Paribartan, the implementing organization, is committed to alleviating poverty and improving the diets of poor and vulnerable households through a vegetable gardening programme. Apart from improving vegetable production technologies, Paribartan and farmers' associations are seriously exploring the potential of under-utilized, locally grown vegetables to increase incomes and improve nutrition. The mission of this activity is to enhance nutritional well-being and raise the incomes of poor, identified tribal households in the project area through improved varieties and methods of vegetable production, marketing, and distribution, while taking into account the need to preserve environmental quality.

The outcomes of this activity enable married women with children to benefit from improvements in vegetable gardening. It falls within the bounds of what they are culturally expected (and allowed) to do, and having access to a self-generated source of income strengthens their position in intra-household dynamics. By growing their own food, women primarily focus on saving money on family cash expenditures. It has also been noticed that women's access to and control over productive resources (including land, credit, labor, and information), as well as access to and control over the benefits of production, have widened. The vegetable gardening programme also helps to address practical gender needs and supports women in achieving greater equality, contributing to shifts in traditional roles. Now, family members recognize the contributions of women, thereby increasing their empowerment. This activity creates a conducive environment for women to improve their status by highlighting their role in food security and their potential to improve the health of family members, especially children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

The programme has helped the local economy and generated jobs. Among all targeted households, 63% have increased their income by at least 25% and have subsequently improved their living conditions. The participation of women has been significant. Through the productive micro-farm initiative, women have gained a space within the household that they did not have before. They contribute to the household economy, generate surplus and healthy food, and their experience has had a positive effect on self-esteem, skill development, and mental health.

Considering the benefits of vegetable gardening as a means to alleviate poverty, improve the village environment, and promote more productive, sustainable community-based women’s groups, Paribartan, in consultation with grassroots women’s groups, extended support to 850 families to take up vegetable gardening during the project period. The involved tribal families have increased land use by 30–70%. About 60% of the families have taken up winter cultivation (previously, they relied only on rain-fed agriculture during the rainy season). The visible impacts of the changed cropping pattern include increased crop diversity. Farmers have added new crops like wheat, groundnut, sunflower, leafy vegetables, brinjal, ladies’ finger, watermelon, tomato, chilli, cucumber, and carrot, as well as root crops like onion, turmeric, and sweet potato. An overall change in cropping is observed in 60% of the total cultivated area. This agricultural activity has improved subsistence living conditions and reduced migration by 23%.

Rice occupies one-third of the world’s cropland. Rice production is an important part of India’s economy. In Odisha, rice is the major food crop, and about 60% of it is grown under flooded conditions. Rice is cultivated in different environments, ranging from tropical to temperate regions with varying climatic and biological conditions, which naturally affect the rates of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O emissions. Emissions from paddy fields into the atmosphere are also greatly influenced by cultivation practices and field management, such as ploughing, seeding or transplanting of rice, water management, harvesting, and management of harvest residues. Paddy rice cultivation is responsible for approximately 10% of global methane emissions. It also consumes around one-third of the global freshwater supply.

Paribartan, in collaboration with Deenabandhu Trust and BAYER, started a Sustainable Rice Project in 6 blocks of Puri, Jajpur, and Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha. The purpose was to generate carbon reductions by encouraging rice farmers to switch from the current practice of transplanting with continuous field flooding to Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), which involves controlled and intermittent flooding.

The National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) envisages the mobilisation of urban poor households to form their own institutions into a three-tiered structure with Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at the grassroots level, Area Level Federations (ALFs) at the slum/ward level, and City-Level Federations (CLFs) at the city level.

As a Resource Organisation for Berhampur, Angul, and Cuttack cities in Odisha, we provided time-bound and intensive support for implementation and catalyzed the formation of SHGs, their federations, capacity building of all members, and their aggregators like ALFs and CLFs, as well as the financial inclusion of SHG members under the SM & ID component of NULM. Our team, along with community resource persons, worked at the field level for 24 months towards the formation of SHGs under NULM/SULM. Through adopted innovations, strategies, and timely utilisation of professional services, we successfully achieved 100% of the targets envisaged by NULM.

Tasar rearing is one of the traditional supplementary livelihoods of indigenous communities of inland districts of Odisha. It is a forest-based agro-industrial avocation and a source of livelihood for tribal people living on the edge of the forest. Tasar rearing has special significance owing to its position in providing self-employment and in terms of its socio-cultural, socio-economic, and ethnic importance. Indigenous knowledge, ancestral property, rich culture, and traditions are the major contributing factors for securing the livelihood of the tribal community.

Farm forestry, specifically wild Tasar rearing, seems to be the most appropriate and feasible activity for the economic empowerment of the tribal community. We initiated Disease-Free Laying (DFL) production activities. It has become a continuous programme, and we have emerged as a resource center in the farm forestry sector for the production of DFL. DFL production work was started at the community level with the technical support of the Central Silk Board. It has successfully revitalised the eroded indigenous farm forestry activities of the tribal community. Tasar rearers were imparted training inputs on in-house rearing, brushing, care during transportation, watch and ward, and the application of indigenous knowledge and techniques to drive out wild ants, insects, and birds. Tribal households have been receiving gainful employment opportunities for a minimum of 145 days and earning their livelihood. Tasar rearers are receiving lucrative returns and earn Rs. 5000 to Rs. 6000 every year.