Project RISHI Rainwater Harvesting
TGIF Award: $9,373.57
Project Theme: Environmental Education,
Project Sponsor: Project RISHI (RSO)
Project Description:
Project RISHI (Rural India and Social Health Improvement) is a non-profit organization, registered in the United States and India, whose mission is to promote the sustainable development and growth of rural Indian communities. Since the academic year 2013-2014, the UC Berkeley chapter has focused sustainability efforts in Bharog Baneri, a small rural community in Himachal Pradesh. Most families in Bharog Baneri rely on subsistence farming for their food and income, so lack of water access is one of the main threats to the village’s wellbeing.The Rainwater Harvesting project group was designed to address this issue, and focuses on improving water availability through building Rainwater Harvesting (RH) systems. Due to high demand in the village, the project group aims to improve the RH system design and the sustainability of the implementation process through campus-wide outreach and collaboration in the form of a competitive summit. The contributions of a diverse group of student organizations and departments on campus will be used to implement 24 RH systems in the village.
Project Goals: 1) Hold a sustainable design and development-focused summit that allows UC Berkeley students to collaborate and apply their skills and knowledge about sustainability to a real-world project. 2) Implement student-designed Rainwater Harvesting systems in Bharog Baneri, HP, India. 3) Assess, report, and provide feedback to summit attendees on their impact on an international development project. 4) Raise awareness about local and international water-insecurity projects, development, and technology.
Project Leader(s): Aunnesha Bhowmick and Samraat Gupta