Seva Charitable Trust

About us

SEVA was founded in 2015 with the main aim to preserve the forest and its resources, to save the wildlife and to provide sustainable livelihoods opportunity to the tribal people living in the forests. With its base work carried out in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, to protect the park’s wildlife and conserving the forest by promoting afforestation. Seva also promotes the idea of sustainable livelihoods for the Adivasis living within the park by developing their skills and providing them with jobs. It currently provides support to 1500 Adivasis and Non-Adivasis through various initiatives. These include creating handicrafts out of recyclable material, a catering unit and organizing nature walks.

Our mission
• To generate alternative livelihood by giving opportunity to women living in Sanjay Gandhi National Park to work and make efforts to minimize their dependency on the forest resources.
• To admire the womenfolk who have the knowledge of herbs and invest them in producing Ayurvedic benefits out of it.
• To create consciousness among people about the animals and co exist with the help of tribal people living over there.
• To make a better world for animals where they can live in harmony.

Our vision
• To work closely with the forest department towards protecting the forest and its wildlife.
• To provide sustainable livelihood to local communities and empower women.
• To partner with various stakeholders in conserving the forest and promote afforestation.
• Create employment opportunities for local men, women and youth that are not only in harmony with nature but while simultaneously and make the locals independent of the forest. This includes organic farming, creating eco-friendly products and using recyclable waste as resources.

Various initiatives taken by SEVA:
• Tailoring initiative: Tribal women are trained in sewing. They are taught to make cloth bags in different styles. Recently we opened a Sewing/Tailoring centre in Gandhi Tekari in Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
• Pottery project: The women are also given a chance to learn pottery, where they make beautiful pots in different shapes and design.
• Tribal kitchen: The tribal kitchen is an initiative to promote healthy diet as well as to give livelihood to the tribal women

Our work
• Plastic bottle recycling: The college and community youths are involved in collecting the plastic bottles from the forest. We have also started recycling the bottles by making hand made lights made out of plastic bottles and vertical wall using plastic.
• Artisan handicraft: Handicraft items are made by the tribal women using various materials.
• Pottery and indoor plants: The women are taught to make unique pots based on wildlife themes and indoor plants, often medicinal and herb plants are planted.
• Green walls projects: The youth are involved in developing green walls, they have been trained to use recycled bottles and locally available material to develop green walls. Seva has developed several such walls. This is a low cost model of creating green space.
• Tree plantation drive: Seva has been organizing nature trails through which information on wild life conservation and importance of forest in our day to day lives and other such awareness sessions are organized
• Campaign to save forest and wildlife: The college and community youths are involved in collecting the plastic bottles from the forest

Amisha H Parekh is a Trustee of Seva Charitable Trust.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.