Unnayan, etymologically meaning ‘development? was founded in the late 80’s by an enthusiastic group of youth who shared a vision of a prejudice-free, vibrant, self-reliant and value-based society; a society free from the web of poverty and hunger. It was formally registered in the year 1990 and since then has been operating among the marginalized rural and tribal communities.

We believe in an integrated, participatory and process- oriented approach to development. Enabling the community with an approach of helping for self- help forms the core of our work. We work in the fields of Institution Building, Access and Control over resources, entitlement to services, acquiring, adoption and integration of traditional knowledge and new technologies. We believe that building capacities of peoples?skills and independent critical thinking can lead to self- reliance among the poor. While we adopt a holistic approach to development, we keep our programmes focused on the most marginalized communities in society—adivasi communities, dalit communities and women.

Vision

A strong, vibrant, cohesive, and progressive society founded on egalitarian and democratic principles, ecologically sound management techniques, mutual cooperation; where every individual reaches her/his full potential and informed choice is a matter of right.