The NGO initiated their interventions in the year 2014-2015 in the regions of Ladakh through self-funding and received overwhelming support from local administrations, villagers and farmer communities for peaceful facilitation of awareness campaigns, testing of organic demos of agriculture.

Vishwadeep Trust Annual Report:

The NGO initiated their interventions in the year 2014-2015 in the regions of Ladakh through self-funding and received overwhelming support from local administrations, villagers and farmer communities for peaceful facilitation of awareness campaigns, testing of organic demos of agriculture. Neha, a social entrepreneur and activist, based in New Delhi, India. Graduated from King’s College London, founded the organization upon her return to India with a vision “to empower communities , especially the tribal population and women farmers through organic, ecological agriculture based activities using vertical integration of organic farming and providing renewable energy access to rural population for electrification and post-harvest management” with an aim to create awareness amongst farmers and urban customers and reducing women drudgery.

Projects Undertaken:

We have played a significant role in the development of Ladakh’s first eco model village Takmachik, by eco model village we mean we farm organically , use solar technology for post harvest management and carried out the campaign of beat plastic pollution. We employ primarily women ,tribals and year by year work for their upliftment and income enhancement.
The organization which was self-funded till the year 2015, received funding under OP5 cycle of GEF-UNDP Small Grants Programme project titled “Solar Technology for post-harvest processes and sustainable agriculture for enhancement of income of tribal communities” as part of Climate Change thematic area from December 2016-17. They have been granted GBPNI/NMHS 20-21/MG_ from Ministry of Environment , Forests and Climate Change. They have received donations from well wishers for their work in the pandemic.

We cater to 650 rural women farmers for our solar appliances, 800 urban customers for organic products. Our work includes combination of land utilization for cultivation of local organic crops as well as harnessing solar and clean energy for post-harvest management, drudgery reduction and rural electrification across six villages in the Ladakh and Takmachik region of Kargil. The major crops include apricots, walnuts, seabuckthorn, barley, buckwheat, yak milk. We will be providing access to clean energy for electrification, post-harvest processing of organic agro products and market development of solar dried organic products for these along with introducing indoor activities during winter months and intervention in waste minimization, ending stubble burning and renewable energy technologies. The implementing technologies are locally made, women friendly, low cost, portable interventions such as solar cookers, solar dryers, solar lamps, millet threshers etc.

Each year we work for upliftment of women farmers in Ladakh.
We provide them with regular trainings in organic farming and use of solar technology for post harvest management and rural electrification.
Our training module is called Ujjwalini and currently 45 trained women self help group leaders train farmers on compost making , use of solar appliances for rural electrification and post harvest management. We even trained farmers to package organic products in paper packaging completely stopping the use of plastic for food packaging. We encouraged use of solar cookers for cooking at least two meals and use of portable , mobile solar dryers.

Recently, introduced Solar technology in Eco-Model village Takmachik which includes portable and low cost solar dryers for hygienic and efficient post harvest management of organic produce. The portable solar cook boxes for 67 families of eco model village will save 536 Kg of LPG in a month and guarantees 250 sunny days of usage in a year.

Through our work and interventions, we have witnessed a rapid growth in the sale price and negotiating power of apricot farmers. For example, in 2013 the price of 1 KG of Apricots was INR 190/- In 2015 we were able to increase it to INR 400/- a kilo and now post solar technology it is INR565/- which has encouraged the farmers to continue organic way of farming, eco-positive living. Sustainability for us lies in reducing food waste and environment degradation. One of the primary objectives at the grass roots level are capacity building initiatives that will lead to upstream benefits for example the empowerment of previously marginalized groups such as rural women and youth to participate in decision making and negotiating with other buyers for a fair support price.

Condition of indicators after our intervention:

No middlemen- increase in farmer remuneration per kilo of organic apricots whose price is gone up thrice to what it was when we started the project. Opening of marketing channels with them apart from J&K includes premium retail outlets, exhibition opportunities in New Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad and other coming up market linkages. We won a partnership deal, a collaboration of the Estonian government and UNCTAD. This entails an e-residency enrolment program which will allow us to sell in the EU, to market in Scandinavian countries, and those in the Americas.

Benefits to the villagers:

Apricot, barley and Buckwheat emerge as three key aspects of Takmachik’s agriculture, with apricot as perhaps the only cash crop. Under value addition, production of apricot oil is done. Loans are given to members at 10% interest and to outsiders at 20%. Outsiders must have a guarantor from the village. YargyasTsogspa Got a revolving fund support of Rs. 10,000/- under watershed development program. Explored options for embarking on a program of value additionthrough jam making, oil making and packaging etc for whichwe are currently negotiating with relevant government departments, NGOs, banks and research. Takmachik has a significant number of SHGs, engaged in some income activities. However, AmaTsogpa, the women panch and the women representative in various committees seem to be lacking in a sense of direction.

Additional activities in Ladakh :

We conducted beat plastic pollution awareness campaign in Takmachik asaawareness exercise with International organisation, Earthday network.

We distributed blankets purchased from JavedAlam, Kambal market, Leh as shown in entries and collected many clothes from our neighbours, medecines and thoughtful friends to be distributed to help them shield harsh winters.

With partnership and fellowship of international NGO Earthwatch , we have participated in conducting awareness camps and solar cooking class , introducing solar chefs in the community for better livelihoods.

We have conducted emergency counseling during flash floods in Ladakh and motivational camps.
Other nationwide activities:

We have also provided relief and rescue operations for child gangrape victims covering medical expenses , collecting donations , rescuing and shifting her to a shelter in Chennai along with help of Sai baba trust.

Vishwadeep Trust and its activities during the Country wide Lockdown:
We at the Vishwadeep Trust have been actively involved in COVID-19 related relief activities since the month of April and our teams have been engaged in the following humanitarian relief measures in the Delhi NCT region:

1. We were actively engaged in collecting data on stranded persons, helping them obtain Govt. permissions to travel to their intended destinations, arranging for their train tickets and helping them travel with a semblance of human dignity. Our teams also provided emergency counseling regarding safety measures to prevent the spread to the virus during travel and also tried to reassure panicking individuals in light of apprehensions regarding their individual health and the health of their loved ones. We had instituted special teams with instructions on managing misinformation and rumours, which were a major source of mental agony and chaos to the distressed and fleeing masses.

2. We had designated members looking into the manufacture and free distribution of home -made face masks in addition to the free distribution of gloves, soaps and sanitizers

3. The dynamic and evolving nature of the situation with thousands of families on the road meant that we had to make emergency arrangements of funds, which we accomplished, to an extent, by the generous and timely donations from our global donors.

4. In this endeavor, we managed to knit together a group of thoughtful, sensitive and highly committed individuals, members of Civil Defense and some other responsible CBO’s and NGO’s for the successful distribution of essential supplies in quarantine centers, train stations, open construction sites, bus depots etc.

5. Part of our Essential supplies kit included nutritious items like ‘Sattu’ (roasted gram flour powder, lemon, sugar), Jaggery ,Glucon-d , Water bottles, Biscuits and Dry ration. The effort was worth all the ensuing logistical complexities as a large proportion of these people were barely surviving on half their regular nutrition intake. They were mostly saving for an unknown future and that meant families and children were going hungry making them even more vulnerable to disease and fatigue.

6. We made and are continuing to make efforts to create employment and livelihood opportunities like a ‘Gram Udhyam’ for migrating workers in their home states, towns and villages.
7. We have distributed ration to over 7000 Families living in sangamvihar, freedom fighter colony, Sai baba temples Shahpur jat, Mazaar, Nehru place fly over in New Delhi and collected responses about COVID-19 and provided emergency counseling , other adequate relief measures.

8. We have distributed Hygiene Relief Kits( Mask, Gloves, Soaps) Over 650 families of ladakh During China Crisis Time in Takmachik with donations from Setu Sverige Foundation.
9. We generated revenue for housewives during lockdown by giving them raw material, sewing machine to make masks for better hygiene for all income strata, primarily for distribution to migrant workers.

10. We have rescued an old lady abandoned by her son and daughter in law. Sharing the pandemic & gave her shelter in an old age home.

We have observed that a number of individuals and organizations, including many NGOs have come forward in this time of emergency, to help the needy with food supplies and rations. While we cannot express in words our gratitude towards everyone who has contributed to alleviate human suffering in this hour of need, we would like to stress that we at the Vishwadeep Trust are committed to the upliftment and welfare of families-in-need in a holistic and sustained manner. We plan to stay with these communities on a sustained long term basis and help them at every step in managing the current crisis. It will also be our endeavor to ensure that they come out stronger and more resilient to face any crisis in the future and also become more empowered to guarantee a bright future for their children.

Certifications:

1. Participated in Regional Capacity Building workshop on the UNCCD reporting for the countries of Asia organized by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2018.
2. Completed Women Entrepreneurship Development Program organized by Walmart.
3. Certification of appreciation by Women of India Festival 2015-2020 at Delhi Haat, for showcasing 100% organic products, manufactured by women of India.
4. Participated in 8th Women Entrepreneurs Conference (All India Women Entrepreneurs Award, 2016).
5. National Finalist of Future Leaders Connect 2018, the global network for emerging policy leaders organized by British Council.
6. Participated in international conference on Biodiversity and Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Livelihood and Protecting the Planet organized by Forest, Environment & Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.
7. Certificate of participation in the training programme on NGO management by Vishwa Yuwa Kendra in 2019.
8. Received and won appreciation Certificate for Vishwadeep Trust’s excellent contributions to aGreener India in 2017.
9. Certification for Recognizing Innovation and Creativity on World IP Day-2018.
10. Participated in Powered Accelerator 1st Cohort.
11. Participated in MSME Development Forum, New Delhi.
12. Certificate of Participation in Industry Awareness Programme on Financial Support to MSMEs in ZED Certification Scheme held in the year 2017 as part of the Walmart Support WEDP 2.0 Programme.
13. Certificate of Participation in international conference of Entrepreneurship and Leadership (ICEL) on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Value Creation organized by Amity University in the year 2018.
14. Certificate by Women in business summit 2019 by Easy to pitch in 2019
15. Certificates of appreciation by All India Women entrepreneur award in 2018.

Recognition and Reward:-

1.Won IIM-CIP SMART FIFTY competition ,recognised as top fifty solutions to transform India by Department of science and technology , Govt. of India with a grant of INR 4 lakhs.

2. Awarded ” Social impact award in India 2017″ by the British council.

3. Won prize of 2.5 lakh rupees and Entrepreneur excellence award by Department of science and technology , Indian Institute of Technology and WEE foundation for contribution in social entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship.

4.Winner of Exceptional Leaders of Excellence 2017 by Women Economic Forum and All Ladies league.

5. Regular participant of Women of India festival for organic products organised in New Delhi by the Ministry of women and child development.

6.Awarded full scholarship by Govt. of Sweden for the Swedish Institute of management programme 2017 for the course Responsible leadership for ethical businesses.

7. Won a partnership deal, of the Estonian government and UNCTAD’s E-residency enrolment program.

8. Won SGP Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change , UNDP-GEF.

9.Featured in Economic Times , Time out (New York), India today and CNBC Young Turks.

10. Number of farmers impacted: 650

11. Fellow, Social entrepreneurship at Earthwatch Institute India

12. Granted GBPNI/NMHS 20-21/MG_ from Ministry of Environment , Forests and Climate Change for upliftment of mountain communities.

13. Won Earth day Network star in July 2020 for work in remote regions by Earth day network India.

Our work:-