Tribal Girls

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Our Communities

Our People:

According to the 2001 Census, more than 49% of Koraput district’s people are tribals, primarily Kandhas, Sauras, Sabras, Bhottada, Bhumiyas, Parajs and Gadabas. 80.1 percent of the population is below the poverty line, with a literacy rate of 36.2 percent.


Our Villages:

SPREAD works in three blocks of Koraput district:

  • Boipariguda
  • Nandapur
  • Lamtaput

Koraput is one of the 69 districts of India identified as being notably disadvantaged regarding poverty, hunger, infant mortality, immunization, literacy, school enrolment and gender disparity. Once covered with dense forest that supported hunting and gathering, in addition to “shifting cultivation” agriculture, mineral-rich Koraput district is undergoing rapid deforestation and incursion by mining interests, hydroelectric dams and other development projects. Climate change has impacted the tribals’ traditional agricultural methods on the uplands, resulting in erosion and decreasing crop yields. Many are obliged to migrate for work during non-agricultural seasons, yet exploitation of labourers undermines this survival strategy as well.


Monsoon is the most critical time. Food stores from last year’s harvest are depleted but crops have not yet matured in the current season. Heavy rainfall contaminates surface water sources causing water-borne disease. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant pools and spread Malaria, which causes thousands of cases and nearly 200 deaths each year in the district, mostly children. Public Health Centres are far from interior villages and transportation is limited so most illness goes untreated.


Winter is the festival season, centred on harvest activities, but nights are cold in Koraput’s hills (1,000 meters) for those without warm bedding and winter clothes. Migrant labourers pack their bags when harvest is over in order to bring in additional resources to tide their families through the year.


Summer is hot and dry. Without irrigation, little can be farmed in this season so food is scarce. Agricultural work is unavailable to the landless at this time, so the poorest men, and sometimes their families, must migrate to the cities to perform construction work where high temperatures and humidity make long days of hard labour in the sun a misery.


Our Partners

We are grateful to our funding partners, CASA, CBR Forum, Concern Worldwide, Child Rights and You and Dan Church Aid for their support as well as their insights, feedback, and evaluations. Their partnership inspires us to put our best efforts forward, constantly strive to increase the quality of our work and reflect upon lessons learned. Without them, we would not be able to create sustainable change toward a more dignified living for our marginalized communities.

Koraput District