The Pragya team is driven by the urgency of the needs it sees in mountain regions. New projects are to be implemented, new areas to be entered.


* address issues of water and energy management in mountain regions
Although the source of water for the plains, mountain regions suffer from inadequate water availability. Rainwater harvesting in the Eastern Indian Himalayas and management of the glaciermelt in the Western Indian Himalayas is a critical need. Pragya will work on addressing these issues, developing appropriate water management techniques, and revitalising the effective traditional methods. Already, the concept of harvesting snow through the creation of artificial glaciers is being pilot-tested in the cold desert region of Spiti. This is to be expanded full-scale to cover other villages of the region. Energy is another critical issue in the mountains. The mountain communities are dependent on the forests for all fuel for domestic and livelihood needs, and this is escalating deforestation and with it depletion of biodiversity. Pragya intends to work on installation of renewable energy options in these mountain regions. Pilot projects that use passive solar construction methods have already been begun.


* launch projects in other Himalayan regions and different mountain systems
Expanding our operations is a continous & ongoing process. Existing project sites will be expanded to enhance impact spread and office infrastructure extended to each of the regions we work in. Thus for instance, our Lahaul & Spiti project site has been expanded to include the contiguous cold desert districts of Kinnaur and Ladakh. The north-eastern project site that is currently focussed on two districts in each of the states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh will be expanded to the other districts of these two states. Pragya projects in the Garhwal region of the Central Indian Himalayas are to be expanded to other districts and the Kumaon region, with health & sanitation issues being the new areas of focus.