Learn how the Learning & Development team in EIP is building resilience through contextualisation and personalisation

When we think about learning in a rural setting, our minds often jump to children in government schools and anganwadi centers. But what about adults who have never attended school? For those struggling to meet their family’s daily needs, learning opportunities might seem like a distant dream. What should they learn? How do they learn? What will motivate them? How will they apply their learning to their livelihoods? How do we ensure that learning builds their confidence rather than adding to their cognitive load? These are the questions we grapple with as we design the learning journey for the most marginalized households in the Economic Inclusion Program.

The desired outcome is clear: for the women (didis) from the most excluded households to become self-sufficient, socially and financially included, resilient, and empowered by the end of three years and beyond. Research shows that programs combining financial support with personalized coaching can lead to more sustainable and meaningful outcomes, empowering participants to achieve long-term economic stability. Therefore, coaching and hands-on support are foundational to their journey. For learning to be effective and applicable in their daily lives, we must ensure the cognitive load on the participating didis is kept to a minimum. Similarly, for our changemakers who visit the didis weekly and conduct meetings and training, what they learn and teach must be simple and cognitively accessible.

Building resilience through Learning and Development (L&D)

With didis at the center and using basic learning design principles, we are making the 36-month learning journey progressive, engaging, and impactful. Instead of overburdening didis or changemakers, we aim to help them build a habit of coming together weekly, sharing experiences, and learning from one another. In the long term, this will create a support system that will persist even after the program intervention ends.

The small groups are carefully formed, consisting of women from similar households and geographic areas. We introduce learning by doing and scaffold it over three years. This progression ensures didis understand and practice new skills in a supportive environment before moving on independently, following the "I Do – We Do – You Do" method.

Each changemaker has an activity-based learning plan in the form of a weekly flipbook. They start with introductions, review previous lessons, perform an activity, share feedback, and then learn from the process. The meeting ends with a checklist of tasks and ‘check for understanding’ questions to ensure the didis grasp the lessons. These checkpoints help ensure learners can follow the material before moving forward. When changemakers identify didis who struggle, they provide additional one-on-one support during household visits to ensure everyone reaches the same learning outcomes. This active and participative approach makes didis look forward to the sessions each week.

This structured, weekly approach—tracking progress, doing activities, and sharing experiences—fosters habit formation and boosts didis' confidence. Through participation, they gain the courage to introduce themselves, express ideas, and share experiences. The feedback and encouragement from changemakers and other didis make them feel valued and heard. Over time, this builds their understanding of the importance of their voices and contributions, ultimately empowering them to take on more active roles in their communities and households.

Contextualisation and Personalisation

While this learning model is based on extensive research and testing conducted by various cash+care programs across different geographies, it raises the question: Are all didis the same? Does one learning method fit all? A didi in Jharkhand and Rajasthan might be very different from a didi in Tripura, and their learning curves may not be the same. Thus, their coaching methods need to differ.

To ensure proper contextualisation, learning methods are developed in close partnership and coordination with field teams. This involves tailoring content and methods to reflect the local culture, environment, and everyday experiences of the learners. The graphical depictions in flipbooks need to be relatable, as do the images of goats, pigs, and vegetables we discuss. Integrating local stories, traditions, and examples makes learning more comprehensible because it ties into the didis' lived experiences. Using local dialects ensures didis fully understand and engage with the material. Sessions reflecting local environments, challenges, and resources make the coaching more practical and meaningful.

By combining contextualisation and personalisation, learning becomes accessible and easy to grasp for those historically marginalized and excluded from formal systems of education. This improves both learning outcomes and the sense of empowerment among didis.

As we continue to iterate and adapt our methods based on feedback and context, we aim to build a foundation of continuous learning and mutual support that will last well beyond our interventions, ultimately fostering empowered and thriving communities.

Article written by Akanksha Gupta