Our Projects

Collaborated with learning experts from Accenture and skilling institutes in India, to create the Jaya learning journey as a unique blend of guided self-learning, online classroom-based learning, offline classroom-based learning and peer-based learning.

Created the Jaya web platform and mobile app with UI design considering the rural audience and technology for working with low and no connectivity areas. The process also involved collaborating with rural women for design inputs and usability feedback.

Conducted a pilot of the Jaya programme in XX villages, reaching YY women. The pilot's learnings were used to build on the programme as a precursor to the launch.

Leveraged the DL ONE ecosystem to gather and analyse the programme's progress across XX villages in YY states in near-real-time.

Dharma Life Entrepreneurs conducted quantitative and qualitative surveys with YY rural women across XX villages to understand the realities and glean insights.

Iteratively designed, tested and finalized the programme activities across cause areas.

Conducted a randomised controlled trial with over 200 participating villages and 40,000 rural households to test the efficacy of push marketing vs pull marketing vs push-pull marketing.

Leveraged the DL ONE ecosystem to gather and analyse the programme's progress across 200 villages in near-real-time.

Menstrual Hygiene is a taboo topic among rural women and girls, so traditional communication methods failed to get the message across. A life-size game of snakes and ladders was conceptualised to make them more comfortable and bring up the issue in a lighter environment. The game has seen great results as a conversation starter in group discussions at schools and rural homes.

Many rural women and girls use cloth instead of sanitary napkins during their periods. While awareness is the primary issue, there is also a perception that sanitary napkins are expensive. To address this, the “gulabi gullak” was created – a small pink piggy bank pouch in which they were asked to place one rupee a day so they had enough to buy a pack of sanitary napkins at the end of each month.

Leveraged the DL ONE ecosystem to gather and analyse the programme's progress in near real-time.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown led to rural communities facing numerous challenges. While some, like access to essential goods and misinformation, were common, many communities faced challenges that were unique to them. A series of calls and video calls were set up to better understand these realities.

Established a two-way communication channel with Whatsapp Groups created by the Dharma Life Entrepreneur for each community, with additional Whatsapp groups at the district and state level, creating a real-time, hyperlocal communication channel. This allowed for quick and easy dissemination of information while staying informed of the local issues and responses, allowing for adaptable strategies. The Whatsapp Groups became the backbone of all the products and services that were delivered during the pandemic, from essential goods and groceries to doctor consultations and vaccination appointments.

Issues that were identified through the communication channel with Whatsapp Groups were addressed through the co-creation of solutions. Members of Dharma Life Labs worked with local leadership to design, test and scale solutions.

The Dharma Life Labs team had conversations and conducted surveys with rural artisans in Bihar, Jaipur, Lucknow and Varanasi to understand the realities, challenges and barriers to they face.

Detailed immersions with artisan clusters across four artforms (Madhubani Painting, Banarasi Weaving, Block Printing and Chikankari Embroidery) to understand the manufacturing processes thoroughly and identify potential areas for intervention to improve sustainability.

The Cradle-to-Cradle Framework was leveraged as a foundation to create the Green Weave artisan model. This was the basis for designing numerous changes to the manufacturing process of the art forms to make them more sustainable. This included using natural and recycled fabrics and dyes, creating zero-waste patterns for tailoring, upcycling and recycling textile waste, and creating better working conditions. This also included designing innovative solutions like a filter to reduce water pollution in the Chikankari process and preserving Block Printing motifs through 3D Scanning.

After an extensive mapping exercise of the manufacturing process, Dharma Life Labs partnered with KPMG to quantify the impact of each step of the manufacturing process in a sustainability index. The index aims at bringing about a positive change in the textile industry and encompasses key parameters such as greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), water footprint, and waste footprint to evaluate the environmental performance of textile companies.

One key insights that emerged from the immersions was that one of the biggest barriers to rural artisans starting their own businesses is their lack of knowledge of design. To address this, Dharma Life Labs has created a tool that uses Generative AI to create unique designs for products from an extensive library of traditional motifs.