Centre for Culture and Development, India


ccd_2006_claymolding_1.jpg
Clay modelling at CCD Summer Camp
The Centre for Culture and Development (CCD) was registered in 1990 in Madurai India with the objective of promoting sustainable livelihoods for the poor in the rural areas.

Women, children and socially excluded Dalits and poor are given importance in our project. Ninty percentage of the dalit people are living under poverty and work as a landless agriculture labourers, cleaners, scavengers and road sweepers. They are allotted a separate living space away from the main village. In the name of caste system they are treated as non- humans and subject to all sorts of violence.  CCD gives special importance to this Dalits in helping to get their economic and social freedom.

Modern agricultural practices have been thrust on them at the detriment of traditional farming methods. The lands lost their natural fertility and eco friendly organisms and people suffered damage to sustainability. Due to genetic losses the farmers are unable to return to their traditional farming methods which were free from chemicals and pesticides.

The Kalai Granam training center is a collective space for training the village people especially Dalits and women in skill development for livelihood enhancement programmes.  The Centre strongly believes education is an important means to achieve equitable livelihood so we concentrate on helping children achieve better results in school. The Kalai Gramam uses the traditional arts of the people to educate them in relevant social themes that helps the development of the people.

Project Activities

  * Arumbugal- The Children Center
    The center is running four supplementary coaching center for
    nearly 200 children in the villages to enhance their learning
    skills and give them training in extra curricular activities.

  * Development Communication for Rural Development
    The center is educating the rural people on health related issues
    through folk arts forms. This project is implemented with the
    collaboration of St.Johns Medical College, Bangalore.

  * Program for the Empowerment Dalits
    The Dalits are given motivational training through their art forms
    to bring back their self- esteem and human dignity to participate
    equally in society and education in sanitation and hygiene.

  * Folk Artistes’ Collectives
    Folk artistes from the villages often live in poverty and try to
    use their art forms provide livelihoods. The centre helps them to
    have more opportunities for performances and try to use their art
    forms as a medium of development communication. 300 artistes are
    surveyed and formed a collective to ensure their survival as
    artists and well as their art forms.

  * Kalai Women Self-help Groups
    The women from the villages are formed into small groups to
    address different issues that affect them and seek ways for
    increasing the incomes of the households. Organic farming
    education is provided.

  * Kalai Organic Farmers Association
    An association at the village level creates awareness among the
    marginalized and small farmers and landless labourers to come back
    to the organic farming methods from chemical fed farming. They are
    offered hands-on training on the model farm and given resources to
    foster a gradual shift from the mono-crop patterns towards
    multi-crop patterns to increase their income and to promote
    sustainable development.

Contact
S.A.Samy
RH_-18, Kaveri Salai. Ellisnagar, Madurai.9
Phone: 09444076120
Email: samyindia@gmail.com