A majority of rural and tribal women contribute to India’s economy through land-based livelihoods including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and pastoralism, yet, they constitute barely 14% of the country’s landowners, and rarely have control over the land they work on. Women, when they are landowners, are more economically independent, physically safe, and their families have improved nutrition and health outcomes.
The unequal playing field of access to land for rural and tribal women is exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence from previous disease outbreaks suggests that when the male head of family passes away, widows are susceptible to land-grabbing by male relatives during property division. As guardians of household food security, when food is scarce, women and girls may decrease their caloric intake in the favor of male family members.
As the pandemic progresses, there is an urgent need to empower rural and tribal women, and enhance their social protections and welfare through secure rights to land.
Our objective with Meri Mitti is to support rural organizations to develop innovative solutions and strengthen existing interventions designed to improve land access and ownership for women in rural communities.
applications to our Meri Mitti Challenge are now closed. Please drop a mail to pioneer@thenudge.org if you would like to be updated about future dates.
land-based livelihoods
land-based livelihoods
A - give women land access through titles (eg. through the Forest Rights Act, 2006), that serve as collateral and improve women’s productivity by unlocking access to credit and landholding-based government schemes such as PM-KISAN.
B - focus on women in input and information delivery systems for land-based livelihoods by hiring more women agents or re-orienting male agents.
C - recognize women as farmers in order for them to access the kisan credit cards that entitle them to certain amounts of credit each season as per the quantity and quality of land
D - promote collective action by women’s groups in accessing inputs (eg. contiguous land to cultivate) and reaching markets
legal aid
legal aid
To address the legal barriers to women’s rights to property in India, we are looking for solutions that, keeping women’s safety and privacy in mind, help to:
A - simplify and disseminate legal information related to women’s land and property rights, especially through tech-led channels. For example, through community radio, IVRS and SMS
B - pursue claims and provide legal aid by helping rural women navigate processes set in complex land legislations and orders
C - innovate on or improve dispute resolution mechanisms that may already exist for women
institutional support
institutional support
A - promote improved land record and data collection and management and specifically record women’s shares of land and property
B - develop accountable and transparent institutions; reduce corruption
C - promote land titles for women; disassociate women’s land claims from their households and families
D - build the capacity of the local government to design operations and behavioral nudges that gender-mainstream the implementation of land laws at a grassroots level. For example, conducting meetings at locations that are easily accessible to women; including woman’s name on land title documents
social equity
social equity
To address the social barriers to women’s land rights, we are looking for solutions that:
A - provide education to girls, women, communities, and other partners about gender parity and secure rights to land and property
B - provide innovative services that help women access and utilize their land rights. For example, closing the gender digital divide to enable girls and women to use online land platforms and access information
C - use popular media to project gender-progressive roles that help transform social attitudes
.
Timeline
submission
Engagement
Phase 1
through the Apply Now form
Phase 2
initiative/start-up plan
collective of experts
Phase 3
to Jury
Phase 1
through the Apply Now form
(online sessions)
Phase 2
initiative/start-up plan
collective of experts
Phase 3
to Jury
the most promising solutions selected as part of the Meri Mitti Challenge will
be inducted to The/Nudge's Launchpad Program (9 months of Launchpad)
receive funding up to Rs. 25 Lakhs (amount is dependant on the stage of the pilot / new initiative & completion of milestones)
receive dedicated mentoring and strategic advice from a Collective of experts and The/Nudge Partners (incl. support for re-design of programs)
join a community of exceptional leaders and get access to an ecosystem of support
jury
Collective
Anindita Mukherjee
Senior Researcher
Anuj Sharma
Chief Executive Officer
Anurag Maloo
Head of Partnerships (Asia)
Bijal Brahmbhatt
Executive Director
Dhaval Monani
CEO
Dr Amita Bhide
Dean - School of Habitat Studies
Test
Gautam Bhan
Senior Lead, Academics & Research
Hussain Indorewala
Assistant Professor
James Samuel
Senior Director - Disaster Risk Reduction & Response
Manikandan KP
Institution Builder
Marco Ferrario
Co-founder
Meera Siva
Lead, Innovations
Megha Dutta
Director
Miniya Chatterjee
CEO
Mukta Naik
Fellow
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Pinaki Halder
National Director of Programs
Rajan Samuel
Managing Director
Rakhi Mehra
Co-founder
Ramchandra Vaidya
Executive Director & CEO
Ramchandra Vaidya
Executive Director & CEO
Satwik Govindarajula
Head of Growth and EIR
Shikha Srivastava
Head, Urban Habitat and Migration
Shishir Dash
Lead, Urban Habitat
Shreya Deb
Director, Investments
Swapnil Chaturvedi
Co-founder & CEO
who is eligible to apply?
you can apply if you are one of the following:
1. organisations working to empower women socially and economically and seeking to start a new initiative to improve access and ownership to land for rural and tribal women.
2. organisations already working on women's land & housing and are looking to make substantial changes in their solution/model. For example, tech integration plan, re-design or revamp of their programs, and the likes.
legal requirements: organisations must be registered in India as a section 8 company, a trust or a society and should have obtained certificate under India's Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
(In case you have questions regarding eligibility or FCRA, please write to us at pioneer@thenudge.org)
how are the winners selected?
winners are selected on the basis of:
(a) problem understanding.
(b) solution clarity.
(c) demonstrated problem solving ability.
(d) potential for impact (innovation, scale) on rural women
(e) commitment to work on the solution full-time.
how can one apply?
click on Apply Now to submit your solution if the abstract-solution is ready and fill the questions in the form.
(If you’re still working on the solution and want to receive email notifications to the knowledge & dialogue series, panel discussions etc., click on the register interest and we will notify you. you can submit your solution by the deadline)
We are currently not accepting applications for Meri Mitti Challenge. For queries, please email us at pioneer@thenudge.org
when and how will the seed grants be disbursed to winners?
the grants will be provided to organisations in agreed tranches over a period of time. the amount of each tranche and disbursement schedules will depend on the needs and stage of the organisation and will be linked to completion of agreed milestones.
