Dharma Life

Rural India faces various challenges, including a lack of connectivity and poor infrastructure, limited access to energy and a high frequency of disease. These challenges are caused by three major factors - lack of awareness regarding the causes and solutions of social problems, lack of access to high-quality solutions and unaffordability. There have been no integrated models that address these challenges. 

Dharma Life is building a network of trained female change leaders - Dharma Life Entrepreneurs (DLEs) - who conduct behaviour change campaigns for low-income, rural households and provide them with access to affordable, socially impactful products. DLEs are selected and trained from within the community to become social change makers in their villages. They address key challenges relating to sanitation infrastructure, hygiene practices and digital literacy, among others.  

TRANSFORM supported Dharma Life to pilot one such holistic solution - the ‘Clean and Connected Homes’ programme. A Clean and Connected Home was considered a household that is aware of good health, hygiene and sanitation habits; has access to clean energy and cooking; and is digitally literate. Through strategic, operational and financial assistance, TRANSFORM provided access to behaviour change expertise, supported the DLE pilot phase and helped implement six major awareness campaigns.  

During COVID-19, TRANSFORM helped Dharma Life pivot to a digital-first approach, and repurpose its network of 16,000 rural entrepreneurs as a crisis response force. The DLEs communicated vital healthcare information, delivered care packages and re-established the supply chain for essential goods, reaching hundreds of thousands of households in rural India at a time of crisis.