Akshara

Akshara sees itself as a leading contributor in accelerating the pace of professionalism in the development (livelihoods) sector. Akshara's mission is to Promote, Support and Sustain availability of cost-effective and reliable quality development (livelihoods) support, including development (livelihoods) of human resources.

Akshara was born on the 2nd of October 1998 when five development colleagues (Muralidhar, Prakash, Narsi Reddy, Ashok and Dayakar) got together and signed the articles.

Registered on: 17^th march 1999

More than 100 partners, clients and collaborators [CBOs, NGOs, Networks, Government Projects, LSOs] and a field station at Bhoodan Pochampally provide the platform for praxis. A collective (producers’ company or MACS) is being facilitated in Bhoodan Pochampally. We are now gearing up for an independent unit (a trust/foundation) for field activities.

Akshara itself is transforming to be a true network of these independent units, LSOs and the partners. With mentoring as its main activity, Livelihoods Life Workers and Volunteer Mentors drive the network and the units become autonomous and take over its various other activities fully.

Akshara views the associates as entrepreneurs even within the network. Many alumni of Akshara have taken the entrepreneurial path and are serving the purpose of Akshara in their own ways. Akshara acknowledges their contribution as alumni and feels proud.

Akshara has been shy of soliciting grants so far, and therefore depending mainly on the revenue from its services for fee for taking up its proactive but diverse initiatives to meet the felt needs of the poor, their organizations and the individuals and organizations working for them. The achievements of Akshara, have been modest, nevertheless significant. One needs to reckon with Akshara’s approach of earning and spending, and large quality volunteer time, rather than the way of grants. Akshara’s turnovers were modest but its core associates’ volunteer time was significant – for example in 2006-7, the turnover was Rs.3.5 million as against the volunteer time of core associates was 1000 person-days of Rs.5 million in value.

Akshara pioneered a New Livelihoods Thinking and a more comprehensive Livelihoods Framework; evolved competency-based selection process for project staff; the celebrated and rigorous induction into development/livelihoods; developed and tested unique long-term programs in livelihoods management; offered short-term livelihoods learning programs (including foundation) to development professionals; supported Livelihoods Support Organizations to emerge; and has taken up felt-need-based initiatives and facilitated them to be independent.

With an outreach of more than 20 million poor families, with more than 10000 individuals inducted into livelihoods thought and practice, working with more than 100 organizations (CBOs, PRIs, Support Organizations at state and national levels) in 12 states, Akshara and its associates have supported project design of 10 large multi-lateral/bi-lateral poverty reduction/livelihoods projects of State Governments, with a total outlay exceeding Rs.10000 crore; supported visioning of 25 organizations; provided long-term support to 10 LSOs and 50 partners; acquired in-depth insights into 25 value-chains and subsectors.

Collectively, Akshara acquired expertise spanning eco-fragile, marginalized, tribal, rural and urban areas, in a variety of livelihoods enhancement processes including micro-finance and micro-enterprise promotion, collectives, visioning, planning, projects (design, management, monitoring and learning) and learning processes/programs.

Akshara has been through a yearlong Social Impact Development Program for scaling-up and a robust comprehensive scaling-up plan for Akshara is now being taken forward. We have begun the practice of Let Go in Akshara.

Activity focus

Training, Consulting and Action Initiatives towards:

building the professional skills and capacities of the development workers and organisations;
developing the professional tool kits/products for use of development workers and organisations;
extending affordable professional support to development organisations and other stake holders;
offering independent professional opinion on development programs/processes and organisations;
building replicable models of development/development processes; and
taking up programs that are important but not being addressed adequately at present.