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INTAF - International Task Force for the Rural Poor


rope bed in front of the mud-and-straw house of a poor Indian villager

the poorest villagers still live in houses made of mud, straw and dung and sleep on handmade rope beds

cows grazing in a street in an Indian village

a street in an Indian village

children getting water from a village pump

getting water from a village pump

elderly Indian villager looking towards mounds of dung cakes

the conical-shaped stores of buffalo dung cakes, used for fuel

a man and a boy riding home with the harvest on a bullock cart

villagers take the harvest home by bullock cart

About INTAF

INTAF's partners

INTAF's publications

Past events

About INTAF

International Task Force For The Rural Poor, known as INTAF, was set up following the recommendation of an international seminar on "working with The Rural Poor'', held in a village in India, in Dec. 1988, and worked for the rural poor until 2015.

INTAF was born out of the realisation that the number of rural poor and the extent of rural poverty are both on the increase.

Even the most well-intentioned policies of various governments to uplift the rural poor have either failed or proved ineffective.

INTAF was an international organisation which sought to achieve recognition among the world community, for the plight of the rural poor which include the most exploited, oppressed and ignored people of the world. They include tribals, untouchables, the landless, marginal and small farmers.

The aims of INTAF were :

  1. To identify policies, programmes and projects that are contributing most to the all-round development of the rural poor.
  2. To publicise these policies, programmes and projects and to help make them as effective as possible.
  3. To monitor and evaluate the progress of these policies, programmes and projects.

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INTAF's partners

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Publications

International Journal of Rural Studies published twice a year in cooperation with VRI

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Past events: previous INTAF world assemblies

The following World Assemblies have taken place:-

  • Amarpurkashi, India in 1988 - "Working with the Rural Poor"
  • Amarpurkashi, India in 1992 - "INTAF Mini Earth Summit"
  • London, U.K. in 1995 - "Empowering the Rural Poor"
  • Chachikpur, India in 1999 - "The Decline of Rural Poverty"
  • Konch, India in 2002 - "Sustainable Livelihoods"
  • London, U.K. in 2005 - "Investing in the Rural Poor"
  • Amarpurkashi, India in 2008 - "Poverty, Politics and Power"
  • London, U.K. in 2011 - "Experiences of Working with the Rural Poor"

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