Introduction : SWATI (Society for Women’s Action & Training Initiative) began in 1993 with the vision of bringing about the socio-economic empowerment of women in the Surendranagar district of Gujarat, one of the most backward districts in the state. SWATI works specifically with the backward and poor communities in the Patdi, Dhrangadhra and Lakota blocks, contiguous with the Little Rann of Kachchh- a tough, inhuman terrain, home to some of the most socially and economically marginalized communities. SWATI operationalised its mission ten years back as : Empowering women to control and direct their own development by organizing into autonomous collectives run and managed by the women themselves. Overview of SWATI : SWATI adopted a strategy of empowering women through building capacity and leadership and catalyzing their control over resources. Block level organizations of women – Mahila Vikas Sanghs are today active in all three blocks and have an average membership of 2000 women in each block. Through the Mahila Vikas Sanghs , SWATI has initiated programs addressing issues of women’s health, violence, their role in governance , their control over land and water, savings and credit.
		SWATIs Changing Role : : From being a frontline organization at the village level to being a support and capacity building agency to the Mahila Vikas Sanghs is significant of the changing role of SWATI and has extended itself to SWATI playing a catalytic role in influencing the processes of women’s development beyond it’s project area. SWATI too the lead in guiding and planning a process of placing Violence on the agenda of women’s development organization in the region . The program is today being implemented in five districts and SWATI is the coordination and Support organization for it. Where We Work : The popular name of Surendranagar is Jhalavad- derived from the Jhala Rajputs who ruled over large parts of what constitutes the district today. Its past has left behind a highly feudal culture that lives on after fifty years of independence. Bordering the Little Rann of Kachchh, 27 percent of its land is not fit for agricultural use and only 12 percent of its land area is irrigated. Being at the edge of the Little Rann, this region relies heavily on the salt industry. With few other options of employment, 5,000 families live and work on salt pans under inhumane and hazardous conditions- without facilities of water, shelter, healthcare, transport,and electricity- for eight months a year, every year. The only other occupation practiced in the villages is a marginalized form of dry land agriculture. Extremely poor economic conditions, hazardous and harsh living and working conditions, and the lack of basic amenities have severely affected the quality of life of the people living in the region, and the women much more so.