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Seven Sisters

Development

Assistance (SeSTA)

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Use of women-friendly weeding tool

   

that give

much higher yields. Solar lamps to replace

expensive kerosene lights in a remote tribal

hamlet. Starter loans for one woman’s duck

farm. orcing authorities to fix a bad road

by exerting the power of the collective.

Empowering women to facilitate peace

in ethnic conflicts. ese are some of the

extraordinary achievements of Seven Sisters

Development Assistance (SeSTA), which

works in the eight states of the Northeast.

‘SeSTA works with rural women through

community-based collectives. is involves

creating collectives at different tiers at the

village level and the block level, with clear

roles and responsibilities. e different

actors at each of the tiers are also clearly

delineated. It is through these strong

women’s collectives at the grassroots

level that SeSTA works on sustainable

agriculture, clean energy, Natural Resources

Management, improved livestock, promoting

micro-enterprises as well as entitlements

while keeping the agenda of gender justice

as the core,’ explains Pradyut Bhattacharjee,

Executive Director, SeSTA.

Founded by Aswini Bhattacharjee

and Parag Barua in 2011

Seven Sisters Development

Assistance (SeSTA) envisages a

vibrant, democratic and developed

society that is harmonious and

peaceful, and where every individual

is empowered and lives a dignified

life. It strives to alleviate mass

poverty through sustainable

development of the marginalized

communities in the north-east of

India. SeSTA’s work has impacted

nearly 60,000 rural women across

20 districts of the Northeast.

The organization has won the

World Bank’s India Development

Marketplace Award, Chief Minister’s

Best Action Award for Community

Development as well as the

prestigious Polestar Award in the

Social Impact (livelihoods) category.