Once living on the edge of poverty, migrating for daily wage work and farming less than an acre, Geswar Nayak is now feeding his family, creating jobs, and becoming a role model for his entire village. What changed? A shift from survival to self-reliance, sparked by Caritas India’s Gram Nirman program.

Geswar, a marginal farmer from Goplinchuwa village, struggled to make ends meet. With 2.5 acres of land and a family of nine, he had little hope. Relying on erratic rainfall, he cultivated paddy on just a fraction of his land during the monsoon. He had to migrate to nearby towns as a labourer for the rest of the year. Like many smallholder farmers, he was caught in a cycle of poverty, uncertainty, and exhaustion.

In 2022, Caritas India’s Gram Nirman program reached his village. Focused on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), Gram Nirman believes in building on communities’ existing land, traditional knowledge, and local skills and turning those assets into engines of change. Geswar was selected for the program not for what he lacked but for the potential he held.

Through regular training and field support, he learned about organic farming, integrated farming systems, and how to improve productivity using sustainable methods. With the program’s help, he accessed a government scheme to build a dabri or small farm pond. He received poultry and a cow through the local Animal Husbandry Department, and began diversifying his income sources  cultivating vegetables, raising fish in his pond, and even making and selling mud bricks to local buyers.

By 2025, the results were remarkable. Geswar harvested 3000 kilograms of paddy worth ₹52000. From red chillies, he earned ₹6250; black gram gave him ₹12000; flax seed brought in ₹4000. His fishery and poultry yielded ₹5000 and ₹10000 respectively. But the most significant boost came from brick making — ₹150000 earned in a year. He generated more than ₹2 lakh from his once underutilised land and efforts.

More than the income, Geswar found dignity. He no longer has to leave his village in search of work. Instead, he is helping others see what is possible when support meets self-belief. His story is now inspiring other farmers in the region to adopt similar practices.

This transformation did not come from charity but from capacity building, community mobilisation, and local empowerment, the core principles of Caritas India’s Gram Nirman initiative. The program, supported by Caritas Australia, is being implemented in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and East Delhi’s urban slums. It covers 110 villages and 18 urban settlements, working with communities to improve access to government schemes, boost incomes, and nurture leadership from within.

Geswar Nayak’s story proves that real change begins when people are empowered to unlock their potential. Today, his garden feeds his family, his bricks build homes, and his journey sows the seeds of transformation across his community.