The members of the 'Chetana Group'—a women's collective from Modi Hat, a village under the South Gauripur Gram Panchayat—were initially afraid to speak up. This was because most of the men in the village were addicted to intoxicants and frequently resorted to physical violence. Women were not permitted to step outside their homes, nor were they allowed to mingle or converse with others.

Approximately one year ago (August 2025), when I (Mamata) initiated the SALT process with them,…

Whenever the members of the Deuli CL-3 Hatipara Matri Shakti Women's Group—a group falling under the jurisdiction of the South Gauripur Gram Panchayat—would gather together, their mothers-in-law would often come to watch out of sheer curiosity. Subsequently, I engaged with them using the SALT (Support, Appreciate, Learn, Transfer) methodology. Through this process, I gained insight into their cherished old memories, their desire to learn new things, and their underlying mindsets.…

  When work first commenced in Moudihaat(Cluster–II)—located within the South Gouripur Gram Panchayat—in August 2025 using the SALT methodology, local residents identified severe filth and scattered waste throughout their neighborhood as one of their primary concerns. Due to the absence of a designated waste disposal site, refuse had accumulated in the…

I have been working as a facilitator with Jeevika for about 11 years now. I come from a small village in South 24-Parganas, where I have seen both light and darkness—literally and metaphorically.

There is a club in our village, “SAMALI KALITALA SPORTING CLUB,” and about five years ago, it became a place where some boys from our neighbourhood—and many…