WSSS has under its umbrella community based organizations for group dynamics and common action geared to community development. The village organizations are mandated to meet at least once in a month and deliberate on current topics/issues which include planning, monitoring and evaluation exercises. Irrespective of caste, creed or community, farming disaster and livelihood crisis have been taken as the common criteria for the selection of the memberships. WSSS conducted special participatory spot survey cum study exercise using PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) tool of social analysis. Series of training and orientation programmes have been going on since then at village, zone and central levels. Some of the major areas of training to be specially recalled are Community Development Organizers (CDO) training, rural agricultural technicians training, veterinary assistants training, PRA training, watershed development & management training, organic farmers training, etc.

SOCIAL WELFARE SOCIETY (SWS)

Social Welfare Societies (SWS) are democratically driven community organization established for the upliftment of poor and resources less people in the working area of Wayanad Social Service Society. Social Welfare Societies (SWS) are carrying out various developmental activities  in the area like income generation programmes, social development activities and village awareness programmes. Maintaining a strong and disciplined micro finance and credit system, it encourages the saving capacity and credit behavior of poor village people. Popularly known as Social Welfare Societies (SWS)  and ‘Local Units’, they are ‘village level federations of Self Reliance Groups’, envisaged to be strong instruments of mobilization of people and resources at the grass root level and are a force to strengthen the local Self Government through the Grama Sabas. The leadership and management of SWS is with a democratically elected Governing Body which undertakes the planning and implementation of different  projects and programmes aimed at the empowerment of the people. Now 66 SWS are functioning in the operational area of WSSS with a total membership of 16400 families.

SELF HELP GROUPS

The Central finance Ministry selected the district of Wayanad under the scheme for promotion of women SHGs in backward districts of India. The program was launched under the guidance and support of NABARD and Canara Bank (District lead Bank). WSSS has been the anchor NGO for the program. The objective is to explore and implement sustainable income generation program and provide a secure future for women groups in the district. Under this scheme, WSSS has formed 600 women Self Help Groups at different blocks (Mananthavady, Panamaram, Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta) which have a total saving of 31887480 rupees. Among these groups, 408 groups have fruitfully used the credit linkage system and benefited 2081890000 rupees of loan for various developmental activities.