Collective linkage for rural community welfare: a collaborative effort by Amul Dairy and Tribhuvandas Foundation

Inter-organisational arrangements can benefit stakeholders and the community at large. Collaborations exhibit potential in community healthcare services as they address native problems efficiently and are less reliant on public infrastructure. The paper attempts to throw light upon the successful linkage of a farmer cooperative (Amul Dairy) with an NGO (Tribhuvandas Foundation (TF)), an integrated, symbiotic developmental approach with a keen focus on community-based primary healthcare. The study adopts a holistic design with an inductive, longitudinal case approach and follows an exploratory research methodology. Amul Dairy provides sustainable livelihood opportunities to dairy farmers to acquire financial stability and multi-dimensional growth thereby empowering them to contribute to their communities at large, while TF contributes to community healthcare and social welfare through myriad initiatives. These joint efforts have paved the way to address member well-being in cooperative set-ups, apart from providing wider social community welfare benefits through a unique collaborative model.