Update: Newly featured projects!

We are excited to introduce five innovative climate solutions to be featured on the ICC’s Earth Exponential platform this quarter. These impactful, scalable projects from our partners adopt an integrated approach – they address critical climate action indicators while fostering community health, enhancing livelihoods, reducing waste, and promoting climate-resilient agriculture and agroforestry. Below, we detail the organisation, project name, location, and budget.

ASSIST Development Foundation
 

SUSTAIN - Sustainable Agricultural Technologies for Improved Livelihoods: A project targeting post-harvest loss reduction using decentralised renewable energy technology in rural Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

 

Project duration: 2 years | Budget: INR 73 lakhs | Solution area: Farms, Jobs

 

The project aims to:

• Introduce decentralised post-harvest technologies: Deploy solar drying and cold storage systems to address food waste caused by inadequate preservation methods and ensure energy-efficient solutions.
• Enhance agricultural resilience: Extend the shelf life of produce to reduce spoilage, mitigate losses, and support farmers in adapting to climate variability and energy constraints.
• Boost farmers’ incomes and sustainability: Improve marketability and profitability of agricultural products through innovative preservation technologies, fostering long-term economic and environmental sustainability.

 

Source: ASSIST Development Foundation

 

 

Biome Environmental Trust 

Water Management in Devanahalli and Hunasamaranahall: An initiative addressing water security in Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

Project duration: 3 years | Budget: INR 1.2 crores | Solution area: Cities, Nature

The project aims to:

• Ensure sustainable water supply: Enhance town water supply through revived shallow aquifers, leveraging recharge from lakes that receive treated wastewater, and by implementing innovative water treatment systems.
• Integrate waste and water management: Prevent water body contamination by managing wastewater and solid waste effectively, ensuring safe reuse in agriculture.
• Enhance rainwater harvesting and project’s replicability: Enhance local rainwater recharge with resident communities, improve hydrological knowledge, and advocate the replication of this model in other towns.

 

Source: Biome Environmental Trust

 

 

Environment Conservation Society (SwitchON Foundation)

Superfood from Farm-to-Fork: A millet farming project in Maharashtra, Odisha, and Jharkhand, focusing on livelihoods and resilience for smallholder farmers.

 

Project duration: 1.5 years | Budget: INR 1.69 crores | Solution area: Farms, Jobs, Resilience

 

The project aims to:

• Boost millet production and value addition: Promote sustainable millet farming via community seed banks, training, and renewable energy-based processing infrastructure, to enhance marketability and farmer profits.
• Strengthen market linkages and awareness: Facilitate market access through FPOs, buyer-seller connections, and campaigns to reintroduce millets into community diets.
• Empower communities and build climate resilience: Engage women and youth in the millet value chain and foster climate-resilient agriculture to reduce water dependency and enhance soil health.

 

 

Source: Environment Conservation Society (SwitchON Foundation)

 

 

 

Farmers for Forests

 

Agroforestry Implementation on Farmers’ Land: A tech-driven agroforestry project in Maharashtra and Karnataka leveraging carbon markets.

 

Project duration: 1 year | Budget: INR 1.21 crores | Solution area: Farms, Nature

 

The project aims to:

• Restore degraded lands: Transform degraded agricultural land in central Maharashtra into biodiverse landscape by growing native fruit, timber, and ayurvedic tree species, revitalising local ecosystems.
• Promote alternate livelihood opportunities: Create green jobs and sustainable income sources for farmers through mid-term and long-term fruit yields and carbon revenue.
• Develop climate resilience: Strengthen climate resilience by establishing biodiverse forests that can better withstand extreme weather events, thus providing sustainable income sources for agrarian and tribal communities.

 

 

Source: Farmers for Forests

 

 

 

Under the Mango Tree Society

Building Climate Resilience through Beekeeping: An initiative promoting indigenous bees and beekeeping for women and smallholder farmers in Adivasi communities in Madhya Pradesh.

 

Project duration: 3 years | Budget: INR 2.73 crores | Solution area: Jobs, Nature

 

The project aims to:

• Promote climate-resilient livelihoods: Support tribal communities and smallholder farmers in diversifying incomes through sustainable beekeeping with indigenous bees, enhancing pollination benefits for improved yields and incomes.
• Encourage sustainable agricultural practices: Raise awareness to shift from unsustainable honey hunting to sustainable beekeeping, fostering the conservation and growth of local pollinator populations.
• Enhance green cover and ecosystem health: Distribute bee-friendly seeds and saplings to combat deforestation, improve pollinator habitats, and boost community incomes.

 

 

Source: Under the Mango Tree Society

 

 

 

Visit earthexponential.org to learn more about the above solution areas or write to Aditya Mandloi at aditya@indiaclimatecollaborative.org to learn more.