Gujarat | Ambuja Cement Foundation

About
- About ACF
  
  Overview
  
  Learn more about who we are, what we do and why we do it.
  
  Our people
  
  Overview
  
  See the people behind the scenes who make all this possible – from our Founder and Board, to our experienced Management Team.
  
  Careers
  
  Overview
  
  Better understand the unique ‘I Can’ culture imbibed at ACF, and find ways in which you can join our incredible team!
  
  Awards and Recognition
  
  Overview
  
  We are proud of the national and global recognition we have received - which validates the depth and impact of our work!
Programs
- Our Programs
  
  Overview
  
  We take a 360-degree approach – because it takes more than one intervention to help a family out of poverty and into prosperity.
  
  Agriculture
  
  Overview
  
  We help farming families prosper, by nurturing farmers and organizing them into groups to enhance their profitability.
  
  Knowledge & skills
  
  Farmer Producer Organisations
  
  Hedging Risk
  
  Skills
  
  Overview
  
  We provide youth with training, employment and business opportunities to help them achieve their aspirations in life.
  
  Pre-training
  
  Training
  
  Post Training
  
  Water
  
  Overview
  
  We create 'drought-resilient' rural villages and ensure all-year-round water for farmers, families and communities.
  
  Water Harvesting
  
  Drinking Water
  
  Water Use Efficiency
  
  Health
  
  Overview
  
  We build healthy communities to enable people to lead more fruitful, productive lives.
  
  Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health
  
  Communicable & Non Communicable Disease
  
  Total Sanitation
  
  Women
  
  Overview
  
  We harness the power of women as change-makers - generating income, making decisions, managing finances and leading their communities.
  
  Women's self help groups
  
  Savings, Credit & Income generation
  
  Women's federations
  
  Education
  
  Overview
  
  We ensure that rural children get the support they need for a good education, and that differently-abled children reach their full potential in life.
  
  School Support (Infrastructure)
  
  School Support(Education)
  
  Special Education
Geographies
- Gujarat
  
  Overview
  
  ACF works across 3 locations in Gujarat - Kodinar, Surat and Sanand. This is where it all began back in 1993, when ACF launched its first water programs in Kodinar. Today this work has evolved and grown to now reach far and wide across the regions that we touch.
  
  Himachal Pradesh
  
  Overview
  
  “With a presence in Darlaghat and Nalagarh, ACF faces many challenges in tackling the challenges presented by this hilly terrain”
  
  Maharashtra
  
  Overview
  
  Working in Chandrapur and Panvel location, ACF has primarily focused on agriculture, health and education programs. ACF's launched its Sakhi initiative in this state.
  
  Rajasthan
  
  Overview
  
  ACF has done significant work in Rabriyawas, Marwar Mundwa and Chirawa locations of Rajasthan. ACf has done some significant work in providing access to drinking water in this drought-prone state, bringing several rural families out of misery.
  
  Chhattisgarh
  
  Overview
  
  Bhatapara, ACF location in this state was grappling water availability when the work began. Majority of the land is wasteland and the location suffers low prodcutivity in terms of agriculture. ACF is also working in Raigarh location in Chhatisgarh.
  
  Punjab
  
  Overview
  
  Renown for its agriculture, ACF works in Ropar and Bathinda reaching out to thousands of farmers and their families. This is the home of one of our flagship Education initiatives also, Ambuja Manovikas Kendra – a program that will touch your heart!
  
  West Bengal
  
  Overview
  
  The land is fragmented and knowledge on package of practices is poor. Aquaculture and paddy cultivation are the main livelihood sources. This is also a hub for truckers and of HIV/AIDS is another pressing problem. ACF works in Sankrail and Farakka.
  
  Uttar Pradesh
  
  Overview
  
  Lack of awareness and lack of education makes this a challenging location to deal with. ACF is primarily focusing of women, children and youth development.
  
  Uttrakhand
  
  Overview
  
  In this state ACF is working in Roorkee, where agriculture is the main occupation. However, with industrialisation, the land is getting fragmented and locals need alternate source of livelihoods.
  
  Andhra Pradesh
  
  Overview
  
  Nadikudi, the location where ACF is working is struggling with high usage of chemical fertilisers that has severe effect on soil and crops. Integrated crop management is the focus in this location.
  
  Madhya Pradesh
  
  Overview
  
  Chhindwara is the location where ACF is working in MP. This is tribal belt and people are mainly relying on rainfed agriculture. Youth needs exposure to exploit alternate source of livelihoods.
Impact
- Impact overview
  
  Overview
  
  Over the past 25years we have managed to make significant impact on the ground – in more ways than one!
  
  Monitoring & Research
  
  Overview
  
  Monitoring helps us improve the quality of our work and we conduct research on an ongoing basis
  
  Our Case studies
  
  Overview
  
  We work with real people. These stories tell you the true and detailed accounts of the ‘Humans of Ambuja.'
Partner
- Partnership
  
  Overview
  
  Implementer envisioning a sustainable rural india, built on partnerships - where villagers have the livelihood, resources & dignity to prosper.
  
  Our Partners
  
  Overview
  
  We collaborate with like-minded organizations who understand the importance of investing in Rural India and see the value of our work.
Media
COVID-19

The challenges

Located in the coastal region, the salinity ingress due to over exploitation of ground water had contaminated the water table. This adversely impacted the quality of drinking water as well as the water used for other purposes including agriculture – the primary source of livelihood.

Scarcity of quality water was leading to several problems :People were forced to rely on tanker water, which affected their health. It increased the drudgery and health issues for women. The women’s productive time of women was killed was spent bringing water from far off sources, which could have been better utilised in some other income generation activities. Girls usually dropped out of school to extend help in fetching water.

Flagship initiative — water resource management

ACF engaged with the community and identified a strong need for a large-scale water harvesting program in the region and worked in partnership with government, corporate, civil society organisations and the community to revolutionise the water scenario in this stricken area.

The WRM program focused on three main categories:

Drinking Water

To enhance drinking water supplies, ponds were renovated/deepened for recharging drinking water sources, and roof rainwater harvesting structures were promoted and installed. Also, water distribution systems were harnessed, and hand pumps and bore wells were fixed.

Water Harvesting

To harness water, a series of check dams were built. While having a focus on interlinking rivulets and canals, we installed tidal regulators and percolation wells, and farm ponds were built with mined out pits being used as water reservoirs.

Water Conservation & Management

Our focus has been on promoting micro-irrigation, as well as drip and sprinkler irrigation systems to replace the traditional flood irrigation techniques.

Macro impact