Environment

77

Harnessing the sun for extracting water

HCLTech Grant Project Title:

Sustainable

Pro-People Development Solutions by

Promoting Climate Resilient and Adaptive

Livelihoods, and Use of Green Energy

Beneficiaries:

77 farmers households,

20 SHGs

Location:

5 villages in Maharashtra

AROEHAN began as a field action project

of the College of Social Work, Nirmala

Niketan, in 2006, in response to a terrible

incident in the Palghar district of Maharashtra,

where 169 children died due to malnutrition.

AROEHAN was registered as an NGO in

2014, working on holistic, integrated, and

sustainable programmes in the areas of water

conservation, health and nutrition, solar based

irrigation and agriculture.

In its project villages, malnutrition

and anaemia numbers have dropped. By

regenerating wells and bunds, the number

of ‘thirst days’ experienced by villagers have

reduced considerably. Using technology like

solar-based liſt irrigation, solar-powered small

agro-processing units like rice mills, flour mills

and oil pressers, and solar dryers for making

chips, income generation and farming has

been enhanced. rough its interventions,

AROEHAN has facilitated favourable changes

in cropping patterns, increased land under

irrigation, reduced migration to a large extent

and improved school infrastructure and quality

of learning for children. Hundreds of SHGs and

PVTGs have been empowered for livelihood

promotion, and statutory bodies activated for

transparent and accountable service delivery.

And a significant number of local people have

been empowered to be harbingers of change in

their hamlets and villages