Chemmanakari is a coastal village in Kerala, located near the northern end of Kottayam district, with proximity to the Vembanad Lake. This place houses the famous Indo American Brain & Spine Hospital, and is also known for its natural beauty of the backwaters.

Even though the village is rich in natural resources, it is unable to sustain on its own. With regard to the socio-economic condition of the village, it greatly lags behind other Kerala villages. Shortage of safe drinking water, bad road conditions, sanitation issues, and lack of proper education are its major problems.

To help change the situation, the charitable foundation of Indo American Hospital -- Bhauleyan Charitable Foundation (BGF) -- is adopting the village, based on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with plans to transform it into a model village.

Civitas Consultancies Private Limited is conducting the study, which will cover two Gram Panchyats of Vaikom Municipality -- Udayanapuram Gram Panchayat and Maravanthuruth Gram Panchayat; consisting of 17 and 15 wards, respectively. For the Study, Civitas has chosen Wards 1, 13, 14 and 15 of Maravanthuruth Gram Panchayat and Wards 1 and 17 of Udayanapuram Gram Panchayt. The objectives of the study are to understand the socio-economic condition of the village and identify various bottlenecks impeding its development. The study also covers the following areas: Drinking water, sanitation, maintenance of road facilities, feasibility of various traditional employments (coir, fishing, agriculture), and other environmental issues.

Civitas has chosen 85 households from 6 wards for the questionnaire survey.  Focus group discussions will also be held to understand better the problems faced by the villagers.