Take a look at our exciting new project in Nal, India.

Nal is a collection of three settlements in rural Rajasthan, India.  Surrounded by mountains on all sides, it has no access by road, no electricity and no reliable water supply.  It sits approximately 1 hour’s walk away from a larger settlement at Badanga.  Badanga is flat, with a larger population and as a result, has had governmental help – a road has been built and numerous bore holes dug for water.  Badanga is a poor but thriving community with lots of trees and paddy fields, a school and one or two very small shops.

Children in Nal, India.

The people of Nal originally lived in Badanga but were expelled some years ago due to tribal difficulties.  The village is split up into 3 settlements which are spread over a wide area with a distance of some 5 km up and down valleys and hills between each one of them. There are no roads, there is no centre of the village and there is no school.  Access from Badanga to Nal is on foot along a dried-up riverbed and the way becomes unsafe at certain times of the year. The villagers have nothing but a few pots and pans and some very thin animals. They have built their homes using the stone they excavate from the ground, and a few clusters of houses is all there is in Nal.

The Reach Foundation UK is preparing to help this village. We would like to provide food for the 50 children of Nal and start a small school and workshop teaching the women and children skills, crafts and sustainable farming techniques as has been done in many other parts of rural India.

Chiman supports the local community and has been instrumental in trying to find help for Nal.  During the pandemic he successfully applied for a small government grant and took supplies of rice and lentils to the people of Nal.  He has a lot of experience with building and working with local people.  He speaks the local dialect and is well respected in the village. Chiman will oversee the building of the water tank and work with The Reach Foundation UK to provide education and feeding programs for the children living in Nal.