The Hindoliya Pilot
Our starting point is a single Gram Panchayat — ~500 households across 3 villages in Dungarpur's tribal heartland. Here, we test everything: from merit scholarships to full scheme saturation mapping. If it works in Hindoliya, it scales to 431 panchayats.
A Microcosm of Vagad's Challenges
The Logic of Starting Small
Development organizations fail when they try to scale before proving their model. Hindoliya is our proving ground — a single panchayat where we can achieve 100% household coverage, establish irrefutable evidence of impact, and build the trust infrastructure needed to expand to neighboring panchayats.
The Community
Hindoliya's population is predominantly Bhil tribal — one of India's largest indigenous communities. Small landholdings, seasonal migration to Gujarat for construction labor, and bureaucratic friction in accessing government entitlements define daily life here. This is exactly the profile VDIF was built to address.
Three Interventions, One Goal: Zero Gaps
🏆 Merit Scholarships
Direct cash prizes to native tribal students who excel academically, ensuring merit is recognized and rewarded within the community — not years later via opaque government channels.
📚 Book Support Program
100% coverage for all students transitioning from Class 8 to senior school at Rajkiya Uchch Prathmik Vidyalaya, Hindoliya. VDIF procures books directly — families bear zero cost. This eliminates one of the most common dropout triggers.
📋 Scheme Saturation Mapping
Door-to-door household surveys identifying every family eligible for government pensions, rations, Ayushman Bharat, PMAY housing, and other entitlements. VDIF doesn't just identify — we drive the bureaucratic process until the benefit is secured.