The project aims at supplementing the existing income of the resource poor through optimal utilization of available natural resources (Apricot) in a sustainable and environment friendly manner.

The main component of the project is value addition of horticulture products and assisting the women groups in additional income generation activities in the geographically remote regions within the Ladakh region.

Year: 2008-2010

Total Budget: 40.91 Lakhs (INR)

Funding Agency: Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Mumbai

Aims and Objectives:

• Facilitating shift from traditional subsistence agriculture to cash income based farming system.
• Improve access to market through coordination.
• To lessen the number of intermediaries between producers and consumers.
• To serve the society as a whole without degrading the ecological environment.
• Improve market oriented non-farm and agro processing activities\ strategies for underutilized agricultural produce.
• To empower the producers by the end of the project year to be self sufficient in marketing and processing activities.

Activities completed under the programme:

Women groups were identified and given trainings in food processing technologies ie apricot jam and pulp making, at Lehdo (Khalsi block) and Udmaru (Nubra block). Sheds were constructed for the groups where they could carry out their activities viz value addition of apricot. They were assisted in finding appropriate markets for their produce. The intervention immensely benefitted the SHGs in gaining self-reliant status