Seva Mandir

Badgaon block has 151,575 inhabitants, of whom 45% are tribal. Sustenance rain fed agriculture and animal husbandry are the main occupations, and mining offers a subsidiary source of livelihood in Dhar-Madar. Due to low agricultural productivity, people commute to Udaipur city and nearby towns for wage labour to supplement family incomes.

The literacy rate in Badgaon Block is 40%. Seva Mandir began its work in Badgaon with its adult education programs. The block is divided into five zones, and Seva Mandir currently works in 83 villages.

Rainfall is relatively high for the region, and not long ago, Jhadol was covered in dense forests. However, in the last few decades forest cover has been depleted due to logging, resulting in a loss of fertile topsoil.

There are 193,810 inhabitants, with 70% Scheduled Tribes. Because livestock productivity is poor, residents depend on subsistence farming. As in other blocks, urban migration is widespread, but migrants return to their villages for cultivation since the region still retains some of its natural cover.

The literacy rate in Jhadol Block is 46%. Road access to the interiors is very poor, and roads become partially or completely dysfunctional during the monsoons.

Seva Mandir has worked in Jhadol block since 1981, when it began its Adult Education Programme in the block. The block is divided into eight zones, and the main office is located 50 km from Udaipur. Seva Mandir currently operates in 183 villages.

Kherwara Block has 268,000 inhabitants, three quarters of which are tribal. In Kherwara, people primarily depend upon agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihoods, but these systems are not enough to provide for people’s needs due to small land holdings and poor irrigation infrastructure. In the non-agriculture season, a substantial portion of the population migrates mostly to Gujurat to find labour.

The literacy level of the block is 58%. Seva Mandir has been working in Kherwara Block since 1973, when it initiated an Adult Literacy programme. The Block is divided into six zones, and has its main office in Kojwada village, 80 km from Udaipur. Seva Mandir currently operates projects in 117 villages.

90% of Kotra’s 183,504 inhabitants are tribal– mainly Bhils and Garasias.

Agriculture provides the primary source of livelihood, though just a small section of the total land is devoted to it, due to low soil moisture from the recurring drought and limited irrigation capacities.

At 18%, Kotra block’s literacy rate is the lowest of any of the blocks, and the female literacy rate stands at only 8%.

Seva Mandir has worked in Kotra Block since 1986. The block is divided into five zones, and the main office is located 125 km from Udaipur. Seva Mandir currently has projects in 102 villages.

The population of Kumbhalgarh is 131,446, of whom 37% are tribal – mainly Rajputs and Bhils. Cultivation is the primary livelihood activity. The literacy rate of Kumbhalgarh is 46%.

In 2001, Seva Mandir began working in the Kumbhalgarh Block as part of the World Bank assisted District Poverty Initiatives Program (DPIP). The objective of the DPIP program is to improve the living standards and the social and economic status of “below poverty line” (BPL) individuals in the selected districts. The work of Seva Mandir in the Block is divided into two clusters, and falls in 67 villages.