Eight districts. 84,000+ households. One contiguous map.
Meer Foundation works in eight contiguous districts of Chhattisgarh — close enough for one field team to hold the whole map. Dhamtari is our home and HQ. Each district profile below lists households reached, SHGs formed, FPOs incubated, and active programmes.
Geography before scale
Eight districts, all within a day's drive of Dhamtari. This is deliberate. We do not plan geographic expansion; we plan depth expansion — more villages, more rivers, more schools within the same eight districts. Continuity is what makes the work compound.
Contiguous geography
All eight districts share borders. A field officer in Dhamtari can be in Bastar by lunchtime. Proximity is a programme design choice, not an accident.
Dhamtari as HQ
Dhamtari has been our home and headquarters since 2011. It carries the densest programme footprint — Bolti Nadi, Farmours, Prayaas, Yoga Kutumb, Heritage all run here.
Annual re-verification
Each district profile is re-verified annually against SHG registers, school records, and FPO procurement data. Inactive villages roll off the count; new ones are added.
Why eight, not eighty?
A rural NGO's most precious asset is trust, and trust compounds with continuity. The same field officer visiting the same village for the fourth year can have a conversation that the same officer could not have had in year one. Eight districts is the largest area we can hold with that depth. Eighty districts would be a different organisation — and a worse one.
From Dhamtari to Bemetara
Each district card lists households reached, SHGs formed, FPOs incubated, villages active, and the programmes currently running. Dhamtari — our HQ — is flagged with a headquarters badge.
Dhamtari
Meer Foundation's home district since 2011. The 90-km Sakri river walk, Sunita's lead FPO, and the Meer FM 90.4 studio all anchor here. The densest programme footprint in the state.
Raipur
Host of the 2019 Tiranga World Record 15-km human chain. The annual Social Heritage Walk routes through Raipur's colonial-era quarters and the Mahant Ghasidas museum precinct.
Kanker
Farmours' second-densest district. Goat-rearing training and paravet cohorts run alongside Prayaas classrooms in 28 tribal villages. The Yoga Kutumb cohort study was based here.
Bastar
Home of the Prayaas Bastar case study — 62 tribal ashram schools, Class 10 pass rate from 41% to 78% in three years. Heritage Walk programming documents the region's Adivasi oral histories.
Balod
Farmours' vegetable-value-chain cluster. Bolti Nadi tributary monitoring along the Pairi river. Yoga Kutumb community training runs in 16 villages with PHC tie-ups.
Balodabazar
Prayaas classrooms in 14 rural schools plus the Guriya Magazine children's network. Farmours SHGs active in the southern cluster near the Mahanadi floodplain.
Kawardha
Newest district in the footprint (2023 entry). Prayaas materials rolling out to 9 schools. Bolti Nadi team has begun the first walk of the Sakri headwaters here.
Bemetara
Two new FPOs incubated in 2024–25 with Farmours support. Yoga Kutumb weekly sessions running in 7 villages. Smallest district in the footprint — but growing fastest by percentage.
Eight districts, one ledger
The summary grid aggregates all eight districts into a single audited total. Every figure here is the sum of the district-level rows above — re-verified annually against primary sources.
The audited floor across all eight districts. Each household has participated in at least one Meer Foundation programme in the last 24 months.
Active women-led self-help groups. A group counts as 'active' if it has met and recorded a savings transaction in the last 90 days.
Farmer Producer Organisations incubated under Farmours. Four in Dhamtari, two each in Kanker/Bastar/Balod/Balodabazar/Bemetara, three in Raipur, one in Kawardha.
Why districts, not states
The district is the unit at which Indian rural development actually happens. State-level aggregates hide district-level reality. These slides explain the principles that govern our geographic strategy.
We work in eight districts — not eighty. Depth is the multiplier on rural trust, and trust is the only thing that compounds.
Every district is close enough to be walked by the same field team. Walking is method, ethics, and accountability.
Each district profile is rebuilt annually. Inactive villages roll off; new ones are added. No silent rounding.
Year-four conversations in the same village are different from year-one conversations. Continuity is the asset.
Test your district IQ
Five questions on the eight district profiles. Score 60% or higher to earn a certificate of district literacy.
District profiles · 5-question quiz
5 questions · passing score 60%
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Three filters. (1) Contiguity — the new district must border an existing one, so the same field team can hold the whole map. (2) Invitation — we enter a district only when invited by a credible local partner (a gram sabha, an ashram school, a district administration). (3) Capacity — we add a district only when the existing districts are stable enough to spare field-team time. Kawardha (2023) was the most recent addition; we typically add one district every two to three years.