“Real change happens when a village leads its own development.”
When we began this journey in Chikhali in 2010, our starting point was simple: rural families in Satara did not need to be told what they needed — they needed a partner willing to listen, stay, and build alongside them. Fifteen years later, that remains true.
I have spent over 25 years in the field of rural development, and if there is one lesson that has stayed with me, it is this — sustainable change is never handed down, it is grown from within a community's own institutions: its Gram Panchayats, its women's groups, its youth. Our role at Annapurna is to bring resources, technical knowledge and a rights-based approach to that process, not to replace it.
Today, as we work across Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana on water security, women's empowerment, livelihoods and health, I remain grateful to our committee, our field staff, our government and institutional partners, and above all, the communities who have trusted us to walk alongside them. There is a great deal of work still ahead, and I invite you — as a donor, volunteer, or partner — to be part of it.
Pramod Vishnu Sawant
Founder & President, Annapurna Sewabhavi Sanstha