Agricultural Development & Training Society
 | |
| Founded | 14 December 1977 |
|---|---|
| Type | Rural development academy |
| Focus | Empowerment of Rural Poor |
Area served | 5 taluks of Chickballapur district, Karnataka, in South India |
| Website | www.adats.com |
ADATS (Kannada: ಆದತ್ಸ್) is a secular Non Government Organisation (NGO) working in 1,125 villages in 5 Taluks of Chickballapur District, Karnataka, for the past 34 years, since 14 December 1977.
ADATS is a comprehensive rural development organization working in the fields of Community Organization, Adult Literacy, Children's Education, Community & Referral Health, support to issues and struggles with Legal Aid & Aid Distress, Dry Land Development, Agriculture, alternate Credit, Women's Programmes, etc. We also work on issues of gender justice, secularism and democratization.
All these are efforts to empower the Coolie caste-class in village society, and build an authentic people's organization, the Coolie Sangha, at the Village, Gram Panchayat and Taluk levels.
The Coolie Sangha is a membership based people's organisation composed of small and poor peasant families who struggle to rid themselves of Ryot exploitation and take control of their own lives in order to undertake grassroots planned development activities.
Main activities
ADATS is a comprehensive rural development organisation working in the fields of community organisation, adult literacy, children's education, community and referral health, support to issues and struggles with Legal Aid & Aid Distress, Dry Land Development, Agriculture, alternate Credit, Women's Programmes, etc. It also work on issues of gender justice, secularism and democratisation.
All these are efforts to empower the Coolie caste-class in village society, and build an authentic people's organisation, the Coolie Sangha, at the Village, Cluster and Taluk levels.
Coolie Sangha
The Coolie Sangha is a membership based people’s organization composed of small and poor peasant families who struggle to rid themselves of Ryot exploitation and take control of their own lives in order to undertake grassroots planned development activities.
The Coolie Sangha is a 25-year-old membership based people's organization formed by small and poor peasant families (landed and landless agricultural laborers) in their respective villages. Small and poor peasant families do not become a part of it merely by virtue of their caste-class. Every year, they have to renew their membership by declaring their annual income a paying a percentage of it to their respective village Coolie Sangha Unit.
- Currently, 11,639 small and poor peasant families are active Members in 461 functioning village Coolie Sangha Units.
- In addition, there are another 11,348 families in non-Coolie Sangha villages who benefit the Climate Change programmes of ADATS, but are strictly not members of the Coolie Sangha
- 28,116 families from the functioning villages as well as 441 dropped out villages are dormant this year.
Within villages with functioning Coolie Sangha Units, population coverage is 23%. Overall population coverage in functioning and dropped villages is 23%. Both figures contribute to a socio-political presence of 30% of the Chickballapur district.