Since Development Alternatives first developed its institutional Web site in 1996, we have worked to communicate a vision of sustainable livelihoods in India and around the world. Over the years, we have tried to find creative ways to bring you the stories of the villagers themselves and to allow them to highlight the creative solutions developed in the field.

This module was developed, researched, and written by Katherine Hay for Development Alternatives.

The village accounts are based on key informant interviews and focus groups conducted with participants in DA projects. Throughout the process villagers were encouraged to be open and critical about the processes affecting them. Villagers were asked to share their stories about struggling to create sustainable livelihoods so that others could learn from their experiences and efforts. As well as generating accounts for this module, the process also brought forward many useful suggestions about improving the livelihood projects. Plans are already in place to act on a number of these ideas. Special thanks to all of the villagers who chose to share their accounts with us.

At the DA head office, Aparajita Gogoi gave editorial and design input and George Varughese provided guidance throughout the process.

Field level assistance and input was provided by numerous DA staff involved in the particular projects. With dedication and commitment they are helping to make sustainable livelihoods a reality for many. Special thanks go to the Project Leaders: Geeta Vaidnathan (TARAGram and Azadpura), Ashok Kumar (Vermicomposting), Varghese Paul (Check-dams), Anand Dhanuar (Weaving).

The project background information was compiled from the written and oral accounts of DA project staff. The checkdam section draws heavily on a checkdam study report written by Barbara Rawlins.

The majority of photographs are by Katherine Hay (some stock photographs were provided by the DA audiovisual library).

Web design, coding, and meta-data were undertaken by Neal Thomas and Terri Willard at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Winnipeg, Canada. RealMedia files were generated by Dennis Cunningham and Rod Araneda.

The Sustainable Livelihoods module is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Development Alternatives (DA) and ENDA-TM, members of the Sustainable Development Communications Network (SDCN). Through the SDCN, a group of NGOs are working together to find ways of using the Internet to meet the goals of sustainable development.

A similar module was created by ENDA in Senegal and the findings of both of these modules have been woven together in a joint module. These modules were made possible through funding from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Ottawa, and support from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Winnipeg.

To learn more about sustainable livelihoods or the process of creating this module, please contact either:

Development Alternatives

Sustainable Development Communications Network (SDCN)