The project adopts a holistic approach of development with two broad focus areas:
- Social mobilization, organization and capacity building to tap and realize the great latent potential of the communities by employing time tested their traditional value systems and culture
- Intervene with the economic and social activities and infrastructure with predominant thrust on income generating activities to achieve economic transformation
The project operates in three states and six districts viz: Assam (Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills), Manipur (Ukhrul and Senapati) and Meghalaya (West Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills).
NERCORMP completed its first phase in 2008 and the second phase i.e. NERCORMP II started its operations in July 2010. The third phase plans to include two districts each in Arunachal Pradesh (Tirap and Changlang) and Manipur (Chandel and Churachandpur).
During the first phase, the project covered 860 villages, reached out to 39,161 households, and established 1012 Natural Resource Management groups (NaRM-Gs) and 3168 Self Help Groups (SHGs) covering a total of 2,35,000 people.
NERCORMP II is targeted to cover 400 villages covering a total of 20000 households and establish 2000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) and 400 Natural Resource Management groups (NaRM-G) in the existing districts of NERCORMP I.
The project has a Regional Society headquartered in Shillong, to supervise and support the district teams, who implement the project in the field.
Major project activities:
- Capacity Building of Communities and Participating Agencies: Institutional strengthening of community institutions (CBOs) and strengthening the capacity of participating agencies viz. NGOs, Line Depts etc.
- Economic and Livelihood Activities: Promote viable income generation activities(IGAs) for poor households through production of field crops, horticulture, forestry, livestock, fisheries, and non-farm activities using sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
- Extension and Technology Transfer: Reorient the extension services towards a client oriented and demand driven extension system, which is based on participatory extension methods. Promote the establishment of a network of village volunteers at the village or cluster level through training, who in turn will extend services at the community level.
- Credit: The project provides revolving fund for credit support to the communities through SHGs, NaRM-Gs or district level Micro Credit Institutes that is developed in the project areas.
- Social Sector Activities: Improving access of communities to safe drinking water and better health care and sanitation; providing awareness to the communities about different social sector schemes of the Govt. and its importance.
- Village Roads and Rural Electrification: Assist communities to upgrade and construct village roads for better access to their villages and facilitate movement of produces to markets and also provide electricity to a number of households through Project support for connection to the existing grids or by piloting renewable energy plants wherever feasible.
- Community Based Bio-diversity Conservation/ Natural Resource Management& Communication : Assisting communities to conserve their unique and natural resources and biological diversity, strengthen indigenous institutions and institutionalising new conservation practices; strengthen the information sharing system and documentation of good practices of the project.
- Convergence with ongoing Government schemes/programmes: The project gives emphasis on convergence with government and non-government agencies and also facilitate to meet the shortfall of financial and technical support available in the project vis-a-vis community demands.
- Marketing Support: The project facilitates in selection of activities and constitutes marketing committees within the NaRM groups. The project also created marketing infrastructures like marketing & collection sheds, IVRs etc, in order to facilitate sell of both farm and non-farm products. The project also facilitates value addition of the marketable surplus and establishing value chain to match the demand and supply.