Sheltering Dalit and Adivasi girls, equipping women with skills, and co-creating regenerative villages in Kerala's hills. Snehibhavan by ADWESC stands beside every family on the journey to dignity.
Shelter, educate, and empower — together we transform rural Kerala.
A 24-year journey of shelter, resilience, and community leadership.
From the hill tracts of Melukavu to the valley communities of Idukki, ADWESC and Snehibhavan hold space for girls, women, and elders to heal, learn, and lead. Each programme is rooted in daily life — morning rides to school, cultural festivals, and women-led farms that reinvest earnings into community care.
What keeps us moving
Survivors graduating from Snehibhavan return as mentors, while self-help groups co-design the new regenerative rural economy in Vagamon.
Community partnerships
Panchayats, local schools, and volunteer networks stand beside us to ensure every child and elder has support close to home.
Morning journeys
Cultural roots
Women-led farms
Girls sheltered
165+
Snehibhavan has provided long-term care, education, and life-skills mentoring for more than 165 girls since 2000.
Women empowered
300+
Women-led self-help groups, livelihood programs, and counselling circles help hundreds of Dalit and Adivasi women move toward self-reliance.
Families reached
500+
Disaster response, flood relief, and temporary shelter services have supported families across Kottayam and Idukki districts.
Water & housing projects
50 homes • 6 plants
Community rebuilding includes permanent homes and safe drinking water systems installed in flood-affected neighbourhoods.
Shelter & protection
24/7 residential care at Snehibhavan keeps girls safe while providing education support, healthcare, and a nurturing community.
Learning & livelihoods
From after-school tuition to vocational coaching in tailoring, food processing, and digital skills, ADWESC creates pathways into dignified work.
Care & counselling
Social workers and mentors guide survivors of abuse, provide legal support, and coordinate elder and child care so women can pursue employment.
Relief & resilience
Rapid response teams organise critical supplies, medical camps, and psychosocial support when floods, landslides, or health emergencies strike.
From safe shelter to circular rural economies.
Each program responds to the realities of Dalit and Adivasi families. We blend healing, skill-building, and long-term accompaniment so that every participant can advocate for herself and her community.
Flagship initiative
Snehibhavan Home
A 24/7 residential home for girls combining shelter, education support, therapeutic care, and pathways to higher studies.
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Flagship initiative
Education & Scholarships
Bridge schools, tuition centres, and college scholarships ensure that girls and boys from tribal settlements stay in classrooms.
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Flagship initiative
Livelihood & Skills Labs
Tailoring, food processing, eco-tourism, and digital literacy labs prepare women and youth for dignified, community-owned work.
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Flagship initiative
Relief & Protection Network
Crisis shelter, counselling, and legal guidance keep women and children safe during domestic violence, disasters, or health emergencies.
Learn moreEveryday moments that inspire our work.
Our programmes are woven into the rhythm of rural Kerala — from classrooms and artisan workshops to vibrant cultural festivals and regenerative farms.
Daily resilience
Morning rides to school through the hills of Melukavu capture the determination of girls pursuing education with ADWESC support.
Culture & belonging
Traditional Theyyam performances remind us that community celebration and identity are central to healing and empowerment.
Women steering change
Self-help group members manage eco-farming plots and community kitchens, investing earnings back into child care and elder care.
Circular livelihoods that reinvest in care, learning, and leadership.
The upcoming seven-acre campus in Vagamon brings together eco-tourism, women-run enterprises, and community care services. Every earning is cycled back into education, elder care, and emergency support, creating a self-sustaining rural economy led by women.
What success looks like
- • Women as economic decision makers and entrepreneurs
- • Children with access to continuous schooling and skills labs
- • Elders cared for with dignity inside the community
- • Self-help groups leading climate-resilient development
Income & Dignity
Women-led enterprises in eco-tourism, jackfruit processing, and textile upcycling create jobs, collective ownership, and steady incomes for self-help groups.
- • Community-managed treehouses and cultural trails in Vagamon
- • Food processing units that celebrate local produce
- • Revenue shared back with women’s groups for reinvestment
Knowledge & Growth
Education, scholarships, and skills labs keep children in school and help young people step into leadership roles across their villages.
- • After-school learning centres and bridge schooling
- • Career mentoring and vocational labs for youth
- • Scholarships that prevent dropout and early marriage
Care & Community
Child care, elder care, and counselling services remove invisible barriers so women can work confidently while families feel supported.
- • Day-care and safe spaces for children during work hours
- • Elder care and palliative support coordinated by trained caregivers
- • Therapeutic circles that prioritise healing and protection
Healing and leadership start with one safe space.
Every story at ADWESC is rooted in safety, education, and the courage to imagine new futures. Survivors become mentors, volunteers become allies, and families rebuild together.
Language labs & study clubs
University students run Malayalam and English immersion labs so children build confidence in reading, writing, and public speaking.
““Weekly practice circles turned shy learners into storytellers. Kids now volunteer to present in school assemblies.””
Self-help group cooperatives
Tailoring units in Melukavu supply uniforms while savings circles reinvest profits into elder care and emergency relief.
““When women co-own the work, families listen. Our cooperative now funds medical support and school supplies together.””
Latest from the field
Follow our news and events to see how communities lead the way in every project.
Vagamon campus planning workshop
Community leaders, architects, and youth co-designed inclusive spaces for eco-tourism and learning hubs.
Flood response coordination
Volunteer teams delivered relief kits, medical support, and psychosocial care to hill communities during seasonal floods.
Volunteer spotlight
Nursing students facilitated health camps and menstrual hygiene education at Snehibhavan and partner villages.
Centre for shelter, justice, and circular rural futures.
ADWESC — the Adivasi Dalit Women Empowerment Study Centre — was born when two rescued girls and their mother needed a safe home. From that moment in 2000, Snehibhavan has grown into a movement that shelters girls, accompanies survivors of violence, and strengthens self-help groups across Kottayam and Idukki.
Our teams blend social work, community organising, and enterprise development. We run residential care, education support, vocational labs, legal aid, disaster response, and a new regenerative rural economy project in Vagamon — always centring dignity, culture, and consent.
Snehibhavan provides a safe home for more than 165 girls, offering shelter, continuing education, and long-term mentoring.
Since 2000, ADWESC has served communities in Kottayam and Idukki with unwavering dedication and impact.
From education support to disaster relief, our portfolio of programmes responds to the full spectrum of community needs.
Stories of trust, livelihood, and shared leadership.
“Snehibhavan gave my daughter a safe home and helped her rejoin school. Today she mentors other girls who arrive with the same fears.”
Parent of a Snehibhavan resident
Melukavumattom community circle
“Through the tailoring unit I could start earning again. Our self-help group now funds emergency care for elders in our ward.”
Mini Joseph
Self-help group leader, Idukki
“Working with ADWESC during the floods taught me how communities lead relief with dignity. I continue volunteering every monsoon.”
Sandra Mathews
Volunteer nurse
Rural resilience designed by women, rooted in community wisdom.
Each cooperative, scholarship, and relief effort is led by women who have walked the journey — from seeking shelter to steering development for the next generation.
45+
Women-led cooperatives
200+
Scholarship pathways
6
Community water systems
12
Disaster response teams
Join the circle of care
Partner with Dalit and Adivasi women who are redesigning rural futures.
Whether you volunteer time, collaborate on programmes, or amplify our stories, you help sustain safe homes, classrooms, and community enterprises. Reach out to co-create impact.