Organization for Rural Reconstruction & Integrated Social Service Activities - ORRISSA came into being in the year 1987 as an initiative of a group of young social workers who believed strongly that village sovereignty is the answer to the challenges of governance and the well- being of the communities. The communities decide for themselves as to what they produce, what they consume, what values guides them, how they govern themselves etc. As the organization is based in the areas having dominant populations of Kondh and Koya tribes, the preserved and practiced values of these tribes are the guiding principles for ORRISSA’s interventions. ORRISSA founded as a not for profit registered society in 1989. ORRISSA works at different levels to ensure that the tribes have access to and control over the local resources and produce and consume whatever they decide. ORRISSA works towards low external input based sustainable agricultural practices that are rooted in the traditional agriculture. It works towards ensuring food security to combat hunger and furthering women’s rights. Community based intervention is the prime strategy of the ORRISSA team. Participation of all its stakeholders is the principle that endures within the team structure. This understanding enables the group to operate in a decentralized structure. Issue based field teams operate independently to the local needs. Participatory need assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluation tools are in place to maintain a transparent system and keep up the group spirit of perseverance. In its mission of finding out alternatives for the disadvantaged and neglected, the team operates in some of the most interior pockets of the state of Odisha in Malkanagiri, Kondhamal and Khurdha districts. Over last 25 years, ORRISSA team has been successful in issue-based interventions on tribal rights over Food, Health, Land, Water, Forest and Education through People’s Organizations. ORRISSA has gained expertise on PRA & PLA, Action research, strengthening of traditional Adivasi People’s Organization including promotion of women cooperatives, food security, Local resource based Sustainable Agriculture, Disaster Mitigation, Literacy, Forest and Natural Resource Management, Land & Water Management and Advocacy & networking.
