Pioneer of Empowering Grassroots Women as Leaders for Community Resilience and Sustainable Development

Our Inspiration and Icon

Late Ms. Prema Gopalan

Founder - Swayam Shikshan Prayog (1998 - 2022)

About Prema

“Ordinary women can trigger extraordinary changes. My vision is to create an ecosystem that empowers women at grassroot enabling to move from margin to mainstream, transforming not only their lives but their community, their villages and society โ€“ for the betterโ€

ย 

– Prema Gopalan.

Ms. Prema Gopalan established Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) in 1998. She was a firm believer in the power of women to shift boundaries and mindsets.

Little did she know, she was setting in motion a movement that would spread across India. A movement that is inspiring rural women to step out of their homes, shrug off archaic notions of self, & carve new identities as entrepreneurs, farmers, & community leaders.

โ€˜Sakhisโ€™ as she lovingly called these women, are impacting every facet of their society today. With a strong vision of a developed community, they are battling issues of agriculture, water, health, nutrition, & civic leadership, to create thriving models of development.

Premaโ€™s intrinsic belief in women’s leadership garnered worldwide interest & acknowledgment. In a glittering career spanning three decades, she received several national & international awards. She was the recipient of the 2021 Women Transforming India Award, NITI Aayogโ€™s flagship initiative.

Prema leaves behind an immense legacy. She also leaves behind women leaders who embody her work, her values, & her spirit.

Remembering

Late Mr. Nadarajan V.C.

Trustee - Swayam Shikshan Prayog (2003 - 2024)

Late Mr. Nadarajan V.C. was a dedicated management consultant and a guiding force in the fields of rural finance, livelihoods, and enterprise since 1992. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and TNAU Coimbatore, he brought together deep academic insight and on-ground experience to his work.

Early in his career, he served as an officer with Indian Overseas Bank and as a development professional with PRADAN, New Delhi. Also he was the Board Member of the Covenant Centre for Development (CCD), Tamil Nadu, which is committed to build community institutions around traditional wisdom to empower the poor and vulnerable communities for sustainable development.

He was a valued Board Member of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), where his wisdom and strategic thinking left a lasting impact. His loss is deeply felt, and his contributions will continue to inspire us.

He was a dedicated management consultant & a guiding force in the fields of rural finance, livelihoods, & enterprise since 1992. An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad & TNAU Coimbatore, he brought together deep academic insight & on-ground experience to his work.

Early in his career, he served as an officer with Indian Overseas Bank and as a development professional with PRADAN, New Delhi. Also he was the Board Member of the Covenant Centre for Development (CCD), Tamil Nadu, which is committed to build community institutions around traditional wisdom to empower the poor & vulnerable communities for sustainable development. Over the years, he became a trusted advisor to national & international development organizations as well as grassroots NGOs, offering his expertise in project & program management focused on rural transformation.

He was a valued Board Member of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), where his wisdom & strategic thinking left a lasting impact. His loss is deeply felt, & his contributions will continue to inspire us.

Late Mr. Nadarajan V.C.

What We Do

Our Key Sectors

Women-Led Climate Resilient Farming

Repositioning women as farmers & decision-makersโ€”not just labourers.

Womenโ€™s Entrepreneurship

Enabling grassroots women to set up women-led business enterprises.

Health, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Women driving change through better WASH practices & nutrition awareness.

Clean Energy & Environment

Women driving awareness, equitable, clean energy consumption choices.

Our Initiatives

FPOs

Enabling grassroots women to produce, sell organic products as food security products.

Women Leadership

Enabling grassroots women to get involved in developmental journey with womenโ€™s networks.

Collaborations

Access to Finance, Markets, Technology, with Government & Private Sector.

Holistic Development

Developing self-reliant rural communities by integrating, women empowerment, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilient agriculture & others.

Awards & Recognition

Key Awards Received By SSP

Community Excellence / Saksham Samudaya Award

2024 : Community Excellence / Saksham Samudaya Award from the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM) recognizes outstanding contributions towards community empowerment and development.

Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)โ€™s

2022 : Global Center on Adaptation (GCA)โ€™s Local Adaptation Champions Awards 2022 at COP27. SSP is one of the four organisations recognised for their work in leading climate change adaptation for vulnerable local communities.

NITI Aayogโ€™s Women Transforming India Award

2021 : NITI Aayogโ€™s Women Transforming India Award

Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Award

2018 : Social Entrepreneur of the Year India Award, awarded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation (WEF)

UNDP Equator Prize

2017 : Winner of the Equator Prize declared by the UNDP from 806 nominations from 120 countries for its women led climate resilient agro-ecological farming model

UNFCCC Momentum Award

2016 : Winner of the UNFCCC Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award, for empowering grassroots women to emerge as clean energy entrepreneurs and climate change leaders

Awards Received by Grassroots Women Leaders

2024

Global Local Adaptation (CGA)โ€™s
โ€œLocal
Adaptation Award for
Capacity & Knowledge
(for the
Women Led Climate Resilient

Farming Model)โ€ at COP27

Awards Received by Grassroots Women Leaders

Sadhana Deshmukh, a leader and an entrepreneur from the Latur district, was awarded as the 1st runner up in the Micro Enterprise category with Rs 50,000 cash award by SATYA Micro Capital’s Fourth Edition of Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards 2024.
2024

Global Local Adaptation (CGA)โ€™s
โ€œLocal
Adaptation Award for
Capacity & Knowledge
(for the
Women Led Climate Resilient

Farming Model)โ€ at COP27

Prestigious Manikarnika Award
2024
The FPO leader, Anjali Bhagwat Masalkar, has been honored with the prestigious Manikarnika Award 2024, recognizing her remarkable journey as a woman entrepreneur. The award ceremony was held on November 19, 2024, at the Yashwantrao Chavan Center, Mumbai.
2024
Global Local Adaptation (CGA)โ€™s
โ€œLocal Adaptation Award for
Capacity & Knowledge (for the
Women Led Climate Resilient
Farming Model)โ€ at COP27
โ€œBeyond the Fence National Award for Excellence in Water Managementโ€
SSPโ€™s Marathwada District Transformation Model, working in 6 Blocks and 406 villages in drought-prone Dharashiv district has been awarded the โ€œBeyond the Fence National Award for Excellence in Water Managementโ€ by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Impact

Women Taking The Leads

0

Grassroots Women

0

Outreach

0

States

0

Villages

0

Districts

Grassroots Women
0
Outreach
0
Women Leaders
0 +
Blocks
0
Villages
0
Districts
0
States
0

Latest News & Events

SSP has been awarded with the prestigious โ€˜Saksham Samudayaโ€™ Award

SSP and IDBI Join Hands to Support Wayanad Landslide Victims

Visit by Heike Roschanski, India Desk Officer, Misereor on 18th November 2024, to Kumbhari village, Solapur District, Maharashtra

We Align

Stories of Change

Our Women Leaders

๐‡๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ž-๐‘๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ Reshma Badnale lives in Rampur village, Kamalnagar block of Bidar district, Karnataka. She is part of a โ€ฆ

๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐‹๐š๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐๐ž๐ซ Nandini Dharane lives in Khatgoan village of Bidar district, Karnataka, where women have always worked on โ€ฆ

๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐”๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐„๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ: ๐€๐ฌ๐ก๐š ๐Š๐ฎ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ขโ€™๐ฌ ๐‰๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ž๐ฒ Asha Kumari hails from Mai village in Nalanda district, Bihar. She comes from a landless โ€ฆ

Our Videos

Helping Communities

The organisation is committed to promote sustainable community development by
repositioning women as change makers and fostering collective leadership.

KNOW WHATโ€™S
LATEST

EXPLORE OUR RESOURCES

GET TO KNOW US BETTER