Odisha inks MoU for sustainable livelihood of tribals

The Odisha government on Friday signed an agreement with the Asian Heritage Foundation (AHF) to initiate a project aimed at creating employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities for the unemployed and other marginalised sections of tribal communities.

The state's handloom, textiles and handicrafts department and the Asian Heritage Foundation, a Delhi-based organisation, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project which is aimed at creating employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities for reducing poverty amongst the unemployed people and other marginalised communities.

Observing that the project would be implemented in Mayurbhanj and Koraput districts for a three-year period from 2015 to 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said: "It will cover 1,600 vulnerable tribal artisan families, of which 70 percent will be women, and seek to improve their skill, earning capacity and number of days of employment."

The project would be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs.2.72 crore.

He said the project would involve Primary Weavers Cooperative Societies, Primary Handicraft Cooperative and self-help groups in the process.

It would set up clusters, conduct skill development workshops and train youth entrepreneurs to operate mobile kiosks while the government would provide all necessary support for the success of the project, said the chief minister.

The project "Creating Inclusive Business Models for Marginalized Tribal Communities" is being implemented in the three tribal dominated states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh under a four-year World Bank and Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) -supported programme, said a release from the Chief Minister's Office.

The Asian Heritage Foundation is implementing the project.

Earlier, the organisation successfully implemented similar projects for the rural poor in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.