Overview

JKASW’s Livelihood Development Program is rooted in the belief that economic empowerment is central to social dignity and community resilience. The program focuses on strengthening rural livelihoods through sustainable, skill-based, and gender-responsive interventions that create inclusive economic opportunities for marginalized groups particularly women and youth.

By combining traditional livelihood practices such as poultry, agriculture, and craft-based enterprises with modern tools like digital record-keeping and financial literacy, the initiative helps rural families transition from subsistence to sustainable income generation.

JKASW adopts a community-centered and gender-sensitive approach, ensuring that women have equitable access to training, assets, and decision-making spaces. The program also works to strengthen local collectives such as self-help groups (SHGs) and producer groups while connecting them to institutional support systems, markets, and government livelihood schemes for long-term impact.

Goal

To enhance the economic resilience, self-reliance, and social empowerment of rural households, especially women and yout,h through sustainable livelihood opportunities and inclusive community development.

Objectives

• Promote sustainable on-farm and off-farm livelihoods tailored to local resources, including poultry, agriculture, horticulture, and small-scale enterprises
• Empower rural women through access to skills, assets, financial inclusion, and leadership opportunities
• Enhance employability and entrepreneurship skills among youth through training, mentorship, and enterprise incubation
• Facilitate access to markets, financial institutions, and value chains to ensure equitable participation and fair returns
• Integrate gender equality and social inclusion principles across all livelihood interventions
• Promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient practices in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Achievements

• Established over 50 women lead rural poultry units, enhancing household income, food security, and women’s economic agency
• Setting up 20 mushroom cultivation units and 13 sheep units
• Trained more than 300 rural women and youth in entrepreneurship, bookkeeping, poultry management, and value-added production
• Facilitated the formation and strengthening of 3 women-led producer groups with active savings, credit, and market linkages
• Supported women’s leadership in local economic planning and community-level decision-making forums
• Promoted climate-smart and sustainable livelihood practices suitable to Kashmir’s agro-ecological conditions.