Location: Magra Village, Udaipur, India
Project Areas: Community Development: Water Management
Intern: Elizabeth Thys
University, Degree, Year, Major: Tufts University, BS 2007, Civil Engineering
Host Organization: Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)
Supervisor: Mitul Baruah

FSD Grant: $791 ($200 mini-grant included)

The village of Magra lacks consistent access to potable water. The village is situated on rocky, hilly terrain, making traditional well-water systems prohibitively expensive to construct. The one existing well in the village constantly dries up during the hot summer months, forcing the village women to carry water every day from seasonal streambeds located one kilometer down the hill. However, these streambeds can also dry up, forcing villagers to dig in the streambeds searching for water, sometimes to no avail.

To ensure consistent and equitable access to potable water, particularly during the critical summer months, FSD intern Elizabeth Thys and Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) built a Rain Water Harvesting System (RWHS). With the RWHS, 150 people will have consistent access to a 30,000L tank of rainwater. Elizabeth Thys and FES not only constructed a RWHS, but also prioritized community involvement and support for the project at every phase. Information sessions were held with the villagers before the construction of the RWHS to describe the project, organize the required labor force, and get their feedback. Post-construction, FES collaborated with the local village institutions to train villagers to effectively maintain the RWHS.

Future interns will have the opportunity to follow up and support the sustainability of the RWHS in Magra. It will also be possible for the intern to design and implement similar cost-effective water management systems and empower communities with the knowledge and skills to design and maintain their own system of water management.
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Library Development at the Vidya Bhawan School

Location: Udaipur, India
Project Areas: Education and Community Development
Intern: Rena Sung
University, Degree, Year, Major: Brown University, B.A. 2008, International Relations and Economics
Host Organization: The Vidya Bhawan School
Supervisor: Rakesh Saxena, School Principal
FSD Grant: $665 ($200 mini-grant included)

The Vidya Bhawan School is a public school that serves low-income communities throughout the district of Rajasthan. In Udaipur, the school has a well-constructed library with organized resources on topics such as English, Hindi literature, science, current events and culture, humanities, and geography. However, the resources available are both out-of-date as well as insufficient in number to meet the demands of students and teachers. Dilapidated shelves and furniture further contribute to the poor condition of the library.

FSD intern Rena Sung collaborated with the school’s Book Club to identify and prioritize needed additions to the library’s inventory and to solicit donations of furniture and materials from the community. Together, Rena Sung and the Book Club initiated a book exchange program with a neighboring library to enhance the offerings at the school library, with the hopes of ultimately opening it for use by the surrounding community.

Future interns will have the opportunity to leverage community resources and funding from FSD to enhance the Vidya Bhawan Library as a powerful center for supplemental and continued education in the school and the community. Interns may also develop and teach curriculum for core subjects or extracurricular activities at the school. It is an exciting position to be a part of an engaged, community-focused team.
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Sustainable Livelihoods through Organic Agriculture

Location: Kolyari, India
Project Areas: Environment, Micro-Enterprise
Intern: Ryan Jones
University, Degree, Year, Major: University of Pennsylvania, B.A. 2007, Economics and Environmental Studies
Host Organization: Mahan Seva Sansthan
Supervisor: Rajendra Gamath, Secretary

FSD Grant: $400 ($200 mini-grant included)

About one thousand people live in the village of Jhanjar Ki Pal in Southern Rajasthan, India and depend upon agriculture as their primary livelihood. The farmers in this community have become heavily reliant upon expensive chemical fertilizers which degrade the quality of the soil and pose high fixed costs on the farmers’ earned income. In the face of decreasing financial returns, and long-term degradation of the soil, many male community members have migrated to urban areas in search of more stable and lucrative work. Those who have remained on their farms cannot afford the transition to organic methods, although it is viewed as a way to ensure a sustainable livelihood from agriculture.

FSD intern Ryan Jones worked with Mahan Seva Sansthan to spearhead a pilot project in organic agriculture for one sector of Jhanjar Ki Pal. One of the main goals was to test the best organic methods to enhance long-term profitability from agriculture and mitigate the factors pushing labor migration. With support from FSD, Ryan Jones and MSS doubled the number of vermicompost units, established five new liquid manure tanks, and offered educational presentations on organic farming methods to the community members.

Future FSD interns can expand upon this pilot project as well as support the evaluation and comparison of various organic agriculture methods. Community outreach and empowerment will be an important aspect of this work. An intern can work with MSS and the entire community of Jhanjar Ki Pal to determine the best short and long term strategies to maximize returns on investment using organic agriculture, and support the implementation of such a plan.
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Empowering Women by Exporting Handicrafts to the U.S.

Location: Udaipur, India
Project Areas: Women’s Empowerment, Business Development, Poverty Alleviation
Intern: Olen Crane
University, Degree, Year, Major: University of Virginia, B.S. 2002, Systems Engineering
Host Organization: Sadhna, formerly a division of Seva Mandir
Supervisor: Leela Vijayvergia

FSD Grant: $423 ($200 mini-grant included)

Sadhna is a nonprofit, fair trade, cooperative enterprise in Udaipur that trains women from urban slums and rural villages in basic handicraft arts. These textile products are then sold at a few local stores and some larger chains around India. However, Sadhna’s growth has been limited by local demand for their products. Because of the high quality of the material, handwork, and designs, Sadhna’s products are priced relatively high for the region, and are too expensive for many Indians’ budgets.

FSD intern Olen Crane proposed that Sadhna market their products internationally to access a wider base of consumers who can afford their products and generate the level of profit and demand needed to sustain Sadhna and its 400 affiliated artisans. He contacted several marketing and purchasing representatives from retailers and fair trade stores and used a grant from FSD to send them sample products.

A future intern with experience in international trade and marketing can support the group in developing the skills and contacts to effectively market and distribute their products. With and emphasis on community empowerment, the intern could play a crucial role in following up with distributors and vendors to ensure the growth of an international client base for Sadhna’s artisan goods.

Last updated 692 days ago by Vikas Ahuja