With the following approaches in different phases, AF has evolved into its present status:

	Area Development Approach (1987-95)
	Village Watershed Development (1996-2002)
	Model Watershed Village Development (2002-07)
	Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods 2007 onwards.

Area Development Approach (1987-95)

During the early years, AF focused on soil and water conservation measures in lands belonging to Dalit and tribal farmers. It soon realized that working with Dalits and their scattered land holdings alone would help them to an extent but cannot be an effective strategy to combat drought in Anantapur District. So, AF began to work with all farmers with an “Area Development Approach” focusing on Soil & Moisture Conservation, Rain Water Harvesting, Restoration of Traditional Water bodies, Vegetation improvement, horticulture etc.

Village Watershed Development (1996-2002)

Integrated watershed development interventions and promoting village level community institutions started emerging as focus of AF since 1996.

By about 1995, AF realized that “Area Development Approach” was disintegrating and scattering its watershed development activities and efforts across many villages in the district. This learning led to ‘ village watershed’ concept through which entire land in the village was taken up for integrated watershed development. This micro-level and integrated ridge to valley watershed approach (adopted with flexibility in Anantapur region where there are multiple slopes and rolling topography) has created better impact in terms of increasing carrying capacity of natural resources in watershed villages and organizing village community at watershed village level.

During this phase, AF further strengthened it’s participatory approach and technical competencies in order to meet various challenges posed by the different socio-economic and topographical settings. Thereby AF emerged as an organization known for it’s participatory approach, technical and quality excellence.

Model Watershed Village Development (2002-07)

The next phase in the growth of the organization went a step further to developing a ‘Model Watershed Village; a concept that went beyond watershed activities in order to mobilize and organize the human and institutional resources in a village for its holistic and sustainable development. It was in this phase that AF actively engaged in strengthening village level watershed institutions like Gram Sabha, Watershed Development Committee (WDC), Village Development Committee (VDC) and linking them with other village level institutions like Grama Panchayath, Water Users Association, Livestock Centres, Schools, Balawadis, Primary health Centres etc.

Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods (2007 onwards)

Family based Approach

Within the overall perspective of developing a model (watershed) village, AF attempted further innovations and change in its planning and implementation. An important innovative addition is the “Participatory Family based Planning”, which focused on the necessary interventions, that can mitigate the ill-effects of recurring droughts, save the poor families from the hazards of distress migration and enable them to live with some dignity. These interventions include land and agriculture development, crop diversification, on-farm and non-farm livelihoods depending upon the feasibility and the needs of the family. Adopting family level net planning as a planning method has taken the organization closer to people and added value through enhancing peoples participation, increasing the scale of interventions and creating greater ownership.

 

Mainstreaming Gender and Organizational Development

It is in this process of continuous organizational change, that AF realized that to enhance the effectiveness of its work, apart from strengthening village level institutions, further understanding and addressing organizational issues (e.g. mainstreaming gender, PME, OD Processes) is extremely important. Thus, AF entered in to a new phase of institutional learning and development.

AF began in early 1990s with efforts to increase the participation of women in CBOs and their involvement in decision making of watershed development. Gradually since 2002, AF has been making efforts to integrate gender in AF and in programmes through recruiting more women staff at senior level and developing greater contact with women at village level. The learnings from these attempts created a demand for building perspectives on gender across the organization and work towards mainstreaming of gender.

The process of organization level reflection and learning on this issue resulted in;

	Moving towards a holistic perspective on gender and its mainstreaming in the organization and in programme.
	Increased women’s participation in watershed activities and institutions.
	Promoted women leaders with an objective that they take up village issues.
	Efforts made to understand the role and participation of women and innovative attempts to integrate women in NRM.

Apart from the above, a holistic ‘ecological perspective’ started emerging as an integrative framework to address issues related to agriculture, NRM, livelihoods and community empowerment. AF feels the need to further explore this perspective that enables further understanding on interfaces and linkages between NRM and gender, social institutions and technology.