Impact Stories

Some stories begin with a large office, a boardroom plan and a funded project. This one began with a young educated man standing on a polluted beach, looking at the waves bring back what the city had thrown away. For Dr. Chinu Kwatra, Founder of Khushiyaan Foundation, the coastline was not just a stretch of sand. It was a mirror. Wrapper, discarded bag and other plastc waste carried a question: if we call this city our home, who will take responsibility for what we leave behind? That question became a movement. What started as a determined individual effort slowly grew into one of Khushiyaan Foundation’s most powerful environmental initiatives — Beach Warriors. Its a one-man show. Chinu could be seen

An integrated approach to water conservation, sustainable agro-forestry, and climate-resilient farming is breathing new life into 10 marginalized villages across the Pawai and Gunnor blocks of Madhya Pradesh. Panna, Madhya Pradesh: In the semi-arid landscape of the Panna district, regional vulnerabilities like erratic rainfall, seasonal drought, and depleting groundwater tables have historically restricted agricultural productivity, forcing many smallholder families into seasonal migration. To systematically reverse these systemic challenges, a multi-dimensional rural development intervention named Project Sujalam—an Focused water conservation integrated with rural livelihood development Project—was launched. Generously supported by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) wings of LIC Housing Finance Ltd. and meticulously executed on the ground by the dedicated team at Lok Kalyan Bhumika Samiti, this initiative spans across 10

Maihar, Madhya Pradesh: In the rural villages surrounding Maihar, a community-based livelihood initiative supported by UltraTech Cement is creating new opportunities for women and small farmers. Implemented by Lok Kalyan Bhumika Samiti (LKBS), the programme focuses on strengthening local livelihoods through skill development, sustainable agriculture, and income diversification. The initiative currently covers four villages of Maihar, where several practical interventions have been introduced to help rural households enhance their income while promoting environmentally sustainable practices. One of the key components of the project is Oyster Mushroom Cultivation, where 150 women have been trained and two mushroom hutments have been established for demonstration and production. Mushroom cultivation has emerged as a promising livelihood option, particularly for rural women, as it requires

About the Initiative Lighting a Billion Lives©, launched by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), was a global initiative to facilitate access to clean lighting for energy poor communities across the world. In operation since 2008, the campaign enabled communities to transition from harmful kerosene based mediums to cleaner, more efficient and sustainable lighting alternatives through an entrepreneurial model of energy service delivery. Building on the success of the Lighting a Billion Lives© campaign, which provided energy access in India, South Asia and parts of Africa, TERI is launching LaBL 2.0 (Leveraging Clean Energy for a Billion Livelihoods), which aims to push the boundaries of energy access to energy for productive activities and builds the ecosystem for just energy transition.