like their breed improvement, their health, livestock insurance etc. Results of FFS in captioned villages were quite encouraging. Fairly a large number of people adopted Goat rearing as supplementary livelihoods option. People were also linked with different welfare/empowering schemes.
Moreover, Department of Science and Technology, Ajmer also played a pivotal role in upgrading people’s existing skills base through different training programs and enabled them to earn food security to their families by exercising these newly learnt skills. Trainings on house making, diesel pump repair and e-resource centre have been held for the rural youth.