AVAG implements integrated community development programmes in Vanur block, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India, an area that has been designated “backward and in need of development” by the Government of India. 30% of the population is from the “Scheduled and Most Backward Castes”. While much of Tamil Nadu has had some recent successes experiencing rapid growth, according to the Gender Development Index, Villupuram district received the lowest score in the state of Tamil Nadu with a marking of .582 compared with the state average of .654.

AVAG works in approximately 80 villages and Dalit (formerly ‘Untouchables’) hamlets with a combined population of 90,000 people in the villages neighboring Auroville.