ABSTRACT
This chapter draws out lessons for policy-makers based on several years of involvement of a development organisation, Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), in earthquake-hit areas in Maharashtra, India. It presents the scaled-up approach SSP adopted in Maharashtra and shows that it was replicable in other disaster-affected areas. The aim is to enable women to gain access to groups/networks along with scaling up micro-credit for sustainable livelihoods to gain control over health and basic services and to effectively participate in decision-making processes and local governance structures. In 1990, under the aegis of the Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), SSP evolved as a separate informal network of community-based organisations in rural Maharashtra to facilitate group-centred learning approaches on women and economic empowerment. In physical terms, at the end of the Maharashtra EQ project, thousands of house owners completed the work of repair and strengthening (R&S) their houses using earthquake-resistant techniques.
