Salt of the Earth was founded by Murray Frankland in 1988.

Salt of the Earth is a unique and unusual charity which supports an extraordinary integrated rural development project in southern Tamil Nadu, India. The project now significantly improves the lives of about 300,000 people. It has grown quickly in the last 20 years through the dynamic leadership of its founder Cletus Babu and the support of Salt of the Earth (SOTE).

Salt of the Earth is an all-volunteer charity and every penny donated is sent directly to our partner organisation in India - Social Change and Development (SCAD) - without any deductions whatsoever. The purchasing power of a pound in India is much higher than in developed countries. A SCAD teacher or social worker is paid £400 per year; a 60 foot deep open fresh water well can be hand-dug for £2,000, and a cataract operation costs £6.

SCAD works in over 450 villages and supplies a wide range of help and services depending on the needs of each community. Typically this will include education, medical assistance, fresh water provision and other community projects such as Women's Self Help Groups. As soon as SCAD is invited by a village to help, the focus is to empower the people to help them help themselves. The people is each village are encouraged and helped to improve the way they organise themselves and take decisions, and a volunteer from each village is trained to be the SCAD representative. These part timers are supported by full time professionally qualified field workers from SCAD.

Since its inception in 1985, great changes have been brought about in the villages that SCAD has helped: infant mortality has been reduced threefold and 95% of children now complete primary education compared with only 10% twenty years ago; workers' wages and conditions of work have improved enormously through SCAD's empowerment programmes; there are now 2,500 Women's and Men's Self Help Groups which are creating great social and economic changes in the villages. For the first time, the rural poor have access to credit, women are taking an active and powerful role in village decisions making and are getting elected to first tier local government.

SCAD is also committed to improving higher and further education in the area and has established a number of engineering colleges, polytechnics, industrial training institutes, teacher training colleges and community colleges. These are centres of excellence and at any one time over tem thousand student attend these Government-approved institutions the profit from which goes towards funding the field operations.

SCAD was honoured in 2005 when its Chairman, Cletus Babu, was named one of the top six social entrepreneurs in India by the Prime Minister of India. In 2006, SCAD was doubly honoured my a personal visit from the President of India.

Salt of the Earth was founded by Murray Frankland in 1988 after visiting SCAD whilst holidaying in India. SCAD had only been formed three years previously by Cletus Babu and was then working with some 30 local villages. Work was about to start in saltpan villages close to the coast. Here the people were particularly disadvantaged, working in very poor conditions for low pay with employment restricted to eight months in the year. Ground water was largely salty, child labour widespread and occupational health problems were serious. Seeing the conditions first hand led Murray to found the charity and to naming it Salt of the earth.

Salt of the Earth has grown over the years by word of mouth and personal recommendations. Nearly all our income comes from individual supporters as opposed to funding from other bodies which is the norm. We have our website and publish two newsletter per year, but do not bombard our supporters with regular appeals for money. At least three Trustees visit SCAD each year to review progress and agree budgets. We have an equal partnership with SCAD based on mutual trust and respect, and we have influenced SCAD's strategy to ensure emphasis on food sustainability, the environment, organic procedures and self sufficiency.

Over the last 20 years, Salt of the Earth has funded (and continues to fund) many projects critical to villages becoming more self-sufficient. These projects include rainwater harvesting and storage, schools, tree planting, a range of training for Women's Self Help Groups, organic kitchen gardens, herbal gardens, and currently funded projects include the Biochar and wormiculture projects. Salt of the Earth has also funded (and continues to fund) many projects which are very difficult to secure funding for - projects including housing, schooling and income generation for leprosy sufferers and gypsies, pensions and housing for destitute elders, and education and therapy for mentally and physically challenged people.

Salt of the Earth continues to have a long term commitment to SCAD, and has frequently picked up funding projects when other funders have completed their funding cycles as well as providing funding for capital projects. Capital projects for 2008 include building and equipping a residential training college primarily for Women's and Men's Self Help Groups, and a community centre with a cottage hospital for the leprosy sufferers and their families at Sathya Nagar.

Jeremy Irons with Murray at the recording of the video

A video, depicting the work of SCAD and Salt of the Earth, was produced by David Friese-Greene with narration by Jeremy Irons. This is a particularly well-crafted promotional film and is very useful introductory tool at fundraising events. Jeremy Irons has since agreed to become our patron.

In December 2004, during Murray’s annual visit to SCAD, the Tsunami struck the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, where much of SCAD’s work is based. Within days, Salt of the Earth supporters had swung into action to raise an Emergency Relief Fund for SCAD with an initial target of £50,000. By May 2005 we had reached our revised target of £180,000 which provided emergency relief supplies of bedding, food, shelter etc. and also longer-term rehabilitation resources which paid for repairs to housing and schools, repair and replacement of fishing boats and nets as well as much needed counselling services. Salt of the Earth also secured £200,000 from CAFOD . The story of Salt of the Earth, SCAD and CAFOD responding to the Tsunami together with the latest updates is on the News Page.