Help 30,000 women obtain legal title to their land and as a result control over the income from their farms, increase access to government services, and improved status in their communities.

Why we care: Millions of people living in poverty in rural India—mostly women and children—depend on land to survive yet do not have legal rights to the land they rely on.

How we’re solving this: Training paralegals to identify about 30,000 families who do not have title to their family land. The paralegals will help the women submit the necessary paperwork, and assist in processing claims. This is a highly leveraged program, amounting to about $3 per family.

Land is a fundamental asset and a primary source of income, security, opportunity, and status in rural India. Without land rights, women in particular remain marginalized and have lower status. With a legal land title, they are eligible for government services, have much greater access to credit, and can invest in their land to provide for their families without the risk of being thrown off the land they depend on.

Landesa will train and equip 30 paralegals who will work with village groups to identify families who do not have title to their land, or disputes over their land. These paralegals will receive training on basic land titling procedures and help poor rural women and their families effectively interface with the government bureaucracy to obtain a land title or resolve disputes over their land. Each paralegal could reach about 1,000 families annually. So with 30 paralegals we can help 30,000 families gain stability and security. Landesa is also working with local government officials to integrate the paralegals into their programs and services to reduce rural poverty on a wider scale.

An estimated 5 – 10 million rural poor families lack land titles in rural Andhra Pradesh. Landesa has been working on different paralegal and land issues in India since 1999, and has been working in Andhra Pradesh since 2004 on various aspects of paralegal activities.