This report discusses the advantages and disadvantages of non-formal education (NFE) compared to the formal school system in Ganjam, a rural district on the east coast of Orissa, India. The aim of the research was to investigate whether or not NFE, would be a worthy target of aid from the Swedish aid organization SIDA (Swedish International Development Authority). The document presents background information on the formal system and examines some of India's contemporary educational problems. The document introduces the concepts of NFE and describes the network of organizations dealing with NFE (both governmental and nongovernmental). Interviews and observations serve as bases for an analysis of the organization "United Artists' Association." The paper explores India's Operation Blackboard and the Total Literacy Project. (Contains 20 references.) (SG)