Rashtriya Rifles Battalion at Talwara distributed solar lanterns to the locals at Chaladh on 04 Jun 2015 under SSRDP. The locals belonged to an area which was devoid of electricity and were in need of alternate source of electricity. Commanding Officer Rashtriya Rifles Battalion interacted with the locals and informed them about various Government schemes which can assist them in leading a respectable life. Motivating the AWAM, the officer urged the populace to allow the youth to venture out of the Tehsil and pursue higher education. The beneficiaries of solar lanterns thanked the Army for this gesture.

Water Purification Project

BioSand Water Filters are a simple and unique water purification method that remove the following contaminants: 100% of viruses, 99% of worms, protozoa, amoebas, 98% of bacteria, 95% of minerals,  and 93% of arsenic.

The Filter is made from locally available materials, and lasts for 30 years with no replacement parts, no electricity, and no maintenance and produces 84 litres of safe drinking water per day.

SSRDP has set up Community Water Filtrations Plants in West Bengal & Andhra Pradesh. Water testing of the area is done and the groundwater position is analysed, then a customised solution is offered for the area. The villages are expected to pay a certain amount for the drinking water which takes care of the maintenance of the plant and also helps in expanding this project to neighbouring areas.

Distribution of Filters

Distribution of  filters by SSRDP of Tata Swach company  which is a water purifier developed by Tata Chemicals, a part of the Tata group in India. Swach was designed as a low cost purifier for Indian low-income groups, who lack access to safe drinking water.

This model integrates the purification and distribution of chemical-free and pathogen-free water along with education on health and hygiene to bring in healthier lifestyle changes in rural areas.

The pilot was launched in Kenda & Pandry village covering 730 households, in the Purulia District of West Bengal, which has high population suffering from waterborne diseases.

TERAFIL Water Filter distribution

TERAFIL Water Filter is a low cost device to filter impure water into clean drinking water. The filter is developed to cater the needs for clean drinking water, especially when the water is rich in sediments, suspended particles, iron and certain microorganisms causing water borne diseases.

It is most suitable for areas where water from both surface and groundwater sources like dug wells, ponds, tube wells and rivers, is used for drinking purpose.

Art of Living distributed Terafil Water Filter to many in rural areas.

Beautician Training Program

In Asia’s largest urban villages, our beauticians training programs make entrepreneurs and beauticians out of motivated young women. They can now run a small business from their homes, working for 3-4 hours a day alongside their regular household chores. The centre will train 240 women every year. Each one earns between Rs.3000 – 5000 a month either by being self-employed or at parlours. After witnessing successful outreach, mobilization and training by the volunteers of Art of Living and the huge impact being created, Godrej has asked SSRDP to replicate and open three more centres across Mumbai – Wadala, Sion, Kurla or Mankhurd, shortlisted for the same.

Bag Making Workshops

A tiny village in Karnataka is scripting a quiet tale of empowerment by weaving dreams in jute. SSRDP started a jute bag making unit in Bahadoor Baddi in Koppala, about 20 kms from Gadag town in December 2010. In the space of a month, it has already transformed the lives of more than 30 women including school drop-outs. Twelve-year old Afroza, clad in a black salwar kameez, chatters excitedly about her newly learnt skill which has added a new, enriching dimension in her life. A shy and timid school drop-out, she has metamorphosed into a confident, enthusiastic teenager. “I am very happy now,” she contends. “Being the youngest of four siblings, I didn’t pursue school after my seventh class but as I wanted to make a difference to my life, I joined the bag-making class. And I have never felt better.”

Arecanut Plates Manufacturing Plant

Arecanut plates manufacturing center in bidadi ashram founded by H H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji’s father. Arecanut plates are fully biodegradable plates hence do not pollute environment. The manufacturing plant is fully automatic for manufacturing of arecanut plates.

Cleaning of arecanut leaves then placing it under moulding machine,abruptly brushing plate edges to make it soft and finally packing it for sale. Different sizes and shapes of plates are available. 20 women have been trained to handle  load at manufacturing plant.

SRIJAN (Social Rehabilitation of Inmates in Jail and Aiding the Needy) is an endeavor to provide a more holistic rehabilitative intervention to empower the prison inmates, both socially and financially. SRIJAN was started in Tihar Jail in 2010. Workshops are conducted to harness the energies of prison inmates and develop a set of skills, enabling them to earn respectful living through productive work.

Presently, handmade paper production units located on the jail premises are employing these inmates to make paper bags, lampshades, photo-frames, stationery and other utility items. There are two such units on the jail premises and one outside (which is handled by released prisoners). The inmates are paid wages for their and the prison inmates who have been released and are still with SRIJAN and are also paid for their work.

SRIJAN project in Tinsukia Jail, Assam is providing Electrical & Carpentry training to inmates. So far, more than 300 inmates have benefitted from the project.

In Central Jail in Bangalore, the Art of Living foundation runs the project “Punarnava” where 45 female inmates manufacture incense sticks, gift articles and apparel.

The products made are then supplied to companies such as TATA, HCL, IBM, GE Money and Tech Mahindra to name a few.

SRIJAN produces paper bags, office stationary, lampshades, photo frames and boxes etc.

These are then supplied to companies such as TATA, HCL, ‘Sabka bazaar’ a departmental store – ‘Mehranagar’ museum, Udaipur, Rajasthan. SRIJAN also provides products to other companies like EXL, BPO, CSC, Steria, Convergys, Amex, Arcent, Polaris, IBM, Tech Mahindra, Perot system, ST Microelectronics, GE money and GE capital to name a few. The products are also provided to The Art of Living Divine Services and the Sri Sri Rural Development Program (SSRDP). Products have also been exported to Austria and Singapore.

Biogas plants installations

One of solutions to untreated waste is Biogas plant installation.  Bio gas plants with a composite unit and domestic sewage treatment plants are some of the different techniques which have been implemented in rural areas. SSRDP has implemented projects in villages where street lights have been powered using a bio gas plant linked to public toilets. Malaria cases have been reduced due to installation of sewage treatment plants.

Coal Briquettes

Converting agricultural waste into coal briquettes, which have been implemented in rural areas. SSRDP has implemented projects in villages where locally made coal briquettes are being produced as an alternative fuel source. These efforts have led to many economical, environmental and health benefits in their communities.

Toilet Construction - Human Waste Disposal

Absence of basic sanitation facilities can result in an unhealthy environment contaminated by human waste. Without proper sanitation facilities, waste from infected individuals can contaminate a community's land and water, increasing the risk of infection for other individuals. Proper waste disposal can slow the infection cycle of many disease-causing agents, hence SSRDP has taken the initiative to construct toilets in villages; 5418 toilets have been constructed under SSRDP.

Temple Waste Management(West Bengal)

The Art of Living (SSRDP) with Dakshineshwar Temple in West Bengal and Eastern Coalfield Limited installed a processing plant that converts flowers, garlands and organic waste to organic compost. Construction of this plant began in September 2015.

In December 2015, 1241 kg waste was converted to 414 kg compost. Again in January 2016, 3000 kg waste was turned into 1114 kg compost and prevented from entering and polluting the river.

Enzyme preparation and Training project

SSRDP provides training for enzyme preparation and provides market for rural entrepreneurs.

Enzyme is a complex solution produced by fermentation of fresh kitchen waste, sugar and water. Enzymes are proteins which catalyze the biological reaction. Enzyme contains microbes which multiply very fast in water.Therefore, it is diluted in various proportions and then used.

Benefits of enzyme are it Save Environment & Purify Air, Purify Underground Water & Clean Rivers & Sea, Natural Pesticide & Organic Manure, Anti-Bacterial & Virus, Dispose of Kitchen Waste by Converting into Enzyme, Ecozyme Cleans polluted water in drains, Reduces BOD/COD of polluted water in Sewage Treatment Plants, Grey Algae disappears in village ponds.

Cook Smoklesssssss.......

Keeping these issues in mind, SSRDP has trained 78 women entrepreneurs in the Bhilai District of Chhattisgarh under its CORE initiative. The Project is in partnership with Bhilai Steel Plant where BSP & SSRDP came together to install 3000 Improvised Cook Stoves in 30 ‘Model Steel Villages’ adopted by BSP under its Corporate Social Responsibility concept in FY 2010‐2013.

This chulha tries to remove shortcomings in the design of our traditional chulhas as it uses up to 50% less firewood than traditional chulha. It is more durable - as an installed chulha it lasts upto 4 years with minimum maintenance. The Chulha is designed in such way that adequate oxygen is supplied in the burning area continuously. This results in efficient combustion, which in turn results in higher temperatures and up to 80% less smoke.

Women entrepreneurs have installed approximately 4000 chulhas in 35 villages of Chhattisgarh till date with each entrepreneur earning 125‐150 per chulhas. 27 out of the 40 women trained have now started their own units and are earning 6000 to 12000 Rs per month by selling energy efficient stoves in their community.

SSRDP started a proprietary ‘Renewable Energy Training Centre’ at the Art of Living International Centre in Bangalore on 4th December 2013, in partnership with Schneider Electric India, inaugurated by His Holiness Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The training centre was setup to deploy a unique leadership training program to unemployed youths and college dropouts on Installation, commissioning, servicing and repairing of various types of Solar PV systems like Solar Lanterns, Solar Home Systems, Solar‐Micro Grids, Solar PV Street Lights, Solar Power Plants and Solar Water Pumping Stations.

The training centre was set up in association with Schneider Electric to train youth in different forms of renewable energy like Bio Mass, Wind and Hydr, and other energy products like energy efficient smokeless cook stoves. While training youth on Renewable Energy (RE) Products, the centre also acts as a platform for individuals to learn about the different Renewable Energy products available in the market.

The training centre complements the activities of Light-a-home Project which aims at electrifying unelectrified villages with the help of Solar Energy.

Apart from Renewable Energy, the centre also provides trainings on rural based technologies like Smokeless Chulhas, Energy Efficient Stoves, Arecanut Plate Making, Charcoal Briquetting and Rural Waste Management. The whole initiative comes under CORE (Community Of Rural Enterprises) which is aimed at creating and supporting rural entrepreneurs with eco friendly and sustainable rural technologies.