PepsiCo Foundation

The PepsiCo Foundation along with WaterAid aim to provide clean water access to communities in southern India facing extreme water shortages, specifically in Palakkad (Kerala), Nelamangala (Karnakata), and Sri City (Andhra Pradesh).

Water scarcity and the long-term management of water resources is a critical challenge. Through the project, we seek to implement solutions that will help increase access to clean water, build community and government capacity to manage water resources, and educate community members to adopt sustainable sanitation and hygiene practices.

The three year partnership entails community engagement to prepare them for subsequent nutrition interventions as well.

The project also aims to ensure immediate access to sustainable and clean drinking water for the communities. This includes maintenance of non-functioning systems and construction of new systems with locally available technologies, which the community can manage in the long-run. To ensure sustainability, community members are trained to maintain recharge structures and develop a community-managed water treatment system. For schools and anganwadi centres, safe drinking water dispenser systems are also provided.

We strengthen sources, services, systems and capacity of institutions like schools. In the target habitations across our three intervention areas, we restore wells and ponds via rainwater harvesting to support water recharge. Rainwater harvesting structures are also constructed in schools, public buildings and households to serve the community. We also test water quality with feasible technologies and provide testing kits to local institutions. Under local governance and Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), the habitations have local teams responsible for water quality, trained on operation and maintenance.

We also aim to improve sanitation and hygiene practices in the communities. It is essential to replicate success at the district-wide level through advocacy. Therefore, we engage with the government, advocate with district departments and provide technical support for scale-up of project models across districts. Additionally, we will work alongside other organisations and movements to generate public interest and political awareness of water conservation and quality issues.