Community & Rural Development
Mobilising community participation through Self-Help Groups, Village Organisations, and the Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS)
The Department of Community & Rural Development mobilises community participation through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and village-level institutions, enabling community-led nutrition actions, ECD awareness campaigns, and sustainable livelihood support for families with young children. The department's grassroots reach — through Village Organisations, Village Employment Councils, and Village Health Councils — makes it a critical pillar of MECDM's convergence model.
Overview
The Department of Community & Rural Development, Government of Meghalaya, brings the power of community institutions to the ECD mission. Unlike the other three departments that deliver specific technical services (education, health, nutrition), C&RD's role is to mobilise, organise, and empower communities to participate actively in their children's development. This community-led approach is what makes MECDM unique among ECD programmes nationally.
Through its network of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Village Organisations (VOs), and Community and Development Block offices, the department creates the community infrastructure needed for sustainable ECD outcomes. Village-level institutions like Village Health Councils (VHCs), Village Employment Councils (VECs), and Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) serve as local governance platforms for planning, monitoring, and supporting ECD activities.
The department also houses the Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS), the state's nodal agency for implementing the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), which provides the organisational backbone for SHG-led ECD actions across the state.
Community Mobilisation
At the heart of MECDM's model is the belief that lasting change in child development outcomes cannot come from government services alone — it must be owned and driven by communities. The Department of C&RD operationalises this by building strong community institutions that take ownership of ECD outcomes at the village level.
Village Organisations — federations of SHGs at the village level — serve as the primary community platform for ECD. They participate in convergence planning with village councils, monitor children's nutritional status, identify families needing support, and organise community events around health, nutrition, and early learning. Village Health Councils and Village Employment Councils complement this by ensuring health and livelihood aspects of ECD are addressed.
Faith-Based Organisations play a particularly important role in Meghalaya, given the strong influence of churches and traditional institutions. The department engages FBOs as partners in spreading awareness about early childhood care, nutrition, and positive parenting.
Self-Help Groups & ECD Actions
Women's Self-Help Groups are the primary vehicle through which the department delivers community-level ECD behaviour change. SHG members — most of whom are mothers and caregivers themselves — participate in ECD awareness and behaviour change actions, promote improved infant and young child feeding practices, and support health and nutrition campaigns at the village level.
In the East Khasi Hills district, a decentralised model for maternal and child health has been pioneered through SHG-led initiatives including community-run creches, breastfeeding huts, and agri-nutrition gardens. SHG-run transit homes and Village Organisation-managed Vulnerability Reduction Funds (VRFs) have contributed to a reported 91% reduction in Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) cases in pilot areas. Community Gender and Health Activists (CGHAs) from within SHGs work on frontline maternal and child health alongside ASHAs and AWWs.
ECD Educators
A key innovation under MECDM is the deployment of ECD Educators — trained community volunteers recruited from SHG networks and deployed at Anganwadi Centres. ECD Educators supplement the work of AWWs by providing dedicated early stimulation and play-based learning activities for children aged 1.5–6 years.
The department, through MSRLS, manages the selection, training, and ongoing support of ECD Educators. This cadre of community-based workers is essential to MECDM's goal of transforming Anganwadi Centres into vibrant early learning hubs — with AWWs focusing on nutrition and health monitoring while ECD Educators focus on early childhood education and stimulation.
Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS)
The Meghalaya State Rural Livelihoods Society (MSRLS) is a state society registered under the Meghalaya Society Registration Act XII of 1983, designated as the nodal agency for implementing the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) in Meghalaya. MSRLS operates under the Department of Community & Rural Development and serves as the organisational backbone for community-led ECD actions across the state.
MSRLS's core purpose is to eliminate poverty among rural people by improving their capacities and opportunities to participate in their own development. With its extensive network of women's SHGs and their federations (Village Organisations), MSRLS offered a powerful platform to promote ECD through a community-led approach. The state Government, in partnership with the World Bank, designed and piloted an integrated package of nutrition, health, and early stimulation interventions delivered at the community level through MSRLS's SHG network.
MSRLS leadership holds key positions in the Meghalaya Early Childhood Development Mission. Through its field structure — from the state level down to sub-district and community levels — MSRLS deploys and supports ECD Educators, coordinates convergence with village-level institutions, organises community nutrition awareness campaigns, and manages livelihood support programmes for families with young children. The society also focuses on building strong, self-managed institutions of the poor at different levels that can sustain ECD outcomes beyond the project period.
MSRLS's Role in ECD Implementation
Nutrition Gardens & Local Food Systems
The department promotes community nutrition gardens as part of its approach to sustainable, locally-sourced nutrition for children and families. These gardens — established at household, Anganwadi, and community levels — grow vegetables, fruits, and micronutrient-rich crops that supplement children's diets with fresh, locally available produce.
Agri-nutrition gardens are promoted through SHG networks and linked to livelihood opportunities. Families learn to grow nutritious foods like leafy greens, pumpkins, beans, and turmeric that can both improve household nutrition and generate additional income. The department works with MSRLS to provide seeds, training, and technical support for these gardens.