A Better Tomorrow

Stories, Practices, and Solutions

[Shaping Sustainable Futures] IndusInd Bank & WOTR: A Partnership Transforming Rural India

May, 2024
CSR Partnerships, Rural Development

As WOTR proudly celebrates 30 years of fostering sustainable development in Indian communities, we’re thrilled to reflect on our transformative partnership with IndusInd Bank. In a recent conversation with us, Matilda Lobo, Head of CSR at IndusInd Bank, eloquently highlighted the remarkable impact this collaboration has brought about in the lives of countless people.

Cultivating a Fertile Future: Climate Resilient Agriculture Helps Kamla Bai Regain Her Lost Yields

May, 2024
Climate Resilient Agriculture, Rural Development

Years of low yields took a toll, but Kamli Bai refused to surrender. During the Rabi season, she worked tirelessly to establish a 0.1-hectare demo plot, her actions echoing the efforts of nine other farmers in Modwa village. Selected by the Village Development Committee and guided by WOTR, Kamli Bai diligently implemented every step, determined to prove these new methods could work. This year, a remarkable change swept through Kamli Bai’s fields.

“Mota Paisa Issi Mein Hai”: Pig Farming Helps Bring Big Income To Small Farmers

Apr, 2024
Rural Development, Sustainable Livelihoods

Pig farming is considered an integral part of life amongst the tribal population in Jharkhand, and many households practice backyard piggery with one or two pigs. Bahamani Purty, 45, lives in Otongora village, in Khunti, Jharkhand with her husband Marshall, and had been rearing pigs for a few years. In 2019, while attending a gram sabha meeting, Purty learnt that pig rearing was being promoted as an intervention under Axis Bank Foundation’s Sustainable Livelihoods Programme.

Why Investing in Climate-Smart Agriculture is Essential for Business Resilience

Mar, 2024
Climate Resilient Agriculture, Rural Development

Businesses face escalating challenges from climate change affecting global agriculture. The solution lies in investing in climate-smart agriculture, which offers proactive strategies for resilience and market opportunities. Climate-smart agriculture, defined by the FAO, includes sustainable productivity increases, enhanced resilience, and reduced emissions.

A Vibrant Concerto: Why Protecting India’s Rural Biodiversity is Vital for a Resilient Future

Feb, 2024
Biodiversity, Rural Development

India’s rural biodiversity, vital for resilience against climate change, faces threats from habitat loss and climate variability. Preserving it through community-based conservation and sustainable livelihoods is essential for human survival and a balanced coexistence with nature.

Demystified by WOTR – The Secret Sauce to India’s Water Woes: Watershed Development

Feb, 2024
Demystified By WOTR, Rural Development, Water Management

In rural India, water scarcity is a harsh reality impacting communities’ lives profoundly. Through watershed development, communities are empowered to heal the land holistically, from ridge to valley, ensuring water security, improved health, and livelihoods.

Interim Budget 2024 – 12 figures Relevant to Rural India

Feb, 2024
News & Events, Rural Development

Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha, outlining key initiatives and their impact on rural India. Here are the major highlights and figures.

Reviving the Roots: WOTR & HDFC Bank’s Partnership for Rural India

Jan, 2024
CSR Partnerships, Rural Development

In rural India, communities grapple with climate change, erratic rainfall, and water scarcity. WOTR and HDFC Bank Parivartan’s 14-year partnership aims to tackle these challenges, impacting over 14,500 households across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

A Thirsty Land, a Silent Plea: Can CSR Quench Rural India’s Environmental Woes?

Jan, 2024
CSR Partnerships, Rural Development

Can Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) lead the way in addressing India’s rural environmental challenges, emphasizing the urgent need for a shift in focus towards environmental stewardship to ensure sustainable rural development?

Rural Revival in Telangana: Axis Bank Foundation launches The Sustainable Livelihood Programme in Narayanpet with WOTR

Dec, 2023
News & Events, Rural Development

Axis Bank Foundation and WOTR have successfully launched The Sustainable Livelihood Programme in 25 villages of the Maddur & Damargidda Mandals of Narayanpet district in Telangana

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Sharing Ground Realities: WOTR’s Case Study Featured in Stories of Resilience 2025

Nov, 2025
Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Development

Drawing from work with smallholder farmers—from Kumbharwadi in Maharashtra to Madaul in Odisha—WOTR has contributed key experiences, insights, and evidence to the Stories of Resilience 2025, a publication launched by the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.

A Smarter Way to Farm Fish: Sustainable, Small-Scale, Community-Led

Nov, 2025
Rural Development, Sustainable Development

How can smallholders farm fish while safeguarding their local ecosystems? One promising answer lies in farm ponds.

Health Risks, Absenteeism, Anxiety: The True Cost of Broken School Toilets—and What Turned It Around

Nov, 2025
Health, Sanitation & Nutrition, Rural Development

Read how a school, and ultimately an entire village in Maharashtra, was transformed with clean toilets

How Phool Shifted From Uncertainty to Stability With Climate-Resilient Agriculture

Nov, 2025
Climate Resilient Agriculture, Rural Development

Phool’s journey from uncertain, monocropping to stable, climate-resilient agriculture shows how access to irrigation, diversification, and community support can transform livelihoods.

Rethinking Green: Grasslands Need Protection, Not Plantation

Nov, 2025
Biodiversity, Ecosystem

Grasslands are often mistaken for empty lands needing trees, but they are rich, climate-resilient ecosystems. Understanding their unique biodiversity, carbon storage, and cultural value is essential to ensuring conservation efforts don’t unintentionally cause harm.

The Rain They Saved

Nov, 2025
Land and Water Management, Sustainable Development

Making every drop count in Maharashtra’s rainshadow.

Rallies and A Game of Snakes & Ladders: Raising Awareness on Water Stewardship

Nov, 2025
Water Governance, Water Management

Recently, multiple large-scale awareness campaigns were conducted in 15 villages across diverse regions of Rangareddy and Jalna districts in Telangana and Maharashtra, respectively, where the Water Stewardship Initiative (WSI) is being implemented.

Running On Empty

Nov, 2025
Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation

UNEP highlights the growing divide between climate impacts and adaptation finance.