Holistic Action Research and Development (HARD) was founded in 1999 by Mr. Sushil Kumar Sharma, a dedicated social worker deeply committed to community & rural development. Registered in Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, HARD operates across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, focusing on the poorest and deprived communities.
Founder: Mr. Sushil Sharma
A visionary social worker with over two decades of experience in tribal development and community empowerment.
Our methodology is participatory, awareness-driven, advocacy-focused, and gender-sensitive. We are committed to fostering sustainable change through community ownership, women’s leadership, and ethical partnerships. Participatory community engagement
Community ownership
We work through community institutions, government collaborations, and partnerships with leading NGOs and Donors:
Over the years, we have made significant contributions to community development:
An Egalitarian Society
The organization has a beautiful dream for the future. It envisions the establishment of an egalitarian society where all people are given an equal opportunity to strive for their own development.
We dream of creating a society free from hunger, discrimination, and harassment, where every individual can live with dignity and access all basic amenities for a satisfactory life.
Empowering the Oppressed
HARD strives to empower the oppressed so that they are able to obtain a decent standard of living, working with the poor, especially Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Our mission is to empower the weakest (vulnerable groups, women, etc.) to earn a dignified livelihood and access to all basic amenities for a satisfactory life through:
HARD operates through five core thematic areas that guide our interventions and programs:
Participatory community engagement and ownership of development processes
Promoting gender equality and women's leadership in community development
Creating sustainable income sources through agriculture, NTFP, and dairy farming
Direct service delivery in education, health, and child protection
HARD works in a participatory manner to build capacity of individuals, groups and communities, bringing together every concerned stakeholder to bridge gaps and create inclusive developmental plans.
Establishing people's organizations (Jankadam) and promoting women's institutions (SHGs) to create support environments for community rights and entitlements.
Introducing prototypes for marginal farmers - lac cultivation, livestock, Scientific Lac cultivation and NTFP. Forming women's collection groups for forest produce.
We work in close collaboration with government departments to implement Forest Rights Act (FRA) initiatives, child protection measures, women’s empowerment programs, and sustainable livelihood interventions.
HARD follows a comprehensive delivery model: Need Assessment → Awareness → Liaising & Collaboration → Capacity Building → Planning → Implementation → Evaluation
We find the most pressing needs of the community, generate momentum, create awareness around innovative solutions, work in close collaboration with government departments and NGOs, mobilize resources, build capacities, and evaluate our work through independent assessments.
