Building community resilience from the ground up
Bihar is among India’s most disaster-prone states, exposed annually to floods, heatwaves, droughts and riverbank erosion. In this context, the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society – known as JEEViKA – has emerged as a quiet but powerful resilience institution. Operating extensively in flood- and climate-vulnerable districts, JEEViKA demonstrates how livelihoods programmes, when rooted in community institutions, can double as platforms for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation.
Unlike conventional relief-centric approaches, JEEViKA’s strength lies in institutionalized community networks, particularly women’s self-help groups (SHGs), federations and producer collectives. These structures have proven critical in anticipating, absorbing and recovering from climate shocks.
How JEEViKA builds community resilience
1. Social capital as first responder
JEEViKA’s SHG federations function as trusted local institutions during disasters. In flood-affected districts, they support early dissemination of warnings, organize evacuation assistance, manage community kitchens and identify the most vulnerable households, often faster and more accurately than external agencies. This social capital reduces response time and exclusion errors.
2. Financial resilience and shock absorption
Through savings, revolving funds and access to credit, JEEViKA enhances households’ ability to cope with shocks without resorting to distress migration or asset liquidation. During flood and heat-stress periods, SHG-linked credit has enabled families to meet health, food and livelihood needs, serving as informal yet effective risk financing.
3. Livelihood diversification as adaptation
By promoting diversified livelihoods – livestock, non-farm enterprizes, climate-resilient agriculture and value-chain activities – JEEViKA reduces dependence on climate-sensitive monocropping. This diversification is a core principle of community-based adaptation (CBA), enhancing income stability under climate variability.
4. Women as agents of resilience
JEEViKA’s women-led model shifts resilience from infrastructure-centric to people-centric. Women SHG members often take leadership roles in disaster preparedness, relief distribution and recovery planning, ensuring that adaptation responses are socially inclusive and locally relevant.
5. Platform for convergence
In several districts, JEEViKA has served as a delivery and coordination platform for government schemes related to food security, social protection and post-disaster recovery. This convergence reduces fragmentation and strengthens last-mile governance – an essential but often overlooked component of adaptation.
Key takeaways for community - based adaptation
First, resilience is institutional, not ad hoc.
JEEViKA shows that durable community institutions outperform project-based interventions during crises. Investing in SHGs and federations is a long-term adaptation strategy.
Second, livelihoods are adaptation tools.
CBA must move beyond “awareness” to livelihood security. Income diversification, access to credit and market linkages are as important as early warnings.
Third, women-centred approaches multiply impact.
Empowering women’s collectives strengthens household resilience, improves targeting of support, and enhances social cohesion during disasters.
Fourth, development platforms can deliver climate action.
JEEViKA illustrates how poverty alleviation and climate adaptation need not be separate silos. Embedding disaster preparedness and climate risk considerations into livelihoods missions delivers adaptation at scale.
Finally, scale matters.
With statewide reach across Bihar , JEEViKA offers a replicable model for other climate-vulnerable states seeking to operationalize CBA through existing development institutions.
Policy implication
As climate extremes intensify, India’s adaptation strategy must invest as much in community institutions as in infrastructure and technology. JEEViKA demonstrates that resilience built from the ground up – through livelihoods, women’s leadership and social capital – can transform disaster-prone regions from perpetual responders into adaptive communities.
Dr Sanjay Kumar Srivasta is the S. Radhakrishnan Chair Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.