History & Achievements

Research, Advocacy and Communication in Himalayan Areas (RACHNA) was formed in 1998 as a special program of Shri Bhuvneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA) that is one of the largest grassroots organizations in the Indian Himalayan region. RACHNA took initiatives to support the newly created Himalayan state in India called Uttarakhand for strengthening the grassroots level governance system called Panchayats.

RACHNA’s programs as part of SBMA were supported by Plan International, Canadian International Development Agency , MacArthur Foundation, United Nations Development Program and the Government of India. RACHNA developed a network of Panchayats with focus on thousands of the newly elected women leaders and developed and implemented innovative self-help based training methodologies based on the approach developed by Future Generations, a USA based international organization, for leadership development and policy change.

Representatives from other states of India such as Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and NGO leaders from countries like Afghanistan and Nepal visited us to learn from our work. RACHNA also organized an International conference of mountain children to understand and highlight the special needs of the mountain children. RACHNA highlighted the issues and concerns related to the rapid and unplanned urbanization by engaging local youth in research, documentation and dialogue with the civil society groups, media and authorities. RACHNA also conducted workshops on techniques of conflict resolution for natural resource management and good governance. RACHNA worked with the drummer community of Uttarakhand and created a professionally successful group of new generation of drummers to demonstrate how the drummers can be empowered and how the art of drumming can be saved by linking them with the new market opportunities.

An innovative program developed by RACHNA in 2003 and 2004 for engaging and empowering children to express their concerns through artistic expressions to educate the society regarding children’s needs and rights was adopted by Plan International for replication at the national scale in India.

RACHNA program evolved itself as an entrepreneurial independent civil society organization (registered as Society in India) in mid 2004 with the goal of promoting lasting conservation and sustainable development in the Himalayas.