PRESENCE IN RAJASTHAN
ACF works in 500 villages across 13 Districts of Rajasthan:
- Pali
- Barmer
- Nagaur
- Jhunjhunu
- Ajmer
- Alwar
- Churu
- Rajsamand
- Udaipur
- Bundi
- Bhilwara
- Jaipur
- Sri Ganganagar
- Hanumangarh
Two-thirds of the state’s area is covered by the Thar Desert – home to extreme conditions which give rise to frequent droughts and famines and make local livelihoods highly vulnerable. Rajasthan has the maximum probability of occurrence of drought in India. Additionally, ground water is depleting at unprecedented rates and only 25% of agricultural land is under irrigated rabi crops.
ACF focuses on water harvesting, recharging and irrigation to address the chronic water issues in Rajasthan. By strengthening traditional wisdom, reviving existing traditional water harvesting structures, and building khadins or deepening ponds, the water capacity of communities has increased. Safe drinking water and addressing people’s attitude towards water usage is also a focus. Community level campaigns are conducted for judicious water usage; and Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Structures and Micro Irrigation technology promoted and scaled in communities.
Structures developed
People benefitted
Covered under micro irrigation
Ponds revived
RRWHS constructed
Check Dams constructed
Farm ponds constructed
ACF supports farmers through awareness, technological advancements, and the promotion of sustainable farming practices – with the aim to doubling the farmer’s income. Implemented in 4 districts, our program aims to improve standards of living, and reduce farmer risk and vulnerability. ACF successfully completed 10 years with Better Cotton project in Marwar Mundwa region working with 13,000 farmers.
Saving in cost of inputs
Additional revenue due to Horticulture
Micro-Irrigation
Additional Income through Cattle Mortality
Enhanced milk & meat production
Additional income via FPO
Doubling Income
under Better Cotton
WADI families
ACF Rajasthan take the initiative to ensure that women have an equal opportunity to engage in all sectors by promoting income generation activity and financial inclusion. We also provide a platform, and training and capacity building to support engagement in income generation activities. 3 Women’s Federations have been launched where SHG members are also engaged in group-based income generation activities such as pickle, ghee and papad making.
SHGs
Corpus generated
Engaged in income generating activities
Additional Income
Women's Federation
Village Organisations
Mobile dispensaries move throughout villages and provide healthcare support and medicine to the community. Further support is provided by Sakhis to women and their families to foster good health. ACF addresses malnutrition by improving the health indicators and overall nutritional status of children. We also focus on ASHA, AWW and ANM integration – providing access to antenatal/postnatal care and immunisation services, identifying high risk babies, and providing knowledge on breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
Immunization coverage
Increase in Institutional Delivery
Reduced Infant Mortality Rate
Reduced Neonatal Mortality Rate
Reduced Mother Mortality Rate
With over 12 SEDI institutes across Rajasthan (Pali, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu, Bhilwara, Rajsamand, Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Mathura), ACF is promoting productive employment and the establishment of micro-enterprises among rural youth who are school dropouts, economically disadvantaged, or left out of the main stream. With numerous state accolades, SEDI Rajasthan has gained credibility as a reputed skill development institute, offering short term intensive courses across 30 trades.
Youth trained
Placed
Entrepreneurs
Placed
Job retention
We are focusing on the promotion of Physical literacy (Sport Promotion), Digital Learning, WASH and the development of school infrastructure like installation of Tinshed, roof repair and classrooms upgrades. Additionally, we provide better lighting and seating arrangements in schools to promote an enhanced reading and learning environment. We also support the set-up of Science Labs in Government schools. Via WASH we create awareness among students about sanitation and hygiene and also construct toilets.
Schools
Students Impacted
Computer labs
Toilet Blocks Constructed
ACF promoted Women Federation in Marwar Mundwa Maru Shree Mahila Vikas Samiti, has launched their own brand of spices called ‘Marwari Hatadi’. Formed in 2021, the group have united and started marketing their own brand of spices in less than a year. Currently retailing cumin, fennel, coriander seeds and fenugreek, the FPO will procure raw materials for members, process and market spices with profits distributed among shareholders. Additionally, plans are underway to market products in online platforms.
When the ACF team visited the remote and isolated tribal villages of Bali and witnessed first-hand the abject poverty there, they knew they had to be a part of the solution. This was a place where no one had dared to work, no NGOs, no corporates, no Government. It was so remote. ACF mobilised women into SHGs and as they gained confidence and better financial management skills, the focus shifted to generate income – in particular goat rearing. In just a few years, women’s income has doubled and Bali has transformed.
‘Grameen Vikas Project’ reaches out to farmers to develop multiple avenues for increasing income levels. ACF partnered with Godrej Agrovet Ltd to create income opportunities across 6 villages of Bundi, Rajasthan. The project provides necessary skills, expertise, infrastructure and training for the community to strengthen agro-based livelihoods, whilst leveraging government schemes, empowering women, and training youth in vocational skills. Community members are also motivated to use water consciously to reduce uncontrolled extraction of groundwater.
Communities, like Rabriyawas in Rajasthan, once almost uninhabitable due to a lack of water, are today thriving agricultural hubs, thanks to the restoration and rejuvenation of ancient ‘nadis’ (village streams) which have helped sustain life in the desert region for millennia. With over 467 ponds rejuvenated in the Rajasthan, a variety of Village Development Committees (VDC) are taking care of the operation and maintenance of these water bodies. Today, the duration of water availability from each pond can sustain a community for almost an entire year after the rains.
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In order to overcome water and livelihood issues faced by people across 30 villages in Jaitaran Block of Pali District, western Rajasthan, Ambuja Foundation joined hands with IndusInd Bank under its Jal Jeevan initiative in 2018-19 to 'Strengthen & Augment Rural Awareness & Livelihood' - with a key focus on harnessing the power of water harvesting to revitalise the area. Today, these communities are water self-reliant, which has better equipped them to prevent the onset of COVID-19.
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ACF joined hands with a leading financial institution to ensure drinking water for 200 poor and marginalised families of Marwar Mundwa Block in Nagaur District and Jaitaran Block in Pali District. Each of these families were equipped with a Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting Structure (RRWHS) to capture precious rainwater and store it for household use throughout the year. ACF has conducted extensive work in water harvesting in Rajasthan - transforming the water woes of 5 lakh people across rural India by installing 9922 RRWHS and providing 120 million litre storage capacity.
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Halfway between Jodhpur and Bikaner, on the edge of the Thar Desert, lies the city of Nagaur. Its main industries include spices and tourism, and youth in the area primarily turn to agriculture for jobs and a future. It is here that ACF set up a Skill & Entrepreneurship Development Institute back in 2009 and somehow, over the past 12 years, this institute has churned out award winning trainees, year on year. For the last 6 years, SEDI Nagaur has produced 6 Skill Icons and has taken away the coveted Skill Ambassador award every year for the last 3 years.
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