LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMME

In many remote villages of Northeast India, communities depend on agriculture and traditional livelihood practices for survival. Women play a central role in this economy, managing farms and carrying forward skills such as weaving, bamboo craft, and food processing that have been passed down through generations. Farmers, most of whom are small and marginal, rely on land and natural resources for sustenance but often face constraints related to geography, climate variability, and limited access to markets and resources.

Despite their significant contributions, women’s labour often remains unpaid or undervalued, while farmers struggle with low incomes and insecure livelihoods. Barriers such as early marriage, limited access to education, restricted mobility, ecological degradation, and poor access to financial and market systems continue to limit economic agency. In island and remote contexts, geographical isolation further reduces opportunities, making it difficult for both women producers and farmers to sustain livelihoods or access fair and stable markets.

Ayang’s livelihood interventions respond to these intersectional challenges by strengthening collective systems for women producers and farmers. By building shared enterprises and producer collectives, individuals are able to pool skills and resources, access knowledge and infrastructure, reach markets, and improve bargaining power. These collective approaches create pathways towards long term economic security, dignity, and resilience for both women and farming communities.

Our Approach

Capacity Building

Collectivization

Market Linkage

Women Entrepreneurship Project

The Women Entrepreneurship Project was initiated to bridge the gap between women’s traditional skills and their ability to earn sustainable incomes from them. While many women were already engaged in productive work, their livelihoods remained informal, insecure, and disconnected from wider markets.

The project supports rural women producers in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to move from subsistence based production to collective and entrepreneurial livelihoods. It focuses on handloom textiles, bamboo crafts, and food processing, combining skill upgradation with practical, on ground support.

Women receive access to production equipment, capacity building, financial linkages, and market exposure. This integrated approach addresses both skill gaps and structural barriers, while ensuring that traditional knowledge remains economically viable.

So far, over 2500 women have participated in the project, strengthening their livelihoods and economic agency.

Sustainable Agriculture

Ayang Trust promotes sustainable agriculture and agroforestry to improve livelihoods, protect the environment, and build resilience to climate variability. Many lands in Northeast India have been affected by monocropping, soil erosion, and floods, limiting productivity and food security.

We work with farmers to restore these lands using multilayer farming, natural practices, and modern irrigation systems. Our approach enhances crop diversity, improves yields, and mitigates the impacts of climate change. Through capacity-building programs, farmers gain practical knowledge in soil management, crop rotation, pest control, and organic farming, fostering environmentally friendly and long-term sustainable practices.

Currently, 1100 farmers are part of this project. Over the next three years, we aim to support more than 10,000 farmers in converting monocrop fields into diversified food forests, strengthening both their livelihoods and the ecological health of their lands.

Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations

Ayang Trust organizes small and marginal farmers into collectives to strengthen agricultural productivity, sustainability, and economic resilience. Many farmers in Northeast India face challenges such as limited access to modern techniques, scarce resources, and unpredictable markets. By forming Farmer Producer Organizations, farmers gain training, essential resources, and market access, enabling them to adopt improved farming practices and secure fair prices for their produce.

Ayang Trust so far has promoted three all-women FPOs in Majuli (Assam), Papum Pare and East Kameng in Arunachal, along with a mixed FPO led by women in Bichom, Arunachal.

Together, these four FPOs provide support to over 9,000 farmers, helping them strengthen livelihoods, build collective capacity, and participate actively in local and regional markets.

Project Lékopé

Lékopé, meaning “together” in the language of the indigenous Mising tribe, emerged from the collective aspirations of women farmers in Majuli, Assam. Living in a flood-prone and resource-constrained geography, these women faced persistent barriers in accessing markets, finance, and technical knowledge. Lékopé was conceived as a collective response to these challenges, grounded in ownership, cooperation, and enterprise-led livelihood development.

Lékopé is envisioned as a brand of FPOs from the northeast. Lekope is owned by Lekope Majuli Women Farmer Producer Company Ltd. which was registered in December 2022 as a women-owned and women-governed Farmer Producer Company. GE Foundation has played a critical role in strengthening the FPC during its early growth phase and its expansion. This support enabled the development of production infrastructure for the collective, capacity building of women leaders, promotion of entrepreneurship programs among members, and the establishment of market systems and brand identity.

Visit Lékopé Store

Today, Lékopé works with over 4000 women farmers, producers, and artisans across Majuli, with a focus on aggregation, value addition, and market linkages.

Its activities span agriculture-based products such as mustard and mustard oil, handloom and textile products, and locally rooted retail initiatives. The FPC follows a democratic governance model, with an all-women Board of Directors elected from among producer members, thereby ensuring that decision-making remains firmly in the hands of women producers.

Lékopé’s approach combines practical skills, enterprise development, and collective production, enabling women to increase incomes while building confidence as entrepreneurs and leaders. Rather than engaging as beneficiaries, women participate as shareholders and decision-makers, which strengthens both economic participation and institutional ownership.

Looking ahead, Lékopé envisions catalysing women’s entrepreneurship across the Northeast by building a supportive ecosystem that addresses social, market, and resource gaps faced by rural women. With a long-term aspiration to become the “Amul of the Northeast,” Lékopé aims to grow as a credible, women-led producer institution rooted in collective strength and sustainable business practices.

Our Impact – Livelihoods

1100

Small Farmer

households directly impacted under the horticulture project

2500+