CREATE began as a democratic organization promoting democracy among the most disenfranchised of India’s citizens, the rural and urban poor and was initially a project of the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary. In 1993, the government passed the 73rd amendment in an attempt to make Panchayat Raj institutions more effective in mobilizing grass roots democracy across the country - decentralizing the power structure. This project was designed to promote and support increased participation of those who most need the assistance of the government.
In 2005, the organization shifted its focus to addressing food security issues of the rural poor and has begun a large pilot program designed to empower small scale farming communities to improve their circumstances by providing assistance for (1) digging wells which would enable farmers to cultivate two crops per year, (2) establishing a revolving loan fund from which farmers can borrow at a reasonable interest rate, and (3) advancing livestock to families which will repay the value over a few years
