United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has selected Hadi village for development under sustainable employment development. Under this scheme, a group of people from the village visited Rajiv Gandhi fish research center in Tamil Nadu in south India. Upon their return, a special pond was inaugurated in a 1.7 hector area and about 500 crabs were released into it for caged farming purposes.

In addition to this, there are two prawn farming centers in the village. They give about 50 tons of prawns.

All these initiatives have provided a lot of employment opportunities in the village and also increase the gross domestic income of each individual. It is also helping to make a mark on the tourism map of the state.

Regular vaccination drives for the animals and birds in the village are conducted. There are five poultry farming centers in the village. The owners of these poultry farms are given guidance and also provided with genetically advanced animals and birds for their farms.

The women of Hadi village have played a vital role in the transformation of the village. Social reformation and social programs have vital participation from the women’s cooperative saving society (Mahila bachat gat). There are a total of 18 such groups active in the village today. They focus on various activities of employment such as vegetable farming, brooms making, making coir ropes and doormats, making various objects from bamboo and cooking various eatables from the local produce in the village.

To further empower these cooperative societies, various initiatives such as cleanliness drive, skill development for various occupational skills, and initiatives such as a contest for successful women entrepreneur, and legal advice to those who might need it are undertaken from time to time.

In addition to the traditional occupations of farming, fishing, and plantations, new employment opportunities are being made available to the villagers

A special program is run for the benefit and bright future of the students in the village. The panchayat has taken the lead in this initiative. A cleanliness drive is undertaken in the village. The students have been provided with study centres to concentrate on their studies every day. Regular health check-up camps are conducted in the schools. There is a gymnasium for the youth of the village to encourage a healthy lifestyle. These are the various initiatives undertaken for the students of our village.

There are three study classes in Hadi village. Around 50 to 60 students are benefitting from these on a daily basis. As today’s world is a computerized world with the Internet spreading its web all over, we believe that our students should not be left behind. Computer operation and education classes are run in the village. There are five well-equipped computers connected to the Internet and the students are making the most out of these facilities.

In the past, most of the young men would leave the village and go to Mumbai in search of jobs and means of livelihoods. But this has changed after a number of employment opportunities are available in the village itself and the young villagers are no longer interested in migrating to large cities. The Hadi village has earned its reputation as an innovative and developing village that is ready to accept new ideas and promote employment and youth empowerment. A number of innovative programs such as compost making, fish farming, and tourism have been implemented and the village has taken the lead in doing these in the Malvan region.

One such experiment is of collective farming. Since most of the farms in the village were scattered in small land parts and the landowners cannot afford to till their land in a profitable manner. As a solution to this, collective farming was implemented on an experimental basis and has proved to be highly successful. Vegetables grown under this scheme have been produced with the use of organic fertilizers and are free of harmful chemicals and toxic substances usually found in the chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The mango cultivators are provided with guidance on selling their produce every year. A collective marketplace and cooperative selling of mangoes have benefitted the villagers on a large scale.

The main source of income for the village panchayat is through the sand mining industry that is excavating sand from the Kalaval creek in the legal and appropriate way.

Due to all of these initiatives, the village is truly a smart village today.

Even though the annual rainfall in Hadi village is satisfactory, most of the water flows out into the sea via the creek and turns salty. Sweet potable water becomes scarce, especially in the summer months. To counter this, we have started storing the rainwater through rainwater harvesting techniques and bore wells. We have provided 60 tanks of 5000 liters each to overcome the shortage of sweet water.

Understanding the importance of a clean and renewable source of energy, the villagers restarted the solar lamps units that were nonfunctional for a while. The electricity generated through these units is used to power the village panchayat office and school. The lamps, fans, television set, and computers are easily powered by the electricity that is generated. This has resulted in the saving of thousands of rupees and Hadi village panchayat has earned the honor of being the countries first fully solar-powered village panchayat.