SURADA (GANJAM)  
     
  Harsha Trust has been working with the poor communities of Surada block of Ganjam district since October 2003. The intervention in this area was initiated with a detailed participatory need assessment in 10 villages with support from Lutheran World Relief (LWR). The assessment indicated problems associated with undulating topography, poor soil quality, lack of irrigation infrastructure, low/sub-optimal utilization of land and water resources, primitive agricultural practices, shifting cultivation, poor health seeking behaviour, distress migration and very poor literacy rate. Based on the study, LWR agreed to provide support for a long term project on livelihood enhancement of the poor communities, specifically the Saura tribe, through natural resource management.