Marpu Foundation Launches Jal Jugaad Fellowship to Tackle Water Crisis

Marpu Foundation

Jun 25, 2025

2 min read

India is not running out of water. It's running out of people who know how to manage it.

At Marpu Foundation, we’ve seen this firsthand - borewells abandoned due to simple motor failures, tanks filled with silt, pipes leaking for months. Over 43% of rural water infrastructure fails within just 3 years — not because there’s no water, but because there’s no one trained to maintain it.

That’s why we’ve launched the Jal Jugaad Fellowship — a grassroots model to turn rural youth, women, and panchayat members into trained Water Stewards in their own villages.

🌊 What Is the Jal Jugaad Fellowship?

The Jal Jugaad Fellowship is not a typical water scheme. It’s a hyperlocal, skill-based program that empowers communities to fix their own water problems — using local talent, practical tools, and ongoing mentorship.

Fellows will be equipped to:

Audit village water assets
Repair and maintain infrastructure
Monitor water quality using simple testing tools
Create community awareness and accountability

👥 Who Can Apply or Be Nominated?

This fellowship is for the changemakers — those who want to do something, not wait for something.

✅ Rural youth who want to build technical skills

✅ Sarpanches and local leaders frustrated by inaction

✅ Women who manage homes and are ready to manage hamlets

✅ NGOs or CSR teams looking to support scalable, high-ROI water impact

📈 Why This Matters for CSR and NGOs

If you are a CSR head or NGO partner, this is the kind of project that’s:

Low cost but high impact
Easy to scale across blocks, mandals, and districts
Aligned with SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action)
Perfect for employee volunteering, village visits, and awareness campaigns
Backed by digital certification, impact reports, and government-recognized tools

Each fellow can impact 500+ lives through local fixes — reducing tanker dependence, saving public funds, and building community trust.

🛠️ What Fellows Will Receive

Hands-on training in water testing, GIS mapping, and O&M tools
A digital Certificate of Completion
On-ground toolkits and repair kits
Mentorship from engineers, policy makers, and climate leaders
Recognition and visibility at local and state level
Eligibility for career progression in NGO, civic, or CSR fields

💧 June–July 2024 Cohort Now Open

This is not a theory-based program. This is boots-on-ground action for real water resilience. Whether you are:

A CSR team looking to adopt villages,
A volunteer wanting to do more than just plant trees, or
A community member ready to take charge - This fellowship is your next step.