Adult literacy activity across Rayagada, with volunteer teachers and local-language learning materials.
Explore the programme ↗A community-rooted organisation in Odisha
Protect nature.
Strengthen communities.
Build a fairer future.
The Centre for Action Research (CAR) brings people together to protect rivers, forests and common resources—and to advance the rights, skills and livelihoods of communities whose lives depend on them.
✳Since 2016Collective action for ecology, equality and dignity
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, SHARED ACTIONChange grows when communities lead.
ODISHA · INDIA
A record of action
Selected activity highlights reported for 2023–2026.
14major programmes, visits, conventions and advocacy events
6+districts engaged across Odisha and beyond
20Rayagada villages reached through adult literacy
800+PVTG families supported across reported outreach
Why CAR exists
Healthy ecosystems.
Dignified lives.
For communities connected to rivers, forests and land, environmental protection is also a question of livelihoods, health, identity and rights.
CAR works at that intersection. We listen to community knowledge, create spaces for collective action, strengthen access to information and public systems, and connect local concerns with research, advocacy and institutional collaboration.
Get to know CAR →Where we work
Six connected pathways to lasting change.
Our programmes connect environmental stewardship with the practical conditions people need to live safely, learn, earn and participate in decisions that affect them.
01 / ECOLOGY
Rivers, forests & climate resilience
River protection, natural-resource stewardship, seed-ball regeneration, water conservation and community awareness.
Explore theme ↗02 / LIVELIHOODS
Sustainable livelihoods
Community seed and grain banks, agriculture and horticulture support, skills and women’s economic participation.
Explore theme ↗03 / LEARNING
Education & adult literacy
Learning support, adult and functional literacy, digital awareness, youth skills and community learning.
Explore theme ↗04 / WELLBEING
Health, nutrition & WASH
Preventive health awareness, maternal and child health, nutrition, sanitation and service linkages.
Explore theme ↗05 / RIGHTS
Rights & social justice
Forest Rights Act facilitation, scheme access, participation in local governance and community leadership.
Explore theme ↗06 / WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women’s rights & empowerment
Women’s leadership, gender equality, access to services and participation in decisions about community life and natural resources.
Explore theme ↗
PLACE-BASED ACTIONListening before solutions.
From local concern to collective action
Rivers are more than water.
They are life systems.
CAR has supported community action around the Baitarani, Salandi, Nagavali and Vamsadhara rivers, raising concerns about riverbed encroachment, sand mining, pollution and the consequences of altered flows for farmers and local communities.
Through meetings, field visits, women’s participation and public advocacy, CAR helps make local experience visible in wider conversations about water, ecology and fair access to resources.
Read the river story →Evidence from the field
Practical work.
Human-scale progress.
These figures describe activities and outreach in CAR’s supplied 2023–2026 highlights. They are a starting point for deeper reporting—not a substitute for project-level outcome data.
Reported support to Dongaria and Kutia Kondha households in Rayagada and Kalahandi.
Read the details ↗Indigenous varieties prepared and dispersed before the monsoon as part of forest regeneration efforts.
See field activity ↗Better work, together
Bring your expertise.
Back community-led change.
CAR welcomes thoughtful collaboration with CSR teams, philanthropic organisations, universities, researchers, civil-society networks and people committed to ecological and social justice.
Explore collaboration ↗01Programme partnerships
Support community-defined work in rivers, literacy, rights, health or livelihoods.
02Research & knowledge
Build evidence through documentation, studies, learning exchanges and monitoring.
03Institutional collaboration
Connect local experience with public systems, academia and wider networks.
04Long-term capability
Invest in community institutions, local leadership and resilient practices.
Start a conversationLet’s build a future where