“Alone, my paddy sold for whatever the trader offered. Through our producer organization, forty of us negotiate together — last season our price rose by nearly half.”
Pradeep Behera
Jagatsinghpur, Odisha
Est. 2017 · Odisha, India
Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives
Building sustainable livelihoods, empowering women, strengthening farmers, improving health, and creating resilient communities across Odisha.
Who We Are
Rooted in Odisha. Growing with its people.
The Centre for Development Action and Research (CDAR) is a grassroots, non-profit development organisation founded in 2017 in Odisha, India. We work shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers, women's collectives, fishing communities and tribal households — combining field action with research so that every intervention is evidence-led and community-owned.
From incubating Farmer Producer Organizations to running health camps in the last-mile villages of nine districts, our approach is simple: listen first, build local institutions, and stay until change can sustain itself.
Community First
People lead; we facilitate. Every program begins and ends with the community.
Integrity
Transparent funds, honest reporting, and accountability to the people we serve.
Sustainability
Solutions that outlive projects — ecological, financial and institutional.
Evidence & Innovation
Field research and new ideas shape what we do and how we improve.
Our Vision
A self-reliant rural Odisha where every community has the institutions, income and dignity to shape its own future.
Our Mission
To strengthen community institutions, diversify livelihoods, and improve health and nutrition outcomes through participatory action, applied research and lasting partnerships.
Since 2017
Our Growth Journey
From a small field team in 2017 to a movement across nine districts.
- 2017
The seed is planted
CDAR is founded in Odisha with a small team and a big belief: development must be designed with communities, not for them.
- 2018
First livelihood pilots
Grassroots livelihood and farm-support programs begin in coastal villages, reaching our first few hundred households.
- 2019
Women take the lead
Self-Help Group strengthening and financial literacy programs put women's collectives at the centre of our work.
- 2020
Standing with communities
Through the pandemic, CDAR pivots to relief, community health awareness and protecting fragile rural incomes.
- 2021
FPO incubation at scale
Farmer Producer Organization promotion and incubation expands with institutional support, formalising farmer collectives.
- 2022
New blue horizons
Fisheries and aquaculture programs open a new vertical for coastal and inland pond-based livelihoods.
- 2023
Nine districts strong
Operations grow across nine districts of Odisha — from Jagatsinghpur on the coast to Sambalpur in the west.
- Today
A growing movement
Health, WASH, tribal development and animal welfare round out an integrated model for resilient communities.
What We Do
Programs that grow from the ground up
Eight interconnected program areas — each one designed with communities, backed by research, and built to last.
FPOs
Farmer Producer Organizations
Incubating and strengthening farmer collectives — from mobilisation and registration to governance, agri-inputs and market linkages.
Learn moreLivelihoods
Livelihood Development
Diversified rural incomes through skill development, micro-enterprise promotion and value-chain interventions.
Learn moreWomen
Women Empowerment
SHG strengthening, financial literacy and enterprise support that put women at the centre of rural growth.
Learn moreHealth
Health & Nutrition
Community health camps, maternal and child nutrition support, and last-mile health awareness programs.
Learn moreWater & Sanitation
WASH
Safe drinking water, sanitation infrastructure and hygiene behaviour change in schools and villages.
Learn moreFisheries
Fisheries & Aquaculture
Scientific pond management, fish-farmer training and aquaculture value chains for coastal and inland communities.
Learn moreTribal
Tribal Development
Culturally rooted development — forest-based livelihoods, education access and entitlement facilitation for tribal households.
Learn moreAnimals
Animal Welfare
Livestock health camps, vaccination drives and humane animal-care awareness across rural Odisha.
Learn moreOur Impact
Change you can count. Stories you can feel.
Behind every number is a family, a field, and a future that looks different because a community decided it should.
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Villages Reached
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Farmers Supported
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Women Empowered
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FPOs Strengthened
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Health Camps Conducted
“Every number is a doorstep we have stood at, a meeting under a tree, a harvest that came home.”
Stylised map of Odisha, for illustration.
Where We Work
Nine districts. One Odisha.
From the coastal floodplains of Jagatsinghpur to the forests of Deogarh, CDAR works where the need is greatest — building local institutions district by district.
9
Districts of operation
1
Shared goal: resilient Odisha
Success Stories
The people behind the progress
Real change is personal. Meet the farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders who turned support into transformation.
Collective sale price up ~45%
Partners & Supporters
Stronger together
We collaborate with institutions that share our belief in community-led change.
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
Farmer Producer Companies
Community Institutions
NGOs
Civil Society Network
Government Agencies
State & District Administration
CSR Partners
Corporate Social Responsibility
NABARD
Apex Development Bank
Gallery
Field notes, in pictures
Moments from villages, ponds, farms and meeting grounds across Odisha.
Annual Reports
Accountability, in writing
Our work, audited and documented. Download any report below.
Contact
Let's build resilient communities, together
Whether you are a donor, CSR team, government agency or fellow traveller — we would love to hear from you.
Phone
+91 94370 00000Office
Centre for Development Action and Research, Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Odisha 751001, India
Support our work
Your contribution funds seeds, training, health camps and the quiet, patient work of building community institutions. Reach out for donation and CSR partnership details.
Write to us about donating