Our Centers

At SEWA we believe in turning disaster into an opportunity for development. After the earthquake of 2001 in Gujarat, SEWA’s approach to rehabilitation was community-based. SEWA needed to build ownership of communities. The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute developed the Community Learning Business Resource Centre (CLBRC) approach for community-driven economic rehabilitation. The affected communities were involved in the planning of economic rehabilitation and shelter reconstruction.

The CLBRC, based in a cluster of 20-25 villages, is a Centre which provides a platform to the rural youth to equip themselves with skills to enhance their employability. CLBRCs incorporate business development, enterprise support and employment for local communities.

These CLBRCs are community-owned, community-managed resource centres that enhance employment and livelihood activities of the rural poor. The goals of a CLBRC are to expand the outreach of its services within a community and to help increase users income through technology. This is alongside preserving and reviving traditions, as well as building and strengthening partnerships, such as public private partnerships, institutional linkages and linkages to government schemes.

Today there are 55 Community Learning Business Resource Centres across India and 9 in Asia.