Data Stories
Gayatri Devi, from the Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh, is one of the DLEs and role models for the Clean & Connected Homes initiative.
She is 37 years old with a husband and 3 children

Before joining DL, Gayatri
was not heavily involved in
her community

“I was a simple housewife […] I had no identity. My education is up to high school only. Earlier, women were not allowed to step out of the house.”

In 2017, Gayatri met a DLE and
was invited to join the
organization

“My work with Dharma Life has given me an identity not only in my village but at my home as well. My family supports me a lot and […] I can also pay education and other expenses of my children.”

Gayatri was later selected by her
village head to lead a women’s self
help group, organized by the NRLM
and now leads her block of villages
as the Block Resource Person (BRP).

“I was a simple housewife […] I had no identity. My education is up to high school only. Earlier, women were not allowed to step out of the house.”

Programs and campaigns to alleviate poverty in rural India are ubiquitous and have varying levels of success.

Dharma Life wanted to find a way to make them more cohesive and effective.
To unify these efforts and create singular, aspirational message that communities could strive towards and emulate, Dharma Life created the “Clean and Connected Homes” initiative

A “Clean and Connected Home” is a
household that uses clean, healthy
sustainable and products and practices.

Clean Energy
Clean Cooking
Safe Drinking Water
Handwash
and Sanitation
Digital Enablement

The C&CH Initiative
was guided by 2
questions

1
Can we design an integrated approach to achieve health impact at the household level by combining the interventions around various causes?
2
Can we make the “clean and connected home” an aspirational model home for the communities we target?
Dharma Life designed a plan to leverage the network of over 16,000 rural entrepreneurs with access to over 50,000 villages to execute this plan.
The DLEs would be empowered as & Connected Homes ambassadors and give their communities a real, tangible example of the C&CH model.

Meet Gayatri Devi,
a DLE from Varanasi

Baseline findings showed there was significant scope for growth across causes – within both the DLEs, and the wider communities that the DLEs represented

Dharma Life provided DLEs with
sustainable products and training to
create a Clean and Connected Home

The DLEs saw
meaningful,
quantifiable
change by
adopting the
CCH model

Whenever my children complained
about eye burn, we used to see a doctor
or use eye drops. All this had a cost.
Now with the induction cookstove and
solar light, this problem has been
solved and we save the money as well.”

Gayatri Devi, Parsa, Uttar Pradesh

“RO has brought down my
medical expenses as now my
family doesn’t face stomach
related problems”

Asha Sharma, Laxmipur,
Uttar Pradesh

“DHARMA LIFE trainings have made me
independent and have helped me
develop penchant for learning”

Sunita , Siwsa, Uttar Pradesh

“Solar light has replaced smoky
wicked lamp in my house which gave
us eye burn. Cooking in summer has
become more comfortable with an
induction cookstove as I can now use
the fan in my kitchen.”

Gayatri Devi, Parsa, Uttar Pradesh

With certified Clean and Connected Homes, DLEs were prepared to become
ambassadors of the Clean and Connected Home initiative to their wider community

DLEs as Clean and Connected Homes ambassadors

Training and direct sales of sustainable products

DLE homes as real examples of a Clean and Connected Home

“[People in my village] saw solar lights in my house, and they were keen on its usage. They saw me using these products and were very influenced. I think it made my task very easy otherwise it would have been very difficult to convince them.”

Gayatri Devi

DLEs actively
engaged in
training and
selling activities,
organized into
campaigns, to
reach their
communities

1

THE SCHOOL OF 5

A series of school activities that teach children the right way & the occasions to wash hands. It aims to encourage children & women to adopt handwash practices & promote cleanliness.

2

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION

Village-wide events that show-cased solar lamps and demonstrated the effective use of products

DLEs actively
engaged in
training and
selling activities,
organized into
campaigns, to
reach their
communities

3

SANITATION

Virtually implemented through Microsoft Teams, 200 DLEs were invited and moved through orientation and training, which covered importance of clean toilets and consequences of poor sanitation, and information on toilet use and menstrual hygiene for women is also shared.

4

SAFE & CLEAN DRINKING WATER

Also virtually implemented with 200 DLEs. Training sessions highlighted problems related to unsafe drinking water (e.g. gastrointestinal health issues, illness & infant mortality). They established the need for and benefits of RO water purifiers. Guidance for installation is also given.

Over time, the DLE’s were able to reach over 40,000 households,
exceeding the objectives set out at the start

Some of the key
take-aways from
the project so far
include:

  • 200 DLE homes were transformed to CCH resulting in meaningful, quantifiable change in QoL – in time, health, skills, money and most importantly, happiness.
  • The CCH model homes are an inspiration to the community While Push+Pull is the most effective, it is also the most expensive. Digitisation can help reduce cost, while maintaining effectiveness.
  • The concept of CCH works! There is a synergy in the cause campaigns – at the DLE and beneficiary level.

“My work with Dharma Life has given me an identity not only in my village but at my home as well […] The kids are very happy & supportive. My daughter says that she will also work like her mother. I tell my kids that they can do much better as they are more educated than me.”

Gayatri Devi, Parsa, Uttar Pradesh

VISION

Explore further integration of messaging and products

Explore onboarding additional cause-focused partners

Scale the CCH approach across the DL network

Incorporate CCH as a part of We for Village including exploring its scaling through Spoke Partners

Leverage Samvitti to conduct studies and RCTs to deepen understanding