Our Story
About Assisi Aid Projects
Assisi Aid Projects is an Australian-based international development organisation dedicated to the economic empowerment of women across the Asia-Pacific. We support marginalised rural women to develop skills, access training and income-generating opportunities. Since our foundation in 1985, we have strengthened the livelihoods of thousands of women, helping to build financial independence and long-term security for women and their families.
Assisi Aid Projects’ origins trace back to 1974, when Sister Stella, a nun from India, visited Victoria, Australia to learn dairy farming techniques to help fight food insecurity. After spending seven months on dairy farms throughout regional Victoria, she returned to India by ship, paying for her trip by managing 33 Australian cattle in the ship’s hull. At the end of this journey, she retained six of the cows, and the Assisi Farm and Training Centre was established in 1975. Sharing the skills she learnt from her time in Australia with her community in Tamil Nadu, Sister Stella was able to train women in dairy farming.
This act transformed the lives of countless women – one cow could produce enough milk to sustain an entire family.
In 1985, Assisi Aid Projects was formed, aiming to provide support to the centre. The longstanding, mutual partnership empowered thousands of women and their families across Tamil Nadu to transform their livelihoods through income-generation and skills training.
Over the years, Assisi Aid Projects has partnered with organisations in Cambodia, India, Maldives, Solomon Island and Timor Leste.
In 2022, Assisi Aid Projects embarked on an exciting new partnership in Nepal with the Business and Professional Women Network, and in 2023 we expanded to work in Indonesia in partnership with Dreamdelion.
As our work spans different countries, our projects differ in every setting. We have supported a range of community-led economic activities, including livestock raising, agriculture, food production and small businesses, to help families build secure and sustainable livelihoods. Our trusted local partners – and structured gender analyses – guide project design to ensure projects respond to the distinct needs of each local community.
Throughout our journey, we remain true to our original purpose – the empowerment of women through sustainable livelihoods – while continuing to adapt our approach to ensure it is responsive, relevant, and shaped by the needs of the communities in which it works.
Assisi Aid Projects is a proud signatory to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct and is an accredited DFAT Australian NGO Cooperation Program partner.