Our Mission
A People’s Movement for Rural Prosperity
For generations, Maharashtra’s villages and farmers have been locked in a relentless cycle of drought. This crisis creates a ripple effect of devastation: parched fields, crippling debt, forced migration, and in the worst of cases, loss of life. Climate change and the uncertainties in agriculture further marginalise rural communities. The lone farmer, already burdened, faces a multitude of challenges – lack of scientific knowledge, limited access to credit, and isolation from markets and technological advancements.
The answer isn’t a mystery. Proven solutions exist, but a more fundamental challenge lurks beneath the surface – social divisions. Divisions of gender, religion, caste and politics have fractured communities and hindered them from finding purpose in solving these crises together.
Paani Foundation believes in the transformative power of collective action. Our mission: a Maharashtra free from drought and brimming with economic prosperity. We achieve this by building an ecosystem of knowledge, fostering social unity, and empowering communities to implement proven solutions at scale.
How we do it
Paani Foundation empowers rural communities to conquer drought and boost their livelihoods via a two-pronged approach:
Knowledge and Training
Via immersive trainings led by films, case studies and activities, we equip farmers with the technical and social skills to combat drought and practise scientific, sustainable methods of agriculture.
Community Action Platform
We create and host a competition in which rural communities participate to implement their newfound knowledge. This competition platform fosters a spirit of unity and shared purpose, transforming the fight against drought and livelihood despair into a collective effort, filled with hope and positive change.
Our two flagship competitions, the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup and the Satyamev Jayate Farmer Cup, have empowered communities in 6,000+ villages to tackle drought, increase groundwater levels and boost farmer livelihoods at scale. Learn more…
Key Aspects of Our Work
Demand-Driven
Our initiatives are completely voluntary and driven by self-nomination. We don’t mandate any village or farmer to participate. Instead, we open the competition to all the farmers in a specific geography. This allows farmers to decide freely and independently if they want to join and gives them the flexibility to withdraw at any point. This approach attracts highly motivated and dedicated participants who are invested in the work and willing to take ownership of both the problem and the solution.
Ownership and Self-Reliance
Paani Foundation equips villages and farmers with knowledge, training, and the competition platform. We do not implement any work directly on the ground. This model fosters a spirit of self-reliance, where villages and farmers implement on-ground solutions themselves, building long-term ownership and sustainability.
Collective Action
Whether it is the Water Cup or Farmer Cup, the participating unit is always a collective. This fosters social unity and places teamwork and collaboration at the heart of ecological and economical prosperity.
Aamir Khan Shares: From Satyamev Jayate to Paani Foundation
The Battle Against Drought
The Farmer Cup Journey: Power of Collectivisation