Bauni’s name means “forest” – fitting for someone who once hugged trees to protect them.
As a young woman in Salna village in the Indian Himalayas, Bauni joined the Chipko Movement to stop deforestation. But over the years, the forests she fought to save were lost to development, and the springs her community relied on began to dry up.
With support from Frank Water, Bauni and other women formed committees to revive their springs using nature-based solutions, planting native trees and digging trenches to restore the water cycle.
Now, the spring flows year-round.
Women no longer spend hours collecting water. Girls stay in school. Families grow food and earn a living from their land.
This is the power of protecting water at its source.
