Naandi

Trust begets Transformation

The communities we work with place their trust in us. By doing so, they empower us to partner with them. And walk the transformation journey together.

Celebrating community spirit, coffee expertise, and gender equality under the lush canopies of a mango orchard (Photo by Adithya Narayan)

3000000

TRIBAL LIVES OUT OF POVERTY

4000000

GIRLS EMPOWERED THROUGH SCHOOLING & LIFE SKILLS

300000

YOUTH TRAINED FOR JOB READINESS

MILLION TREES PLANTED FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMER INCOMES

220 full-time employees, 10,000 frontline associates, 438 districts, 21 states

• 25 years working in tribal, rural, and urban regions to eradicate poverty

• 100 varieties of crop, fruit, and timber grown using regenerative agriculture

• 35,000 women farmers supported in growing chemical-free, nutritious vegetables

• 50,000 tonnes of waste biomass recycled into 17,500 tonnes of compost per year

• 610,000 women job-ready through coaching in English, aptitudes, and digital skills

• 1 MILLION women and children impacted with healthcare, education, and research

• 1.5 MILLION lives enriched with agri-inputs and knowledge for regenerative agriculture

• 3 MILLION rural lives improved with access to safe drinking water

• 34.2 MILLION learning learning hours for 171,000 girls across 2023-24

• 1 BILLION nutritious meals served to children in over 10,000 government schools

In the coming years, we aspire to support 10 MILLION girls with schooling and employment and 100 MILLION farmers with planting 1 BILLION trees

Photo by Nevin John

WHAT DOES NAANDI DO?

Naandi’s work in any region begins with a deep conviction in the potential of community-driven transformation from vulnerability to resilience. We begin with listening – intently and deeply – to get some understanding of the cultures, histories, and ecologies.

We hear people’s stories, build connections with entire families, observe the flora and fauna, and gradually begin the process of trust building. Patience and empathy are the cornerstones of this process.

Uniting families in our community-led transformations, ensuring that no child, woman, or man is left behind (Photo by Claude Avezard)

How does Naandi work?

As our understanding of a community’s unique identity deepens, we invite girls, youth, women, and men alike to come together and collaboratively chart out a path towards realising their dreams.

The atmosphere of mutual trust encourages communities to work with us to reclaim their prosperity, while staying true to their own values.

This journey is not without its challenges. It requires unconditional trust, unwavering dedication, and sustained effort.

We are able to take on challenges thanks to generous philanthropy support and global expertise. We help communities create regionally-specific frameworks of knowledge sharing, capacity building, ecological preservation, and wealth creation which are inclusive to all no matter their age, gender, caste, or creed.

Our work is focused on:

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Photo by Clare Louise Thomas

WHERE DO WE WORK?

Our work extends across 438 districts in 21 states of India. Reaching this scale would not have been possible without the integrity, passion, and collaborative spirit of our 220 managers and executives as well as over 10,000 of our community-based team members.

Photo by Ankana Sen

WHAT ARE OUR CHALLENGES?

Measuring the impact of our work is important. Quantitative metrics are easy – number of learning hours for girls, number of diverse trees planted, and so on.

The qualitative impact of our work, however, goes well beyond the numbers. How do we measure that impact? How to ascertain our impact on a girl’s life, an agrarian community, or a diverse ecosystem? Should we interview the girls we educate and the women we skill to ask if they feel confident enough to pursue their career aspirations? Should we focus solely upon increases in soil organic carbon, crop yields, and annual income? Or, is it more important to explore why, despite substantial increases in income, our smallholding farmer partners and their families prefer to maintain their traditional ways of life?

Gauging such impacts remains our greatest challenge, but we are committed to doing so. We aim to strengthen the dignity amongst young girls, promote gender equality within communities, and ensure biodiversity and wealth distribution for farmers.

Supporting girls to overcome sociocultural barriers and realise their highest potential in all aspects of their life (Photo by Pravin Dhavali)

What are our measurable impacts?

Over 700,000 girls supported under Project Nanhi Kali to complete a decade of schooling with dignity, confidence, and renewed aspirations for the future.

18,019 classrooms across the country offer module-based learning to young women focusing on STEM, entrepreneurship, and other income-generating opportunities.

Over 3,000 employer and institutional partners across the country collaborating on skilling and placement for young women.

35,000 rural women farmers trained in regenerative agriculture to cultivate 'Good Food Corners' with healthy, chemical-free crops for nutritional security and additional income.

Our livelihoods project in Araku Valley aggregated the world’s largest tribal farmers cooperative, which oversees regenerative agricultural cultivations of specialty coffee by tribal farmers and hosts the world’s largest organic coffee festival, Gems of Araku.

1,300 tribal farmers transformed into millionaires through their dedication to excellence in regenerative agriculture and their cultivations of Araku Coffee - an award winning globally-acclaimed brand of tribal origins showcased at cafes in Paris, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

47.5 million trees planted for functional food forests and ecosystem services with 85% survival rates and capacities to sequester 5 million tonnes of Co2 over the next 20 years.

Our regenerative agricultural model, coined Arakunomics™, won Rockefeller’s 2050 Food Vision Award and is published as a G20 policy recommendation for nutritional and environmental security.