Image 1 showcases the commitment of Rit Rural Foundation made in September, 2023 to halt migration and enhance the resilience of the local community to climate induced disasters in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Image 2 is the first step that Rit Rural Foundation has taken towards the delivery of the commitment to restore the prosperity for the local community in the Garhwal Himalayas.
In January, 2023, Joshimath, a spiritual town, was reported to have been experiencing rapid land subsidence. In July-August, 2023, massive floods ravaged across the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, leading to significant loss of lives and livelihoods. Given the accelerated rate of the unprecedented changes, members of Rit Rural Foundation visited Karnprayag in Chamoli district, a quite town nestled in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas. Three critical challenges were identified as part of Rit Rural Foundation’s community engagement: i. Flash Floods ii. Increased frequency of landslides iii. Migration to larger cities.
Given this scenario, Rit oriented its focus towards a holistic community development while preserving the natural ecosystem. An extensive process including brainstorming, literature reviews, ideation, field visits and modelling was conducted to find the best solutions to address the aforementioned challenges. The idea of developing Oxygen Forest was finally narrowed down upon after extensive research.
Oxygen Forest is a framework model of afforestation wherein local plant species are nurtured and maintained by the local women SHGs, who are trained and certified for organic farming. The same SHGs are thereafter trained in the area of value addition of the products obtained from these forests. The Oxygen Forest will offer protection against climate induced disasters, foster ecosystem development, regulate micro-climatic conditions and provide sustainable employment opportunities. Further, it is conformity with Sustainable Development Goals, Green Credit Programme and National Action Plan for Climate Change.
The implementation of the project is being conducted in collaboration with Linde Foundation. The former is the official sponsor of the Oxygen Forest project. All the phases of the project – Plantation Drives, Training and Capacity Development and Value Addition have been funded by Linde Foundation. The support provided by the Foundation has been instrumental towards an organised project delivery.
Images: Plantation Drive
Images: Training and Certification
Further strategies are being formulated to continuously improve the current system and inculcate additional modifications for effective service delivery. Rit Rural Foundation is constant endeavour to reinstate the lost glory of Uttarkhand, the Devbhoomi of Himalayas.