This rural Tamil Nadu farm offers disabled skills & opportunities to live independently

A United Nations report says that 74% of physically disabled population of working age in India are unemployed.

It was to address this gap and enable the disabled to meet their potential that the Sristi Foundation was set up in 2013. In 2014, the Sristi village was also set up, both in rural Tamil Nadu, around 30 km from Puducherry.

Sristi Foundation awarded Innovative Social Change Maker Award from Yuva Unstoppable, Tamil Nadu

The founder G Karthikeyan wanted to set up an inclusive community where children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities were respected and given opportunities to lead a life of dignity.

Karthikeyan, who grew up in an orphanage, saw firsthand the discrimination that people with disabilities face, be it in employment or education. He decided to work towards setting up a home where they could live as well as a training center.

He started an NGO Sristi Foundation and realised that farming was an option for employment. He found ways to create a space where they could live and work using natural farming methods.

This led to the birth of Sristi Village, an eco-friendly, self-sustaining community for the disabled from poor families.

Over the last three years, Sristi Foundation has worked with 15 adults and 18 children with disabilities from poor backgrounds to enable them to live a better life.

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