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This year, something beautiful took root in Nimon block of Nashik district, Maharashtra.
As we signed MOU with MHADA to plant 15,000 saplings across Nimon and Daregaon, we hold a promise to heal the land, to bring back green and to leave behind shade for the next generation.
Grateful to every hand that dug, every heart that believed.
Thank you MHADA for being a solid support in this journey!
Raah Foundation’s Centre for Policy Research and Action is a civil-society think tank rooted in the Northern Western Ghats, translating community knowledge into actionable, just policy. It is developing a bi-monthly series of thematic/position papers and has already produced two significant research outputs, including a journal publication and a youth survey-led study. The Centre also convenes curated webinars to share insights, shape discourse, and strengthen cross-sector relationships. Looking ahead, it will engage more directly with government systems—offering research-backed inputs, co-designing pilots, and participating in consultative forums to inform regional public policy.
The GRT Research Fellowship is an 8-week, immersive programme that places young researchers at the intersection of climate, gender, and indigenous knowledge. Its first edition focuses on the lived experiences of indigenous women in the Northern Western Ghats, combining academic inquiry with community-centred engagement. Fellows move through three phases—orientation on ethical methods, a literature review, and fieldwork with interviews—culminating in analysis and a comprehensive report. The inaugural cohort features four women from the social and natural sciences, building a pipeline of researchers trained in both rigour and field sensitivity.
Across rural India, climate change is no longer an abstract risk; it is felt as constant disruption – erratic rainfall, rising heat, and ecosystems pushed beyond their limits. In the Northern Western Ghats, this disruption shows up as a paradox: villages receive intense monsoon rainfall, yet face acute water scarcity within months.Basalt rock formations restrict groundwater recharge, while deforestation and soil erosion accelerate runoff. Water moves quickly off the landscape instead of being stored within it.
Raah Foundation exists to make this complexity actionable. Our work is grounded in the understanding that water scarcity, fragile livelihoods, and ecological degradation are deeply interconnected – and that single-issue interventions often fail because they treat symptoms, not systems.
We therefore work through a simple systems lens: help landscapes retain water, make farming less risky and more rewarding, reduce pressure on forests, and strengthen local institutions so solutions endure beyond projects.