Workers Development Union

Workers Development Union ("Shramik Abhivrudhi Sangh") is the social action wing of the Goa Jesuits, with activities concentrated in Belgaum and other districts of north Karnataka and in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. SAS works among the masses to transform unjust structures of society and to build harmonious communities of diverse peoples, religions, languages, and cultures, helping them to satisfy their basic human needs.
The Union has a shepherd training program in sheep care, modern medicines, and modern breeding practices, carried on in the largely pastoral northern districts of Karnataka.
In 1996 SAS helped local women produce and market bags and other handicrafts made of jute and cotton fibre. In 2005 SAS teamed with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and helped Kuruba women in the Belgaum district in Karnataka to make and market wool products from sheep on the Deccan Plateau.