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In 2003, Rima, a woman who had been a leader of the Future Generations Arunachal women’s groups in Palin, accompanied her engineer husband on transfer to Bameng, a remote district headquarters situated on a spiny ridge. It took a day of driving, then another long day of climbing by foot to reach the posting. In Bameng, Rima recognized the profile of the surrounding villages: high child and maternal mortality, virtually no literacy among men, women, and children, food scarcity (especially during the long monsoon), inadequate housing, and high levels of domestic violence and alcoholism.

While the government had ambitious, reasonably-funded programs of assistance, needs overwhelmed resources. Even a great deal more resources—as many were requesting—would not have significantly improved conditions. Social momentum seemed to have stagnated, a situation shown in the primary schools which had been built and staffed: teachers, who lacked suitable housing in the villages, showed up twice a year, one to enroll students and a second time at term’s end to pass students to the next class.

Rima immediately started a women’s group. She had many things to teach: how to keep children from dying from diarrheal dehydration, a whole range of cleanliness and hygiene practices, boiling water, latrine construction, importance of immunizations, vegetable and fruit tree planting, support groups for joint savings and then leveraging small loans from the local bank, maternal nutrition during pregnancy and safe delivery practices, and care for newborn babies.

The initial women’s group formed quickly and started spawning other groups as women started sharing the lessons that were making such impact in their lives. Soon, four women’s groups were up and running. Rima had an idea of the impact that would soon start showing—so one of the things she instituted was record keeping. Under five child mortality was reduced by over 60%. With the women to women support, better nutrition, and referrals to clinics, the women’s groups had no maternal deaths during childbirth for the next three years, and they had had two in the three years before.

Today, what had started as small kitchen gardens for vegetables and a few fruit trees, after four years has grown to substantial vegetable gardens near almost every home and surplus sales that are making some women over Rs 10,000 per year. Some men became interested and started larger fruit tree orchards (oranges, bananas, and pineapple). Others started growing bamboo.

The women’s groups started to pressure the chronically absent school teachers; in many cases helping them arrange village-based housing. The members of the Women’s Groups and Local Coordinating Committee led the shifting of the school building from a landslide prone area to the present location at the top of a hill. As schools started to function, women made sure their children went to class each day. Now, more than 70% of children are attending school. In addition, women’s (and men’s) literacy courses have been established, and in just three years 40% of women in the Future Generations women’s groups are now literate can now read and write.

Introduction of family planning methods was one of the most dramatic lessons. Once an unknown topic that caused the women to giggle and run away from the training, today women travel all the way to the District Headquarters in Seppa to get birth control pills from the District Medical Officer.

The community mobilized to act on gender-related issues: 1) Any woman/family affiliated with Future Generations is prohibited from engaging in child marriage; 2) Marriages must have mutual agreement of both partners; 3) No pre-birth selection for future marriages by older men (in essence there were fetal marriages being performed); 4) Domestic violence declined dramatically (some women say by two-thirds), and the explanation given is that communal pressure as women support women is the cause. Previously the violence had been men-to-women and also women-to-children.

However, based on recent interviews, one of the most striking indicators of change is the increase in self-esteem. Community members say they now feel about ten years younger. In addition, they report that consumption of alcohol has also significantly been reduced, and this has many beneficial consequences.

 Just as Rima used her experience in Palin to initiate change in Bameng, today Bameng’s successes inspire change in more communities. As a learning and doing center, Bameng will share its experience with panchayat (village council) leaders and newly formed women’s groups from neighboring communities. Future Generations Arunachal works to extend this process of change through the training of the state’s 6,000 panchayat village councils.