VSSU works in the coastal fringes of the Bay of Bengal, in the district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. The district is composed of a number of issues. On the one hand, it faces serious urban problems such as high density population (6165 persons per square km) and overloaded civic infrastructure in metropolitan Kolkata. On the other hand, the remote riverside villages in the Sundarbans (the world’s largest mangrove forest) at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal lack transportation and communication facilities. Furthermore, the delivery systems are extremely weak in these areas, which constitute 13 of the 29 development blocks in the district. In these zones, a lack of irrigation has led to mono-crop agriculture, and breaches in earthen embankments and cyclonic storms mean loss of life and destruction of crops and property on a regular basis.

Physically, VSSU serves the markets and villages within cycling distance of its local branch offices. At present, VSSU is operational in 380 villages. VSSU's main strategy is to target market centers and village women in Self Help Groups.