Glossary

A2N – Africa 2000 Network

ACOPAM– Cooperative Support for Grassroots Development

ADB – Asian Development Bank

BPL – Below Poverty Line

CARE - Christian Action Research and Education

CDS – Community Development Society

ADS – Area Development Society

NHG – Neighbourhood Group

DANIDA – Danish International Development Assistance

DfID – Department for International Development (UK)

EDP – Exposure Dialogue Programme

EMPOWER - Ethiopian Management of Participatory Opportunities for Women in Extension and Research

FAO – Food and Agriculture Organisation

FARA - Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

GOT – General Orientation Training

GTZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit

HDI – Human Development Index

IBRD – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

IFAD – International Fund for Agricultural Development

IFPRI – International Food Policy research Institute

MoFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ghana)

NGO – Non-Governmental Organisation

NREG – National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (India)

PIU – Project Implementation Unit

SDC - Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SEWA – Self Employed Women’s Association

SHG – Self Help Group

SPEM (Kerala) State Poverty Eradication Mission

SSA – sub-Saharan Africa

SYB – Start Your Own Business Project

TNWDP - Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Project

UN – United Nations

UNDP – United Nations Development Programme

WARDA - West Africa Rice Development Association

(WARDA) now AfricaRice

WIADP - The Women in Agricultural Development Project

Block level – Administrative district of India. Rural local

government body representing multiple villages. Reports up

to the district level.

District association – The central administrative office within each district covered by SEWA. Work in conjunction

with the SEWA main office to ensure that the needs of the sub districts and villages are being met.

Enterprisegroup – A group of 4-5 self help group members within the Kudumbashree project, which has been set up

specifically to develop an enterprise.

Farmer Field Schools – Group based training for farmers using experiential learning to develop localised knowledge

formation.

Fufu – thick porridge made from yam or cassava, boiled in water and pounded with a mortar and pestle.

Gari - A staple food made from fermented, roasted cassava. Lasts well and can be eaten without further cooking

Mandu – A Gujarati term used to describe a cluster of self help groups in India.

Nutrimix – a baby food primarily made up of groundnut. Widely produced by the self-help groups in India

Panchayat – The name of the local government system within India. The rural system covers the village level (gram

panchayat), clusters of villages (block panchayat) and the district level (district panchayat).

Rudi – The name for SEWA’s agricultural production brand.

Samagra Project – The Kudumbashree project specifically focused on integrating agricultural and enterprise

development.

Susu groups – informal groups for saving and providing revolving credit. Members contribute a set weekly amount,

and members qualify for payments from the group fund, either in turn or at times of crisis.

Training and visit – a widely used top-down agricultural training approach. The approach uses a hierarchical

structure, with agricultural trainers at the bottom who are responsible for disseminating training to different villages and

then conducting visits on an often predetermined time basis to assist in the successful uptake of training information.