Seva Mandir

Seva Mandir views livelihood systems as the complex of systems that enable individuals, family units, and communities to acquire or produce what they need to satisfy their basic needs in terms of food and other types of consumption (such as housing or clothing). As such, livelihood systems include the spectrum of social, political, environmental, and economic processes and resources upon which livelihoods depend, such as the governance of common resources, migration for labour, and the ecological security and diversity of the region.

 Following Amartya Sen's capabilities approach, Seva Mandir conceptualizes human capabilities as the individual and social factors that influence the ability of individuals to have the freedom to shape the course of their own lives. As such, they are seen to hold both intrinsic and instrumental values. Key dimensions include health and education status, gender relations, and the range of life skills that people need to live dignified lives.

By Building People's Capabilities, particularly in terms of working with them to create systems through which their health and education status can be enhanced and to transform social relations, particularly gender relations, Seva Mandir seeks to support the evolution of a society that is better placed to work for its own development. In addition to directly supporting communities in providing services, this work includes creating spaces where dialogue around critical issues can take place and through which all sections of society can take ownership of their own development process, be it social, cultural, economic or political.

The creation of strong and autonomous village institutions based on democratic principles underpins all of Seva Mandir’s development interventions. Such institutions are considered essential for ensuring the sustainability of the development process.

The work on Empowering Village Institutions centres on creating spaces at the village level through which villagers are able to participate in an empowering process that enables them to exercise responsible leadership and collective action in order to address their development challenges. The village institutions supported and strengthened by Seva Mandir are founded on the principles of participatory democracy, transparency, justice, and accountability, and serve to promote an alternative paradigm of development.