Chirag Rural Development Foundation is an NGO that enables
solar power to develop and empower villages in India.
Project Chirag is the flagship initiative of Chirag Rural Development Foundation. Born in 2010 as a student project at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, we transformed into a registered NGO in 2011, for the sheer volume of need we could rise to fulfill.
We remain a youth powered organization, and endeavour to remain consistently evolving in the space of rural development and renewable energy.
While we began as an initiative to provide solar home lights to villages with limited or no access to the electricity grid, light for all, we learnt that for our greater goal of fighting poverty and zero migration with sustainability, a light in one’s home is simply not enough.
In 2018 we developed an Integrated Village Development Model that engages in the multidimensional use of solar electrification on a holistic level, to catapult our villagers out of poverty.
The dream? To help develop a self sufficient and sustainable rural India, one village at a time.
We Believe In
Equal opportunities
to access necessities, no matter which part of the country you are in.
Commitment
to the cause we are supporting, our principles, our partners, our citizens, and to being a part of the change we want to see.
Transparency
in our operations, ensuring accountability from and to all stakeholders.
Sustainability
that extends from our source to the type of intervention we engage in, so the villagers are able to support and create their own development.
Leading From The Front
An MBA in Finance, Pratibha has authored a book on Ethics & Governance and co-authored a book on Indian Ethos in Management. She has been faculty at Welingkar Institute and BSE Institute, as well as H.R. College, Mumbai.
She has presented internationally at Bethany College, Pennsylvania, University of Nashville, Tennessee as well as AIM, Manila. A stalwart contributor to the social impact space and youth development, she created the Skills Enhancement Program (Conversational English & Computer Skills) for the underprivileged youth in the slums of South Mumbai, which has now transformed into the much acclaimed and awarded “BhavishyaYaan” Program.
She remains a volunteer with Alert-India, a non-profit working in the field of Leprosy eradication, a member of Shradhanand Mahilashram, an orphanage for the girl-child, and a founder-member of the ‘Bhagini Sakshamata Forum’, working in the area of skills development of the girl-child.
She is the recipient of innumerable awards, and more recently received the Outstanding Social Service Award 2020 by the Rotary Club of Bombay.
She has also conducted Management Programs in the public as well as private sector for Defense Personnel, Asian Paints, Mc Donalds, Amarchand Mangaldas Law Firm to name a few. She is involved with mentoring family-managed businesses and startups in financial processes and systems.
Dlight has impacted 100+million people, Embrace helped 300,000+ babies, and Chirag has illuminated 500+ villages to name a few. His ventures have been featured or awarded by Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, CNBC, Forbes, BBC, CNN, USA Today, 60 Minutes, Times of India, Economic Times, Fast Company, and numerous other organizations across the world.
Sajju’s startups have been supported by investors like Vinod Khosla, Jeff Skoll, Pierre Omidiyar, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Ranjan Pai, Steve Case to name a few. He has mentored social impact startups all over the world, from India, US, Africa, UK, Singapore, to Australia. Sajju is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and The University of Iowa.
Working Towards The SDGs
Harnessing sustainable energy as the pivot, we contribute towards the SDGs by implementing systems at the village level that provide our rural communities with access to basic essentials.
Are you passionate about making a change? Would you like it to be your life’s work?
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