Strategy & Methodology
We consistently integrate innovative sustainable solutions to local development challenges through a participatory approach which addresses the root causes of poverty.
Our focus on innovation in the development sector has enabled communities to multiply the quantity and drastically improve the quality of sea salt produced, to harvest moringa oil and powder out of the trees we grow, to conserve valuable water sources and distribute them for irrigation and drinking using renewables and blockchain management. Innovation for us means not only using the latest cutting edge methodologies, but also building community fiber and solidarity, leadership and initiative.
P.R. Sakar
AMURT Founder
Our core strategic approach for reaching rural self-reliance is inspired by the work of P.R. Sakar who in 1959 founded PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory), promoting a model of balanced socio economic development which advocates the formation of decentralized and self-reliant economic micro-regions. This community-based economy is built upon the principles of local economic governance, social entrepreneurship, limits on the accumulation of wealth, rational utilization of all resources, and ensuring that all basic necessities of life are provided to everyone. These principles are reflected in all of our development initiatives, from the women’s Self Help Groups, to the salt production cooperatives and moringa transformation and watershed protection models.
Our Self-Help methodology supports the formation and capacity building of self-sufficient microcredit and leadership groups of women from isolated rural communities. The members not only gain financial independence through the self-generated loans which help start businesses, but also gain self-determination and collective lobbying power through their elected representatives who form higher level Associations and a Federation. These grassroots structures have a proven record of improved socio-economic balance and wellness, reduced gender-based violence and other conflicts, and increased resilience at times of duress.
Another aspect of Sarkar’s philosophy which is heavily reflected in our Lekol Vivan (or Vibrant School) approach is the value system of Neohumanism, emphasizing an ever-increasing circle of love in action. In Sarkar’s Liberation of intellect, “All molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, positrons and neutrons are the veritable expressions of pure consciousness. Those who remember this reality, who keep this realization ever alive in their hearts, are said to have attained perfection in life … When the underlying spirit of humanism is extended to everything, animate and inanimate, in this universe, it will elevate humanism to universalism, the cult of love for all created beings of this universe”.
We are committed to our values of keeping administrative costs to under 10% of the total budget, so that funding goes to where it is intended and most needed.
Additionally, we know that the end of big-donor money is most often accompanied by a fizzling of the project activities, leaving the local communities without adequate preparation for long-term sustainability and self-reliance.
With decades of experience working with our trusted local partners such as DESPRI long after funding ends, we personally maintain open and consistent communication with you in the long-run so that we measure and evaluate impact and outcomes long after the funding ends.