Bridging the Divide – from Margins to Mainstream: Unfolding Economic Inclusion Program in Assam

Bisoni Marak lives atop a hillock across the paddy fields of Nimagaon in Shankargola Gram Panchayat, Bongaigaon district, Assam. Bisoni and her husband, both illiterate, work as daily wage labourers in neighbouring villages. Their earnings barely sustain their family of five, including their three children, the youngest being only 10 months old. During monsoon season, as the low-lying paddy fields flood, Bisoni’s family is cut off from the rest of the village, exacerbating their struggles.

Recently, Bisoni has been on-boarded as a program participant in Assam State Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (ASRLM) SETU Project, along with a few other women from her village who are among the most excluded, like Bisoni. The SETU Project is being implemented in partnership with the Economic Inclusion Program (EIP) of The/Nudge Institute, offering technical support to ASRLM. The project is implemented on the principles of economic inclusion program approaches like the graduation approach—a time-bound, multi-faceted women-centric approach focusing on four pillars: social protection, livelihood generation, financial inclusion, and social empowerment. Through a 36-month intervention, this flagship DAY_NRLM program housed under the Ministry of Rural Development aims to ensure economic inclusion for the most vulnerable.

Natural Disasters and Socio-Economic Struggles

Assam is no stranger to natural disasters due to its location in the seismic zone V and its proximity to the mountainous territories of China and Bhutan. Flash floods and land erosion cause significant damage, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of remote villages. In regions like Chirang and Bongaigaon, villagers often relocate to relief camps, making economic inclusion programs implementation both challenging and essential.

Additionally, long-standing regional and ethnic conflicts have displaced many, who now reside in state-designated resettlement colonies or build makeshift homes in forest clearings and foothills and have lived there for generations. Integrating these families into the mainstream has been a gradual process.

Many are primarily engaged in casual wage labour in agricultural fields, nearby factories or work as domestic workers. A significant number do not have any alternative income source and are unable to acquire two meals a day, especially during the monsoons when labour opportunities decrease and mobility is restricted. Women often face additional challenges, balancing caregiving duties with the need to ensure their safety in these fragile environments.

Addressing Vulnerabilities with Comprehensive Support

Addressing the contextual deprivation traps for such a diverse and unique setting demands tailored solutions at local levels. The Economic Inclusion Program leverages Village Organisations (VOs) to deliver support. The VOs are capacitated to provide the households with social, financial, and psychosocial support as they undertake this transformational journey. SETU-Sarathis, or changemakers, handhold program participants like Bisoni to acquire life skills and technical knowledge to generate sustainable incomes. The program provides immediate financial support, links households to social security schemes, and offers training for diversified livelihood practices.

Financial Support and Skill Development

The project is currently operational in two districts – Chirang and Bongaigaon, both severely impacted by environmental calamities, adding to the physical and economic vulnerability of those who are already the most vulnerable. The underlying principle that the most excluded need an ‘extra push’ to overcome barriers to access and growth is centralised at every phase of the program, starting with the Consumption Support Grant – a one-time financial support given to the households to meet their immediate needs – nutritional, medical or environmental. This also provides the household with a breathing space to participate in training to acquire skills and knowledge on stable livelihood practices.

Given the benefits of direct cash transfer and to terminate pilferage, the state provides consumption support as cash transfer to identified households through their corresponding VOs. Following the cash transfer, the VOs carry out household entitlement linkages to various social security schemes and low-cost insurance.

Long-Term Impact and Sustainable Livelihoods

In the latter phase of the project, households are trained to adopt diversified livelihood practices through discussions and consultations with the VOs and the changemakers. The robust uptake of a fairly new approach by the state to tackling issues of economic inclusion paves the way for more innovative programs intended to provide governments with the extra impetus to reach the last mile in ensuring all social and economic inclusion.

SETU Project’s impact on families like Bisoni’s underscores the need for such targeted interventions. Empowering the most excluded can pave the way for more inclusive and progressive societies.

Written by: Kastaurika Saikia