SEVAI Promotes quality of life improvement and income generation activities among SHGs.

Process of Korai mat production by women SHGs

A Trichy based NGO-SEVAI SEVAI Promotes quality of life improvement and income generation activities among SHGs and it focuses on improving access to and control of the marginalised communities over natural resources, enhancing productive returns on resources and financial inclusion. SEVAI works towards creating an enabling environment, which supports the needs and aspirations of the people. SEVAI emphasizes on building capability, developing multiple assets, developing value chains and engaging with all stakeholders to promote secure and resilient livelihood opportunities to the marginalized population, especially women. SEVAI believes in helping individuals live a life of dignity. To achieve this, livelihood programmes focuses on generating sustainable livelihoods. This is done through capacity building, fostering community links and promoting small businesses. SEVAI puts special focus on entrepreneurial ventures, which are owned by women.SEVAI through its livelihood programmes promotes bank linkages, Self Help Groups, capacity building and small businesses. It also fosters linkages between SHG

Sleeping cot production process

Federations and Government/banks; SEVAI also focuses on improving the literacy, numeracy and critical thinking skills to promote sustainable livelihoods.SEVAI SHG program is designed to be a highly intensive program and focuses on intensive application of human and material resources in order to mobilize the poor into functionally effective SHG owned owned projects, promote their financial inclusion and strengthen their livelihoods. SEVAI complements these institutional platforms of the poor with services that include financial and capital services, production and productivity enhancement services, technology, knowledge, skills and inputs, market linkage, etc. The community institutions also offer a platform for convergence and partnerships with various stakeholders by building environment for the poor to access their rights and entitlements and public service. The support from SEVAI will include all round capacity building of the SHGs ensuring that the group functions effectively on all issues concerning

Banana fibre extraction by SHG

their members, financial management, linking  them with Bank support to address vulnerabilities and high cost indebtedness, formation and nurturing of SHG federations, making the federations as strong support organizations, making the livelihoods of the poor sustainable, formation and SEVAI provides continuous hand-holding support to SHGs, and their federations. SEVAI ensures that at least one member from each identified rural poor household. Emphasis on Training, Capacity building and skill building imparted by SEVAI ensures that the poor are provided with the requisite skills for: managing their Federations, linking up with markets, managing their existing livelihoods, enhancing their credit absorption capacity and credit worthiness, etc. A multi-pronged approach is envisaged for continuous capacity building of the targeted families, SHGs, their federations. SEVAI makes extensive use of training to make knowledge dissemination and capacity building more effective. The need-based training builds entrepreneurship qualities, improves self-confidence, reduces risk of failure and develops the trainees into change agents. -Govin