About the Kitchen Garden Project

The Kitchen Garden Project is a flagship nutrition and women empowerment initiative of Deendayal Seva Pratishthan (DSP), Yavatmal, designed to improve the health, nutrition, and livelihoods of rural and tribal families through sustainable organic food production. The project promotes the cultivation of chemical-free vegetables in household backyards using natural farming techniques, ensuring year-round access to safe, nutritious food while creating opportunities for additional income.

The initiative originated from health camps conducted by DSP in 2017, where a large number of rural women were found to be suffering from anaemia and low haemoglobin levels due to poor nutrition and lack of dietary diversity. In response, DSP aligned its efforts with the Anemia Free India Campaign and launched the Organic Kitchen Garden initiative to improve household nutrition security through locally grown, diverse, and chemical-free vegetables. The programme was first implemented in 2021 under the Vasundhara Project with 801 women from 39 villages as part of the SoCCs (Women Producer Group) model.

Since then, the project has grown into one of Maharashtra's largest community-led kitchen garden movements. Today, it has empowered 9,000 women across 413 villages in 12 blocks, strengthening food security, women's leadership, sustainable agriculture, and rural livelihoods.