Today, I had the opportunity to visit the Sehgal Foundation at their Gurugram, Haryana office, where I had the privilege of meeting their CEO, Ms. Anjali Makhija. Sehgal’s mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental change across rural India. Sehgal foundation operates in twelve states, in two thousand villages. Their main focus is water management, agriculture development, and transformation of government schools. I was given a trip round Sehgal’s campus and it was very inspiring to see all the good work that has been done towards sustainability. These are some of the key learnings from my tour at Sehgal;
- Their office building holds the distinction of being India’s inaugural green building, having garnered numerous awards. They’ve employed advanced rainwater harvesting methods, ensuring that not a drop of water goes to waste on the building’s surface; instead, all water is meticulously collected and stored in an underground reservoir. The entire facility is powered by solar energy, thanks to a comprehensive array of 360 solar panels, each generating 165 watts. Furthermore, they’ve incorporated window shades that allow ample natural light into the rooms while keeping them cool. The campus itself is a breathtaking sight, with idyllic scenery that left me truly impressed.
- They have implemented waste water management. The water from toilets is treated and it’s reused to flash toilets and water the beautiful gardens all around the campus. All grey water and black water is treated and reused. There is nothing like waste water at Sehgal.
- They promote sustainable technologies to improve access to safe drinking water. They have a water filter that they produce and sell to farmers at subsidized costs.
- They foster agricultural development through; Promotion of water saving agricultural techniques like mulching and drip, Promotion of farm mechanization, Strengthening farmer collections, Furthering entrepreneurship and allied activities for developing income, promote the concept of Kitchen gardens, Giving demonstrations, field days, farmers schools.
- Sehgal owns a radio station, Alfaz-e-Mewat community radio station in Haryana, that is meant to unite farmers and talk about agriculture, water, soil, health, local culture, they also handle sensitive issues like sexual harassment, mental issues, and early childhood marriages.
My visit to Sehgal was very eye opening and inspiring! I look forward to learning more from their programs to help the many farmers in my community.
