About Us

RURAL VOLUNTEERS CENTRE (RVC):


Rural Volunteers Centre is one of the leading grass root organizations of North East India committed towards promoting self-sustaining development initiatives, determined by people’s needs, choices and priorities and capitalizing on local skills and resources.

The works of RVC mainly focus on promoting appropriate technology, creating opportunities and spaces for learning through practices to the local people, value addition to the traditional livelihood practices, educating policy and promoting advocacy works.


BRIEF HISTORY:

Mr. Ravindranath founder of RVC came to North East (India) in 1989 with years long experiences of working on ranges of social issues, transfer of low cost technologies and HRD in remote Rajasthan and Jharkhand as a member of the SWRC, Tilonia family . The objective being to North east was to optimize the development process through HRD and technology transfer; capitalizing on engineering specialization in rural energy and management specialization in community development. Accordingly from 1989 to 1992 Mr. Ravindranath worked on the themes in Upper Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh.

In the year 1992 a group of young people from Akajan village of Dhemaji District, Assam asked Mr. Ravindranath to come and work in the flood affected/vulnerable Dhemaji District. The request of those young dynamic people as well as sufferings of the flood affected population (rural ST and SC people) inhabiting Upper Brahmaputra River basin, low human development indexes and low per capita state’s investment in the region had influenced Mr. Ravindranath to shift the core area of operation to the rural Dhemaji and Lakhimpur of Assam. Thus the Rural Volunteers Centre (RVC) came into being and since been working in the region focusing on the themes DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, FOOD AND LIVELIHOOD SECURITY, EDUCATION, COMMUNITY HEALTH, DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, ADDRESSING IMMEDIATE BASIC NEEDS OF FLOOD AFFECTED POPULATION, WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, PROMOTING GRASS ROOT ORGANIZATIONS, BUILDING ALLIANCE , POLICY ADVOCACY etc.

We started our works in the year 1993 in Sissiborgaon Development Block, setting up a small unit, with help of the local people, in a community donated land (part of a graveyard) in Akajan, a tribal village in Dhemaji District in North bank of River Brahmaputra. We started our works in partnership with the ST, SC and the other underprivileged sections of the community in Sissiborgaon block of Dhemaji District and during our 15 years of journey we have managed to reach the underprivileged sections of the community inhabiting in 12 Blocks of 3 Districts in Assam in particular and through out all the 8 northeastern states in general.


OUR VISION:

• An epidemic free just society with appropriate technology and self-reliance.


OUR MISSIONS:

• Empowerment of women and indigenous groups to assert their rights through action on the factors causing denial to justice.

• Actively engage with Government to address gaps in systems and policies in management of river structures and epidemics through sustainable community empowerment.

• Appropriation of rural technologies and practices through participation of the community to ensure better and secured living opportunity.

• Strengthening of coping mechanism of vulnerable people with disaster through empowerment of community based organization and systems/practices prevalent at community level.


OUR VALUES:

• Mutual respect

Each and every member of RVC believes that every individual has his own potentialities as well as limitations and we should respect every individual to ensure an environment so that everyone’s potentiality bloom to the fullest extent and limitations are overcome in their own initiatives.


• Honest and transparent

The inception and existence of RVC is to work for the community i.e. we have choose a path where our identity is our work not we (the human being). We deeply feel as our existence and identity is determined by our works we should be honest and transparent with our works (performing honestly to our fullest potentiality as well as expressing honestly our performances and limitations) to ourselves as well to others.


• Courage and determination

We have worked out our path to realize our vision. We know that the path is tough and also full of uncertainties. It is obvious that there will be ups and downs, pleasant moments and unpleasant moments, achievements and failures, integration and disintegration, togetherness and separateness. But we have to be courageous enough and determined to face every adverse situation and set the things positively to ensure that we realize our vision.


• Simplicity in congruence with community

We believe changes (development) are inevitable. We are to act as a catalyst to realize the process fast and in people’s choice (but inconformity with the national main stream dynamics). To act as a catalyst we believe that the people should accept us as one of them. So we are determined to adopt and maintain simplicity as the people for whom we work lives with so that community feels we are one of them.


CODE OF CONDUCT OF RVC (IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE):

• Live and work in close proximity with the rural community.

• Create a space for creative and constructive personal growth - not discriminating against caste, religion or political thinking.

• Ensure gender equality within the organization.

• Have an intrinsic belief in the democratic political process and not follow partisan political agendas or include partisan politicians on the board.

• Judge the worth of people by their willingness and ability to learn - not by their paper qualifications.

• Believe in the law of the land and have a commitment towards social justice through non-violent means.

• Have respect for collective, traditional knowledge, beliefs, wisdom and practices of the community.

• Be committed to the preservation of natural resources and not endorse processes that destroy, exploit or abuse natural resources.

• Use appropriate technologies that sustain the community and not encourage technologies that deprive people of their livelihoods.

• Set a personal example in adhering to the code of conduct.