Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) Tribal women in Maharashtra are being trained to maintain residential schools, including hygiene and safe drinking water, under a state government initiative to boost rural entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods, officials said.
As part of the ‘Adisakhi: WASHMITRA’ initiative, the state Tribal Development Department, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Centre for Youth Development and Activities (CYDA), trained 120 tribal women between September 2024 and November 2025.
They are actively delivering services, earning a steady income, and strengthening essential WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) infrastructure in their areas while becoming financially independent, despite facing challenges like irregular work demand and travel and distance barriers, the officials said.
These women now act as frontline operation and maintenance (O&M) support for ‘ashramshalas’ (residential schools) and local communities, they said.
“Through this initiative with UNICEF and CYDA, we are maintaining school infrastructure, including hygiene and safe drinking water facilities. Adisakhis have become skilled leaders in their own communities,” Maharashtra Tribal Development Department Secretary Vijay Waghmare told PTI.
“By training and equipping local women to manage repair and maintenance work in ashramshaals, we have demonstrated that technical roles traditionally seen as male-dominated can be successfully handled by women when given the right support,” he said.
Currently, 120 women have been skilled and are maintaining around 256 schools and have earned between Rs 2,000 to Rs 2 lakh so far, the official said.
“As we expand this effort to 500 schools across tribal Maharashtra, we are proving that investing in women-led local solutions ensures both sustainable infrastructure and long-term community empowerment,” he added.
The name Adisakhi literally means “friend of tribals,” and these friends are transforming their communities in a remarkable way.
“I have witnessed firsthand the energy, confidence and determination of young girls and women who are leading a woman-led multiskilling movement,” UNICEF Maharashtra Chief Sanjay Singh said.
The Adishakhi workforce has significantly improved WASH systems through timely repairs, reduced dependency on contractors, and faster issue resolution in ashramshalas.
The project not only provides an assured income to these young women while improving school infrastructure, but also gives them a chance to set up their own repair and maintenance business, empowering tribal women through sustainable livelihoods, as per officials.
The Tribal Development Department along with UNICEF and CYDA, has started this unique Adisakhi initiative. There are around 500 ashramshalas under the department where more than two lakh children are educated.
“There are buildings and hostels that need everyday maintenance, and we encounter many instances where we need repair work for clogged toilets, broken wires, plumbing issues, blocked washrooms, and broken taps among other things,” Tribal Development Department’s Commissioner Leena Bansode said.
It becomes difficult to get people to do repair work in tribal areas.
“We conceived this unique initiative to deal with this problem. We thought we could train women from tribal areas to do this work, this would also help them earn a living while empowering them with new skills,” the official said.
More than 100 Adisakhis have been trained as part of this initiative across four advanced training centres in Nagpur, Amravati, Nashik, and Thane.
They visit the ashramshalas regularly for work and are also getting paid well for their services, she added. PTI SM GK
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