JJVS was founded in response to the poor socio-economic status of tribal communities in southern Rajasthan. These communities have barely benefited from government aid and development programmes. Acutely aware of the miserable conditions, a group of social workers from the village of Vali decided to establish JJVS and dedicate their work to social and environmental justice issues through local self-help initiatives. The name of the organization, "Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti", is translated as: an association dedicated to public awareness and self-development through cooperative efforts.
JJVS has grown in response to enthusiastic public acceptance of the value of its work. We have opened three furnished offices in our own buildings at Udaipur, Vali, Jaisamand, and a fourth office in a leased building at Chansda. In addition to administrative facilities, the Udaipur head office features a training centre, herbal garden, medicines/products manufacturing unit, pharmacy, marketing cell and herbal clinic. There are four additional JJVS field offices, three training centres, and four herbal gardens located in Udaipur District.
Looking toward the future, JJVS has acquired 20 bighas of land (approx 3 hectares), located 100 km from Udaipur, which is now being developed to house a hospital, training centre, hostel, and old age care centre. A small herbal garden and specialty plantation is also being cultivated on the same land.