Agroecology
Our edge is fit-for-land design: farmers are onboarded into the right crop + practice package based on land type, contours, water access, and climate preparedness—so even small, rocky plots become workable.
The Problem >
In tribal Maharashtra, farmers are abandoning cultivation. Erratic rainfall, degraded soils, and market volatility have made agriculture economically and ecologically nonviable. With over 60% of land uncultivated for most of the year, families migrate seasonally—leaving behind collapsing food systems.
< Our Solution
We implement regenerative agriculture tailored for dryland tribal geographies—combining WADI orchards, organic intercropping, and drip irrigation to rebuild both land and livelihoods. Every intervention is data-logged, women-inclusive, and designed to increase net income per acre.
Active Projects
A Scalable One Acre Food Forest - Rural prosperity through women-led transformation
Powered by the Gates Foundation, this flagship initiative is transforming 540 acres into vibrant one-acre food forests led by 540 tribal women farmers in Palghar, Maharashtra. Each woman co-designs a customized agroforestry model for her abstract land parcel, receives high-quality saplings , bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, farm ponds for assured water, and hands-on technical support to bring her food forest to life. These forests are designed to generate income for at least another 20 years. Through intelligent intercropping and tree-based farming, these fragile and baron plots are becoming year-round sources of income and nutrition for her and her family.
Millions of Hope - with cost-efficient infrastructure and long term security
Under the Gates initiative, we constructed 191 farm ponds, each 35 feet by 35 feet by 6 feet, creating a total water storage capacity of 27.5 million litres to irrigate 355 acres of land. These ponds provide life-saving irrigation for our one-acre food forest models – supporting fruit trees, timber, and diverse intercrops through long dry spells. By capturing and holding rainwater right on the farm, they reduce dependence on erratic monsoons, distant water sources, and the cost of water transportation. With basic annual maintenance and periodic desilting, each farm pond is designed to remain functional for well over 20 years, making it a long-term climate resilience asset for tribal farming families.
A pilot Ginger farming: A New cash crop opportunity for small farmers
We’re running a pilot with 30 small farmers to grow organic ginger as a climate-resilient cash crop, using 300 kilograms of carefully selected high quality rhizomes. The crop will be harvested in January and its performance is being closely tracked under erratic rainfall and rising temperatures to assess how well it could withstand climate stress. Farmers followed a complete organic protocol, combining soil-enriching inputs and careful water management to protect both yields and soil health. The fields showed robust growth and stable productivity, and each participating farmer is set to earn around ₹30,000 rupees from the harvest.
What We Do
< Where
Our interventions span 16 clusters across Jawhar, Mokhada, and Nashik, regions with poor soil health, low irrigation (<3%), and high agricultural dropout rates. These are marginalised, rain-dependent zones where tribal knowledge intersects with ecological fragility and state neglect.
How >
By combining fruit orchards, organic intercropping, and drip irrigation to rebuild both land and livelihoods. Every farmer is mapped into a digital backend. Yields, inputs, and profits are tracked, and Producer Groups are activated to consolidate volumes and negotiate prices.
Partners
Problem
Solution
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