Empower Fisher & Landless Communities in Odisha

Communities around Chilika Lake continue to face growing challenges, from declining fish stocks and limited livelihood opportunities to the impacts of unpredictable climate change. This year, however, we have seen encouraging progress as local people came together to strengthen community institutions, improve livelihoods, and build resilience for the future.

Working alongside our partner, the Regional Centre for Development Cooperation (RCDC), the project expanded from 39 to 93 villages, supporting women, fishers, and landless families through a range of community-led initiatives. During the reporting period, 2,327 women participated directly in project activities, while a further 2,050 women continued benefiting from skills and livelihood opportunities developed through previous years of support. New Self-Help Groups were formed, village-level institutions were strengthened, and more than 500 members became involved in the producer company with over 75% directly engaged in food processing, helping communities improve market access and income-generating opportunities.

The project also supported livelihood activities including goat rearing, dry fish vending, small businesses, nutrition gardens, and entrepreneurship training. Community-led plantation programmes saw over 6,520 tree saplings planted, while village cleanliness campaigns and health awareness initiatives reached hundreds of women and families. These achievements reflect the growing strength of community participation across the Chilika region. The attached report provides a fuller overview of activities, challenges, and progress made during the reporting period.

Together, we are helping vulnerable communities move from vulnerability to resilience. Thank you for your continued support. 

• RCDC 2025-26 Annual Report (PDF)
  

Chilika Lake, the world’s second largest coastal lagoon, and also an internationally recognised Ramsar site, faces severe ecological disruption due to climate change and human intervention The project region lacks livelihood opportunities, causing widespread poverty, inequality, and distress migration. Its proneness to severe cyclones coupled with erratic rainfall and unpredictable temperatures exacerbates the vulnerability of poor communities. Moreover, human interference with the lake’s ecosystem, reduced fish stocks, undermining the livelihoods of over 200,000 fishers and landless communities. Caste-based exclusion from natural resources, weak infrastructure, recurring climate shocks and external commercial pressures in tourism and aquaculture further marginalise local populations. As resources shrink and competition rises, migration and social tensions have intensified.

Action Village India partners with Regional Centre for Development Cooperation to tackle these issues in Odisha, running a plantation programme, 62 village development committees and cleanliness campaigns in 7 villages. Partnership with the government meant that 1520 trees were planted under the government’s “One Tree in Mother’s Name” as well as a healthy women, healthy family programme where regular health-checkups were facilitated and 1,777 women learnt how to keep themselves and their families healthy. Also, an additional 54 new target villages were added to the project, in addition to the existing 39 villages. An integral part of our initiatives focus on strengthening community resilience which can be seen in the photos attached that depict participants not only collective cleaning but also villagers coming together to create a communal resting place for all to enjoy at the centre of the village

The project's objectives remain to strengthen livelihoods by improving household incomes, develop ecological conservation to protect local natural resources and reduce distress migrations by creating local self-help groups, a Shram Bank (Labour Bank), and a Producer Organisation to market their products better and sustain local employment.

• Report_from_RCDC_Apr2025Sep2025.pdf (PDF)