‘Sustainable development is more than just a goal. It is our responsibility to our planet and future generations.’ – António Guterres
Since its inception in 2014, UUIPCL’s mission has been to eliminate the divide between the urban and rural folks. We also aim to provide effective and sustainable support to the marginalised communities of Udaipur. This support is presented in the form of creating an ethical market ecosystem for these communities.
UUIPCL’s model impacts six Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formulated by the United Nations.
SDG 1 – End Poverty: Of the 69 million residents of Rajasthan, over 10 million are living below the poverty line. This number has only risen during the Covid-19 pandemic. UUIPCL is on a mission to tackle the same by supporting the marginalised, tribal communities with efficient technology and a market to sell their agro-based products.
These efforts have helped increase the farmers’ incomes by at least 5%.
SDG 3 – Good Health & Well-being: Good health and well-being is a fundamental human right. It is, in extension, needed for the economy to function better. As part of this goal, Udaipur Urja Initiatives launched the Improved Cookstoves (ICS) project – a clean cooking solution that has not only resulted in the reduction of indoor pollution caused by earthen stoves but is also time and money efficient. Over 40,000 households have benefitted from the project, leading to adoption of cleaner solutions for an improved livelihood.
SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Even today, over 73% of women in Rajasthan remain unemployed. UUIPCL tackled this gender gap by successfully training, educating and employing over 250 women entrepreneurs, thus not only providing them with a means of income, but also enabling them with independence to run their own lives. It has inspired more women to pursue employment and also opened the minds of conservative societies to the positive outcomes of encouraging women to work.
SDG 7 – Affordable & Clean Energy: Over 77% of India’s population was exposed to indoor air pollution higher than the safe limits, the numbers were even higher in Rajasthan. As part of this goal, Udaipur Urja’s Improved Cookstoves not only emit lesser smoke but they are also cost effective. Their solar lights, which only rely on energy harnessed from the sun, have been distributed to over 2,500 families across villages. 100% of these families are effectively using these products and experiencing a small but significant change in their lifestyles.
SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Every year, more than 12,000 farmers (data since the year 2013) commit suicide in India. Some of the reasons for this are high input costs, lack of a direct market as well as lack of awareness. UUIPCL’s model is aimed to bridge this gap and provide farmers with not only access to an ethical market but also enable them with relevant technology and its adoption. Today, over 40,000 households sheltered under Udaipur Urja have access to equal opportunity & community support.
SDG 13 – Climate Action: India is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide & is responsible for 6.9% of global emissions, according to UN India. In order to create an impact in this area, Udaipur Urja has come up with eco-friendly solutions. Their solar lights are successfully replacing kerosene lamps which have helped reduce carbon emissions from over 2500 households. Additionally, the Improved Cookstove greatly reduced pollution as its firewood intake is half as compared to earthen stoves.
Creating a sustainable, ethical market for the poor and marginalised communities of Udaipur has been UUIPCL’s mission since the beginning.
It is driven by the idea of a socially driven ecosystem and is slowly progressing towards achieving the UN’s sustainability goals.
