The Deccan Development Society (DDS), is a two-decade old grassroots organisation working in about 75 villages with women's Sanghams (voluntary village level associations of the poor) in Medak District of Andhra Pradesh. The 5000 women members of the Society represent the poorest of the poor in their village communities. Most of them are dalits, the lowest group in the Indian social hierarchy.
Responding to the emerging global challenges, the DDS communities, which had worked towards ensuring their food security over the last 20 years, are now moving into a regime of food sovereignty. DDS works towards green banks, natural resources, green education. In addition, DDS also conducts complain on biodiversity festivals, rallies and workshops.
It has the following objectives
- To consolidate these village groups into vibrant organs of primary local governance and federate them into a strong pressure lobby for women, the poor and dalits.
- The women of the DDS sanghams have worked towards the following autonomies:
o Autonomy over food production
o Autonomy over seeds
o Autonomy over natural resources
o Autonomous market
o Autonomous media
- The Deccan Development society is thereby trying to project a working model for the people oriented participative development in the areas of food security, ecological agriculture, and alternate education.
DDS has provided video and audio technologies as a means of expression for the disadvantaged rural women and equipped a group of over fifteen women with the skills to handle this media. Among other innovative practices, DDS has also carried out research on non pesticidal management, soil fertility, organic farming etc.
DDS also regularly publishes its work as part of documentation for raising awareness. A couple of recent examples of their publications are:
Agrobiodiversity Heritage Site of Zaheerabad, Medak District, Andhra Pradesh
Agrobiodiversity Heritage Site of Zaheerabad, Medak District, Andhra Pradesh