Partner name: Trupti Jain – Water storage & management Technology 

Name of Organization: Naireeta Services Limited
Organization Website: www.naireetaservices.com 

Project Focus 

Naireeta Services Limited was founded in 2011 by Trupti Jain and Biplab Ketan Paul, and is known and recognized for their revolutionary storm water management technology called Bhungroo©. This technology was created as a solution to save farmers’ crops from waterlogging during monsoon rains and seeks to ensure adequate irrigation during dry seasons by way of underground storage. 

The technology is introduced through a capacity building programme targeted towards three groups:  

1. Land-owning farmers who can afford to invest in the technology  

1. Smallholders supported by a government programme 
2. Poor, vulnerable and illiterate women farmers working collectively in self-help groups and benefitting from a grant programme developed by Naireeta Services (trainings and principles for installing technology are explained in their own languages and in easily understood terms) 

Recognition 

Since Trupti was awarded the GJCS award in 2018, she has: 

• Taken part in the Fullbright scholarship program called the Zero waste Water Challenge where she strengthened her research capacities 

• Engaged in advocacy at the level of Gujarat State where she sits in the Climate adaption committee 

• Joined the WGC’s working groups on Adaption and Agriculture, enabling her to follow the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations on crucial climate and gender topics 

• Made important partnerships through global alliances such as the Gender & Environment Data Alliance (GEDA). 

• Participated in numerous UNFCCC and UN side events with WECF, offering her knowledge and expertise in gender and climate solutions 

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

• Over 5,500 Bhungroo© units have been installed to date, transforming the lives and climate resilience of more that 160 000 people. 

• Naireeta Services has made it a condition to hand over the Bhungroo© ownership rights to the women in charge of the technology in order for the community to use the irrigation water. The joint ownership, operation and maintenance of a Bhungroo© unit by a group of women within a community leads to their joint ownership of the irrigation water the technology produces, transforming the social status of the beneficiaries from agricultural labourers to financially self-reliant farmers. 
• The Women Climate Leaders Program, developed by Naireeta Services started with 120 women, and has involved another 2,150 women from 16 villages during 2021 and 2022, scaling up awareness about the technology in new areas. 

Next Steps  

Access to resources such as land and credit, and the cultural norms and entrenched gender roles that limit women’s involvement in decision making and implementation of gender sensitive agricultural policies and programs remain the largest barriers for women farmers in the local region. Moving forward, alongside the impactful change she is making in her community, Trupti would like to brainstorm with WECF for strategies to access larger scale funding that integrates policy research, gender, and technology. 

Bhavya Georges –  Biodiversity & Indigenous Knowledge 

Name of Organization: Naireeta Services Limited
Organization Website: https://keystone-foundation.org/

Project Focus 

Keystone Foundation was founded by 3 passionate biologist researchers (Mathew John, Snehlata Nath and Pratim Roy) in 1993 with the aim of rehabilitating and sustaining traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, community well-being and climate change adaptation in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Foundation advocates for activities that value and facilitate Traditional Cultural Expressions of Indigenous communities which has resulted in a living archive and repository of Indigenous, ecological and cultural knowledge. The program has fostered community-led research for gender inclusive policy engagement towards effective climate adaptation.  

Recognition 

Keystone members have received multiple awards in recognition of their work, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar prize from India’s President, the BBC World Challenge for their promotion of traditional wild honey hunters, the Guiness Record certificate for tree planting, and the GJCS awards for their climate action focusing on bridging women’s traditional knowledge with modern science. Their work has empowered researchers from Indigenous and local communities to spearhead strategy, decisions and solutions for climate action in their landscapes through analog forestry, agroecology, and documentation of local climate stories.  

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

Bhavya’s specific program with Keystone Foundation focuses on 20 women (and their households) from 6 villages involved in the Barefoot Ecologist Programmes and women collectives.  

• Around 200 women gained knowledge on climate change and biodiversity, and 20 are recognised as trainers, or researchers. Some of these women have engaged in seedkeeping, created revolving funds, or joined the Forest Rights Committee initiated by the Forest Rights Act. They all show signs of improved well-being and self-confidence through peer-to-peer experience sharing and their new responsibilities strengthening their capacity to act at the community and municipal levels. 

• Bhavya coordinates a network of 30 women and 20 men Climate Educators who work mainly in schools in and around Kotagiri. The Climate Educators are raising community members’ awareness on climate change impacts, water source protection, and solid waste management. They also involve them in kitchen gardening activities at school, with some replicating this activity at home and creating their own kitchen garden. 

• 35 analog forestry plots have been implemented as well as 10 kitchen gardens in schools. These have increased knowledge of soil quality and plant species, and have diversified crops used by farmers to grow the ecological and economic resilience of households. 
• Women’s participation in the Forest Rights Committees (FRC), created after the Forest Rights Act was adopted in 2004, has enabled them to raise some important issues around climate change and biodiversity loss as well as to affirm their rights, needs and priorities. 

Next Steps 

Since receiving the GJCS Award and attending COP, Bhavya explains that she has gained more of an overview of how decisions are being made at a global level, particularly on gender policies. She received more visibility, was able to state her and her people’s demands and negotiations and grew her confidence while speaking about topics and policies related to gender justice.  

Moving forward, the Keystone Foundation hopes to recruit more participants to pursue actions in analog forestry and climate education, create new plot developments across multiple villages, and hold trainings and art-based workshops on gender and ecological restoration. Bhavya aims to continue deepening her understanding and advocacy for gender justice in all topics and extend the Climate educators program to encourage other women and community members to do the same. 

Partner Name: Apu Roy (supported by Jo Ashbridge)– Safe resilient building 
Name of Organization: Nirapod Bangladesh Songstha (supported by AzuKo) 
Organization Website: https://azuko.org/   
Social media:  https://www.facebook.com/NiraporthBangladesh/   https://youtu.be/GrCjUlywnv0 

Project Focus 

AzuKo and Nirapod Bangladesh Songstha collaborate to improve climate-resilient housing and WASH (Water, Administration, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities for low-income families in northern Bangladesh. Their work focuses on co-designing safe homes for women and girls affected by floods and heat stress. They won the GJCS Awards in 2023 for their efforts in strengthening women’s roles and voices in the housing construction sector in Bangladesh through an ecological and community-based approach using locally sourced materials.  

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

• The Program Pathway to home improvement had a total of 3044 beneficiaries, 84% of them being women and girls. Almost all stated that they felt more confident in design and construction and felt that the skills learned will help improve their home 

• In rural areas, many women are not permitted to work outside the home, leading to less financial independence and the majority of decisions in the home therefore being decided by men despite women typically spending more time in the kitchens, toilets and washing areas. The organization is helping women achieve financial equality by setting up local women’s savings groups and currently supporting 535 women across 24 communities. These groups meet regularly to save together, share knowledge, and provide low-interest loans to one another to improve or repair their homes. Many have begun increasing their financial independence leading to greater participation in household and community decision making and leading them to take initiative and trust their own decisions  

• AzuKo and Nirapod Songhsta trained 90 local builders and women leaders in resilient construction and household energy efficiency. They created community design committees to involve more women in decision-making on settlement planning, contributing to meaningful progress in women’s social status and roles within their families and communities 

Next Steps 

• Building assessments: AzuKo wants to conduct a comparative study of vernacular construction and materials (e.g bamboo/earth),  vs ‘modern’ non-sustainable methods (e.g. bricks, vs hollow blocks) with the aim being to better understand the impact and sustainability credentials of their low-tech, low-cost, and locally led approach 

• Administrative and financial capacity: Develop their internal systems to build organisational resilience, including investing in software and strategic work to increase their team’s capacity and capability 

• Advocacy: Encouraging women to tell their stories to raise awareness of the complex nature of housing poverty, demonstrating how community-led action is the way forward and sharing hope for a climate-resilient future

Partner Name: Ayesha Amin – DRR and SRHR 
Name of Organization:  Baithak, Challenging Taboos 

Project Focus 

Baithak is a grassroots organisation focused on feminist movement building around Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (SRHRJ) for girls and women by creating safe spaces for them to reflect on, engage in dialogue, and learn about their SRHRJ. By providing them knowledge, tools, and resources, Baithak helps them to make informed decisions about their bodily autonomy. Baithak coordinates advocacy work with local and national authorities, based on lived experiences, realities, needs, and challenges of girls and women in rural areas. They structure their work around rights-based climate justice, menstrual health and SRHR, preventing GBV, Gender and tech innovation. They won the GJCS awards in 2023 for their ability to develop with DASTAK Foundation a Gender Inclusive Climate Action Toolkit for policy makers developing disaster response plans, based on a nationwide consultation of grassroots women & girls in all their diversities. 

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

• Baithak and Dastak have been training the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) in Pakistan on gender inclusive interventions to address climate disasters, using the toolkit they developed together. 51 PDMA and DDMAU staff trained in Sindh (6 districts) and 100 staff were trained around Pakistan 

• The forming of the Behnchara (sisterhood) collective as an initiative and co-creation space for care, collective action, advocacy and healing. It is a network of grassroots feminist activists that empower women and gender-diverse people in their efforts to dismantle oppressive structures and be at the forefront of change. 

• Each cohort member has been encouraged to initiate a community meeting in their area, collectively reaching 120 sessions held so far with more local feminist committees being formed for stronger community-level organizing  
• Increased capacity and confidence in feminist organising and advocacy through attending events such as COP, engaging in policy, and thereby positioning grassroots voices to be heard in national and global climate discourse 

Next Steps 

Baithak is excited to continue amplifying the stories in their communities to reach international audiences and showcase the incredible impact they have had on SRHRJ, gender and climate movement building. They are looking forward to extending their gender and tech innovation and start-up program and continue providing spaces for healing, learning and collective power-building. 

Partner Name: Hira Amjad – DRR and SRHR 
Name of Organization:  DASTAK Foundation 
Organization Website: www.dastakfoundationpk.org 

Project Focus 

DASTAK Foundation is a registered non-profit organisation working towards feminist movement building, feminist climate justice and sexuality, gender, health and rights. Rooted in Pakistan and guided by decolonial principles, DASTAK aims to build a grassroots movement to fight sexual and gender-based violence, advance SRHR and integrate indigenous wisdom into global gender and climate justice. DASTAK curates safe and brave spaces to make the local global. 

The DASTAK Foundation received the GJCS awards in 2023 for their ability to reach out to numerous communities across the country using social media listening tools to target 30,000 menstruating individuals, conduct nationwide mapping for women and girls affected by floods, and document climate emergency impacts for their specific needs regarding existing disaster response measures in Pakistan. Since winning the award, Hira has proactively engaged in both the GJCS mentoring program and in the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) advocacy on gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and continues to expand her reach globally to ensure the voices of her communities are heard. 

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

• The Dignity Campaign and For You Maa campaign supported 20,000 menstruating individuals and 500 pregnant women with hygiene and menstruating kits, sexual education and healing sessions. 

• Provided 20 local midwives with knowledge, tools and skills to practice safe and skillful maternal and SRHR care amid disasters and building a network of well-being and care in rural villages. 

• DASTAK together with Baithak, developed a strategic framework tool for policymakers and practitioners that offers actionable recommendations for gender-equitable response measures that meet the specific needs of women, girls and gender-diverse persons during climate disasters and prioritize their health, well-being, and safety. 

• Women and girls in the communities we work with, particularly in climate-impacted districts, experience layered barriers to accessing natural resources, capital, and new technologies. These barriers are not only economic but deeply social and gendered. The RADICAL Institute tackles these gaps by creating a structured space for community-led research, policy engagement, and indigenous knowledge collection, ensuring that those most affected by climate change have a seat at the table. 

Next Steps 

One of the key challenges noted by Hira, is the limited accessibility of flexible, long-term funding for feminist, care-centered, and participatory climate initiatives. Many grant structures still prioritize short-term outputs, quantifiable indicators, or technological interventions over relational and community-driven processes. As a result, feminist organizations like DASTAK often find themselves underfunded for the very aspects that make our work transformative, emotional labor, community trust-building, and participatory research. DASTAK Foundation is a powerful example of why long-term funding that prioritizes care, relationships, and collective knowledge through an ecofeminist lens is essential.  

Partner Name: Javed Soz Hussain– women cotton pickers’ labor rights and climate adaptation
Name of Organization: Sindh Community Foundation (SCF) 
Organization Website: https://scfngo.org/web/ 

Project Focus 

The Sindh Community Foundation (SCF), established in 2001 and based in Hyderabad, Sindh, works to empower marginalized communities, particularly women agricultural workers. SCF has been at the forefront of promoting women cotton pickers’ labor rights, literacy, and economic resilience in the context of climate change. Its programs address education, decent work, gender equality, and climate adaptation in rural Sindh, engaging women as agents of change within their communities. They are continuously challenging patriarchal norms in Pakistan by hiring female staff, promoting women internally, and encouraging them to participate in decision making roles. SFC is a diverse organisation, offering programs and holistic approaches that combine environmental action, labour rights advocacy, gender rights and action, and women’s economic empowerment. 

Since winning the GJCS Awards in 2022, the collaboration between SCF and WECF has strengthened SCF’s strategic focus on the intersection of gender equality, labor rights, and climate adaptation. Within our collaboration, SCF contributes to advancing gender-responsive climate adaptation and labor justice through knowledge sharing and visibility in WECF’s South Asia network. 

Key Impacts, Contributions and Results 

• In 2024, SCF implemented comprehensive initiatives targeting over 1,000 women cotton pickers across 30 villages in Sindh. These initiatives combined literacy, labor rights education, and off-season income generation to build economic resilience and self-reliance. 

• Established 30 Suhaee Adult Literacy Centres reaching 939 women, of whom 519 successfully completed a six-month literacy course. These centers equipped participants with basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills, enabling them to verify cotton weights, manage finances, and engage confidently in workplace negotiations. 

• Facilitated the formation and registration of 24 women-led trade unions, with 11 officially recognized by the Sindh Labour Department under the Sindh Industrial Relations Act 2014. These unions represent more than 3000 women cotton workers advocating for fair wages, safe working conditions, and climate justice. 

• Trained 825 women in off-farm entrepreneurship and vocational skills—such as embroidery, livestock management, food preservation, and basketry—enhancing income diversification during the non-picking season. 

• Conducted leadership and advocacy training for 20 women trade union leaders on labor rights, climate justice, and social protection, enabling them to participate in policy dialogues and awareness campaigns. 

• Strengthened media engagement and visibility through national and international coverage of SCF’s literacy and labor rights initiatives, including recognition by Feed the Minds UK and participation in forums such as COP29 Baku. 

Moving forward 

SCF plans to enrol over 900 women in literacy programs and 500 girls in secondary education to enhance their educational opportunities. They also hope to launch larger youth and women led tree planting and earth care campaigns to promote environmental stewardship and community engagement. They aim to continue equipping women agricultural works with skills for sustainable livelihoods and further advocate for the linkages between labour rights, gender equality, climate justice.