PERCEPTION OF DEVELOPMENT:
Sevashram’s concept of development is based on the belief that every form of life created by God has a birthright to have a share in the riches of the universe. This belief is the very foundation of what has, of late, come to be known as eco-spirituality. It is the expression of dharma. The literal meaning of dharma is ‘to uphold’ or ‘hold together’. All the creation in the world is to be held together as one family ___ vasudaiva kudumbakam (the whole world is a family). The universe is home to plants and trees, and birds and beasts, besides human beings. All of them are to live together in harmony, each contributing his/her/its share towards the well–being of the others.
All creatures, not only humans, are 'share-and-stake' holders of the universe. Hence, development has to be eco-friendly and value-based. Sarvodaya and sarva dharma samabhavana are the foundations of cosmic and religious amity. The disabled, weak, marginalised and exploited sectors and sections deserve special care and protection.
Sevashram has been playing its role with the above guidelines of participatory development and operates as a catalyst and a collaborator in people's development. It does not act as a paternal 'provider of charity', calling to mind Julius Nyerere's words: "…human dignity cannot be given to a man by the kindness of others. Indeed, it can be destroyed by kindness which emanates from an action of charity, for human dignity involves equality and freedom and relations of mutual respect".
Ordinary membership of Sevashram is reserved to those willing to live together considering Sevashram their permanent residence, observing the rules and regulations of the ashram. The Bye-laws of Sevashram provides an opportunity to the Archbishop of Ernakulam to intervene at a time when the founder president is unable to continue in office either due to death, or because of mental or physical inability. The society, in that event, has to find a new president. Then, the executive committee, should shortlist people and submit a panel of three names to the Archbishop. The Archbishop will, then, choose one from among them who is capable and competent to shoulder the responsibility of the President.
SWADHYAYA SANGAMS:
Several of Sevashram’s activities for people’s development are carried out through grassroots level women’s self-help groups called swadhyaya sangams. In fact, the role of Sevashram is to facilitate the process of people helping themselves to have a holistic life. Each sangam has 20 members on an average. All of them are women from families in the neighbourhood. They belong to the economically and socially backward strata of the society. The swadhyaya sangams are encouraged to promote cultural and social activities as well. The members function like a closely-knit family unit. Whenever there is a tragedy in a family such as death, they assemble to help the needy. They also make donations for weddings in the families of the members. A strong humanitarian bond is cultivated through constant interaction among the sangam members and facilitated by the ashram through volunteers.
Sevashram believes in generating funds for community development from the community itself. It is with this principle that it has initiated the self-help scheme of savings and credit. The members of the swadhyaya sangams get together once a week in places convenient to them and mobilise savings ranging from Rs.5 to Rs.30 from each member. The accounts of the savings are maintained carefully and in a transparent manner, and are placed before the group in the weekly meeting. After a period of six months of saving, a member is eligible to get loans from the accumulated funds. This is known as internal credit. A member can get a loan of double the amount that she deposits. After a period of another six months, a sangam becomes eligible for accessing bank loans wherein Sevashram stands as a guarantor to the bank. The sangams advance these loan amounts also to their members in accordance with the norms agreed upon for accessing internal credit.
Besides running an alternate savings and credit system, which is both sustainable and manageable, the sangams encourage their members to engage themselves in self-employment activities like running micro milk collection and distribution centres, homestead production units of vermi compost, and distribution of home appliances and consumer goods. They become both contributors to and beneficiaries of the marriage and funeral funds that are run as centrally sponsored and administered welfare. The sangam members also participate actively in the talent promotion competitions such as unniyarangu, kumarolsavam and prathibha poshini for the age groups of 3-12 years, over 12 years up to marriageable age and above marriageable age, respectively
SWASRAYAGRAMS AND INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES:
Several income generating activities, using coconut as the raw material, are introduced in order to realise the objective of the swasrayagrams. They include coconut husk defibring, pith processing, production of coir using motorised traditional device (ratts), weaving of geo-textiles, production of natural coconut oil which is 100 per cent free from carbon and sulphur, making areca spathe plates and containers, and paper carry bags, production of coconut shell charcoal, and preparation of ready-to-eat convenient food items from coconut, cocoa, jack fruit etc. Coconuts are collected by the members of the swasrayagrams giving the best prices to the growers and converted into copra with coconut dryers. Coconut is dried with the use of hot air from a blower so that copra is free from the effects of smoke and carbon. Coconut oil is extracted using an expeller. The whole process involved in the production of coconut oil ensures that it is free from all adulterants.