School for Sustainable Living & Livelihood

The School for Sustainable Living and Livelihoods (SSLL) is WOTR’s response to the growing unemployment in rural areas. There is a serious mismatch between the skill sets of rural youth, hence the near non-employability of most of them in industry and the formal sector.

Simultaneously, adaptation to climate change is no longer a long term response option only to be used as a last resort. For rural communities that are already vulnerable to existing climatic hazards, it is already an urgent imperative. While climate change is not the only threat to natural resources and livelihoods, climate-induced changes to resource flows will affect the viability of rural livelihoods unless effective measures are taken to protect and diversify them through adaptation and other strategies.

Hence, to address this urgent and relevant need for the rural communities to rapidly build capacities to adapt to impending shocks of climate change, the SSLL has developed a robust pedagogy that is both theoretical and practice-oriented and that meets the rural requirements. The training is holistic, addresses skill development, personal growth and inner self integration, and is oriented towards practice and achieving results and outcomes. The students gain a systemic understanding of climate change and prepare their communities to adapt to the same by managing and promoting local resources and building their capacities. Currently the SSLL offers the following courses: (a) Eco community organisers (ECO); (b) Rural Chroniclers; (c) Women Health Promoters and; (d) The School Strengthening Program (for anganwadi workers and primary school teachers).