RGF_Program_Guide_Mar2_2026

Building Punjab PROGRAM GUIDE a vibrant ^

Punjab.

On a precipice.

Punjab stands between two futures.

One is fertile, abundant, and thriving, where fields overflow with life, children grow with confidence, and women shape the village economy.

The other is a landscape of drought, depletion, and quiet despair, where the soil cracks before the people do, and opportunities for youth and women dry up with it.

Groundwater is vanishing. Forests have nearly disappeared. Livelihoods are shrinking, young people are losing pathways to progress, and women shoulder the weight of households without the power to change them. Villages are losing their resilience, their economy, and their hope.

As the food basket of India, Punjab’s future will decide the future of the country. What happens next depends on whether we act now, before the tipping point becomes the point of no return.

“This is the world’s biggest experiment in creating ecosustainable villages, where people gain the skill and motivation to thrive, not just survive. This is Wholistic Wellbeing.”

GURPREET SUNNY SINGH Founder of Roundglass

Roundglass Foundation. 3000+ Villages.

3 Million Lives Impacted. A small startup, with a

big vision.

Our Wholistic Approach

The ‘pind’ or village is the thread that binds Punjabi society. Each village is a self-fuelling ecosystem encompassing the environment, culture, economics, livelihoods and the lives and wellbeing of its residents. We believe that people and the soil are interlinked, and any work that addresses one and not the other will not be effective. Our ‘one village at a time’ approach creates modular units of sustainable growth, prosperity and wellbeing, that can be replicated across the state. This is Roundglass Foundation’s Wholistic Approach. The W stands for whole, as there is no wellbeing unless one considers the village in its entirety.

Environment & Sustainability

THE BILLION TREE PROJECT | WASTE MANAGEMENT

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Mohinder Singh lost his son. His daughterin-law left, leaving him with three grandchildren and no income. At his lowest point, he found work as a village waste collector. With steady work and renewed dignity, he rebuilt his life, turning waste into purpose, and becoming a quiet hero in his village.

Mohinder Singh Waste Collector

The man who Recycled His Life

Last Line of Defence.

The Billion Tree Project Trees. Punjab’s

The Problem

Punjab has just 3.67% forest cover, far below the national average of 21.7%. Meanwhile, 80% of groundwater blocks are overexploited, pushing parts of the state toward severe water scarcity, soil degradation, extreme heat, and vanishing biodiversity.

Our Response

We create mini-forests, community parks, and orchards, planting native, climate-resilient species. With a 85-90% survival rate, each tree restores air, soil, pollinators, crops, and futures.

The Impact

Carbon captured. Shade restored. Birds return. Air cleans. Green jobs created. And with it, the most fundamental right: the right to breathe.

1 billion trees planted

~400,000 acres restored

~5 million green jobs annually

The future will be green. A billion trees green.

Waste Management Waste. From Burden To Resource.

The Problem

Rural Punjab generates over 1 million tons of waste each year, nearly 1 kg per household daily. Weak village systems cause polluted water, toxic air, soil contamination, plastic leakage, and rising health risks for children and elders.

Our Response

We build decentralized, village-owned waste management units. Waste is segregated at home, collected locally, and converted into organic compost. This turns collectors into formal workers, wet waste into farm input, and dirty commons into shared assets.

The Impact

The result is a circular village economy where dignity and value are restored. That’s clean streets, local jobs, composted soil, reduced burning, and better helth.

12,700 villages covered

1.7 million tonnes of waste processed annually ~269,000 jobs created (direct + public employment programs)

The future will be clean. A billion tons clean.

Mr. Inderjeet Singh’s new

new guests

“They come when the hibiscus flowers bloom. In the beginning, just a couple came, husband-wife. Now they come with their three children. It’s the most beautiful thing. Birds have returned to our village.”

Inderjeet Singh

On the Billion Tree Project in Patiala

Regenerative Agriculture Fertility. Water. Restored.

The Problem

Decades of chemical farming, monocropping, and overirrigation have degraded soil and drained groundwater. Water falls one meter yearly, costs rise, incomes shrink, pollution spreads. This is not just a farming crisis, but a civilizational one.

Our Response

We shift farming from extraction to regeneration. Roundglass Foundation trains farmers in regenerative practices such as SRB, cutting water use by up to 70%, reducing input costs by ~50%, and eliminating emissions, while maintaining yields and restoring soil health.

The Impact

That’s living soil, saved water, cleaner air, higher farmer incomes, and a future where Punjab can keep feeding India without destroying itself.

100,000 farmers adopting regenerative practices

80% reduction in water usage

70% reduction in input costs

The future will be fertile. A million acres fertile.

Roundglass Foundation’s innovations such as the SRB machine, help save up to 70% water in paddy crop. That’s 60 trillion tons annually.“ If I can save so much water, imagine how much all farmers together can. We can save Punjab!”

Hardeep Singh Farmer, Moga

The man who can

Help Save 60 Trillion Liters Of Water

Youth Development

SPORTS CENTERS | LEARN LABS

Girl. One Football. One Future.

One Girl. One Football One

The Problem

In rural Punjab, girls rarely play. Social norms, safety concerns and a lack of spaces keep them on the sidelines. Early dropouts, shrinking confidence, limited mobility and rising health risks follow. When girls stop playing, they also stop leading. A generation loses its voice before it learns to use it.

Our Response

1 Girl 1 Football places a football in the hands of every girl who has been told she cannot run, speak loudly or take up space. Through village Sports Centers, trained coaches and safe daily play, girls discover strength, teamwork and the thrill of pushing their own limits. Participation becomes confidence. Confidence becomes agency. Agency becomes leadership

The Impact Play becomes power. Girls show up every evening ready to train, compete and claim the field as their own. Communities shift as families witness girls who are fitter, bolder and more determined.

400,000 girls participating 15,000 Sports Centers across Punjab

The future will be equal. And it will be unstoppable.

Sports. When Play Becomes Power.

Sports Centers

The Problem

Punjab now ranks among the lowest in youth physical activity. Vanishing playgrounds, absent coaches, and early dropouts, especially among girls, fuel poor health, lost confidence, shrinking public spaces, and rising risk behaviors.

Our Response

We build village Sports Centers with safe spaces, equipment, and trained coaches. Daily training restores discipline, resilience, and community pride, while initiatives like 1 Girl 1 Football ensure girls participate equally.

The Impact

Sports Centers make sports a daily habit, not a rare opportunity. That’s safe play, trained coaches, inclusive access, and a simple belief: I have the power to win.

1 million children actively engaged in sports

400,000 girls participating 15,000 Sports Centers across Punjab

The boy who had no skills.

“When I joined, I wasn’t good at anything at all,” Jatinder laughs.“But I wanted so badly to play, I landed up daily. Coach trained meto be a goalkeeper.” Four years of training and one major injury later, Jatinder has made it to the national selections, but he is still the simple, humble boy who started his journey at a Roundglass Foundation Sports Center.

Jatinder Singh Sports Center, Daumajra

“I used to think English-medium school kids know a lot more than us, especially about computers.” She continues, beaming with pride,“Since I joined the Learn Lab, I think they don’t know anything more than us. I feel really powerful. No-one is ahead of us.”

Komalpreet Kaur

The girl who feels superior.

Learn Labs Curiosity. Trained.

The Problem

Over 40% of rural children cannot read at grade level; only 76% of Class VII read a Class II text (ASER 2024). Learning is rote, uninspiring, and disconnected from technology and realworld skills, killing curiosity and trapping potential.

Our Response

We build Learn Labs, techenabled village learning spaces where children learn at their own pace with guided support, transforming rote study into exploration, technology fear into fluency, and silence into confident self-expression.

The Impact

They build 21st-century skills, digital literacy, problem-solving mindset, English proficiency, and confidence. That’s access to technology, mentors, futureready skills, and a quiet surge of confidence.

12,700 villages covered 400,000 children reached 99% English and digital fluency

The future will be bright. A million minds bright.

Women’s Equity

LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMS

Women’s Livelihood Women. Rewiring the Village Economy.

The Problem

Only 27.7% of rural women in Punjab work, versus 62.4% of men. Limited financial literacy, capital access, and informal work exclude women from economic decisions, weakening household resilience and long-term wellbeing.

Our Response

We deliver financial literacy and livelihoods programs that build skills, savings, credit access, and confidence, transforming informal work into reliable incomes and enabling women to make informed financial decisions.

The Impact

Reliable incomes, financial agency, confident decision-making, stronger enterprises, and ripple effects across education, health, savings, and longterm village resilience

1.75 million jobs created for women

100,000 women entrepreneurs trained 10 million women economically empowered

The future will be led. Led by millions of women.

Health

YOGA CENTERS

Wellbeing. Built from Within.

Yoga Centers

The Problem

In rural Punjab, women face unaddressed physical strain, chronic stress, and mental health challenges from unpaid labour and limited care, leading to poor wellbeing, isolation, low participation in public and economic life, and rising long-term health costs.

Our Response

We train women as Yoga Changemakers and build village Yoga Centers. Daily practice restores physical and mental health, builds community, creates local mental health leaders, and enables women to earn income, dignity, and agency.

The Impact

Yoga Centers anchor wellbeing as a shared village habit, not an individual luxury. That’s 40 women every morning breathing dignity into their lungs.

12700 villages impacted

15,000 women trained as yoga instructors 10 million weekly participants

The woman who defied lockdown.

“My husband lost his job during the COVID lockdown, and our family struggled. In my village, there is an unspoken lock on women, and I had never imagined earning myself. Through financial literacy training, I learned about managing money, taking a loan, and finding customers online for my own cosmetics shop. Today, I earn for my family. I know now that no lock is unbreakable.”

Kamaljeet

Kaur Entrepreneur, Kurali

“I have had diabetes for years. I used to have severe pain in my legs, always felt tired. But Yoga changed it. I no longer suffer from high sugar. It’s like I am a new person.”

Manjeet Kaur Member of Yoga Center, Khijrabad

The woman who beat diabetes.

“I am an only child. I lost my mother to cancer when she was in her final stage. This opportunity came into my life during my darkest time. My work became my safe haven from grief. From managing one Lab to now leading 20, and opening a xerox café for my village, I have come a long way. And in my village, people say, If we go to her, we will find a solution.”

Jatinder Kaur

Changemaker, Learn Labs, Sangatpur

She

started and never stopped.

Changemakers

The Problem

Programs fail without local ownership. When external teams leave, solutions fade, villages stay dependent, and progress collapses. Infrastructure alone cannot sustain development without trained local leaders.

Our Response

Roundglass Foundation builds 524 village Changemakers who lead programs on environment, youth, and women, sustaining impact by turning projects into movements and villages into self-driven engines of change.

The Impact

Productive employment for youth, leadership embedded in the village, and progress that does not leave when funding does.

18,500 trained Changemakers 100% village-embedded execution Self-sustaining local leadership systems

The future will be local.

Community Changemakers

Local leaders drive lasting change. Villages own solutions, not outsiders.

Individual Agency

Every person has potential. We expand choice, confidence, and control.

Wholistic Systems Thinking

People, land, livelihoods, and culture must grow together.

Evidence-Led Action

We learn continuously, adapt fast, and scale what works.

Aligned with National Priorities

We strengthen public systems by complementing government missions.

Wisdom + Science

Traditional knowledge and modern science work best together.

Ways to Donate

Bank Transfer: Bank: JP Morgan

Account Name: Roundglass Foundation

Wire Transfer Number 021000021

ACH Routing Number 325070760

Account Number 741929605 (same)

Via QR Code:

Through Our Website: Roundglassfoundation.org/?donate