Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) has partnered with SLB Limited to implement Community Development Programs in the Barmer district of Rajasthan. Under this partnership ACF aims to empower women through Self-Help Group (SHG) formation, reach out to adolescent girls and focus on bringing water tohousehold doorsteps by encouraging building rooftop rainwater harvesting systems. The joint project will cover 5 villages of the Gudamalini block of Barmer, reaching over 7200 beneficiaries and 2300 households.

Under the Women Empowerment initiative, ACF will focus on capacity building of women who belong to socially and economically weaker sections of the society.  The area in the desert state is a typical rural setting where females are restricted to household chores,have no say in family decision making and are primarily housebound. These women have no access to higher education and are financially dependent on male members of their families. They are even victims of dowry and domestic violence. Due to these issues SLB’s CSR Lead, Ms. Shreya Sudhir and ACF’s Senior Management have decided to come together tomobilisethese rural women,organise them into groups, and support them in becoming self-reliant.

Talking about the new partnership, Ms. Pearl Tiwari, CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation said, “We are pleased to have a partnership with SLB Limited and launch these transformative projects in Barmer. We not only aim to empower women, but buildtheir confidence to overcome the many varied social problems they face. The partnership helps us take a step forward towards our vision of rural prosperity and we look forward to empowering these women to become agents of change in their families and communities.

The joint program intends to strengthen the existing 42 SHGs by conducting training program and exposure visits, along with initiatingincome generation activities. ACF will also introduce social security schemes, and encourage stakeholder meetings and workshops in the villages.

ACF will form groups of adolescent girls - providing training and awareness on areas like nutrition and health education, life skills, access to public services and child care practices, whilst also conductinghealth check-ups along with counselling and guidance on family welfare. Vocational training will also be provided to rural girls above the age of 16 under the National Skill Development Program.

To enhance year-round access to water, ACF will encourage households to set up Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting systems to capture rainwater and provide drinking water in their homes. Households will be offered support to build systems with a water storage capacity of 10,000 litres.

Barmer is an area outside the current functional geography of Ambuja Foundation.  However, as a grassroots implementation agency with almost 3 decades of vast experience in remote rural areas, ACFis able to replicate its program models seamlessly. Rajasthan is one of the largest priority states for ACF’s community development work, thus both regional skills and networks will be harnessed to reach out to beneficiaries in Barmer.

About Ambuja Cement Foundation

Ambuja Foundation is an independent, pan-India development organization, committed to generating prosperous rural communities.  We believe in the vast, untapped potential of rural communities and the unstoppable power of the people that live there.  With investments in water, agriculture, skills, women, health and education, we enable ‘livelihoods’ as a pathway to unleashing that potential.  Partnering with like-minded corporates, Governments and others, we work collaboratively with communities to solve pressing community problems – empowering local people to be the catalysts and drivers of change.  And over almost 3 decades of work, we have seen a complete transformation in the remote geographies in which we work.  Today, with the full support and encouragement of Ambuja Cements Ltd, we are committed to expanding our footprint and impact of our work even further, through partnerships – building many more sustainable, prosperous rural communities, and revitalising rural India as the backbone of this country.