Samaj Pragati Sahayog is an NGO which is 80kms from Dewas& same distance from Indore.

Samaj Pragati Sahayog is a non-political, non-religious, grass-roots people`s organisation committed to evolving an alrernative path of development in India based on the principles of people`s empowerment, equity and sustainability. ICA`s support was for the Baba Amte Centre for People`s Empowerment. The benficiaries of this project, were people and organisations involved in watershed development programmes in their own area. These include NGO officers, Village Watershed Committee members, government officials` panchayat members etc.The Centre has been recogonised by the Government of India as one of 6 Support Voluntary Organisations [SVOs] to provide these target groups with the necessary technical and institutional support. The Centre is located in the middle of 2 watersheds where model work has been carried out in field conditions which typify the most difficult circumstances to be encountered in the backward areas of the country.



For the last ten years SPS has carried out a large number of projects in the remote, tribal drylands of India, focusing on the 90 village tribal enclave in the Dewas District of Madhya Pradesh. Their work has primarily centered around watershed development, but also embraces interventions in the allied areas of repair and maintenance of hand-pumps for drinking water, sustainable agriculture, forestry, land rights, low-cost housing, women`s empowerment, health care, sanitation and renewable energy.



Objectives & Accomplishments

SPS aims to build capacities of NGOs around their neighbouring districts and states, so that they can empower the people in their project villages. SPS has won the Young Men`s Gandhian Association`s prestigious Manav Sewa Puraskar award for 2000; Doordarshan featured their `Earth Matters`, a 30 minute film on one of their successful watershed projects which highlighted the fact that watersheds treated by SPS actually saw a rise in the water table even in a year of severe drought.

Secretary- Dr. Mihir Shah

Directer- Dr. Devashih Banerji