A kind of famine (locally known as ‘Mautam’) visits the Indian state of Mizoram almost every 50 years. Flowering of bamboo followed by rat floods which devour crops are believed to be responsible for such famines. The Mautam phenomenon witnessed in the recent past resulted in the entry and participation of Civil Society Organizations to address the short-term food insecurity and strengthen livelihoods of the most affected poor. The present article examines the important roles of an NGO in strengthening food and livelihood security of the poor during a Mautam crisis based on the evaluation study of Save the Children’s (SC’s) Intervention.
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