Major tribal communities residing in project villages include Bhils (37 per cent), Konkanis (52 per cent), Mavchis (2 per cent) and Banjaras (5 per cent), almost all of who are below the poverty line. About 5 per cent families are landless.

The main objectives of the project are to:

	Achieve drinking water, food security and alternative livelihood opportunities through the creation of on-farm and off-farm based activities
	Build up and enhance capacity of local institutions to organise, implement, monitor and maintain assets created

The following strategies are being adopted:

	The village as a unit for development; this helps in reaching the weaker sections of society
	Village Development Committees (VDC) are being formed, which would be responsible for implementation, monitoring and maintenance of the project activities
	Natural resources management activities are being implemented based on a participatory approach

The key activities include:

	Agriculture development
	Horticulture development
	Vegetable and floriculture promotion
	Soil and water conservation
	Irrigation development
	Health, water and sanitation, especially for the women
	Community awareness and mobilisation
	Capacity building of Community Based Organisations
	Livelihood development

The income of the project beneficiaries through the various livelihood interventions is expected to increase from Rs12,000 per annum to about Rs20,000 per annum at the end of the project period. The introduction of water and sanitation measures would lead to a reduction in the drudgery of women. The time spent in the collection of water will reduce by 50 per cent, and there will be around 30 per cent reduction in cases of water-borne diseases in the project villages. At least 60 per cent families would consume vegetables for eight months in a year, thereby following a nutritious and well balanced diet.