Project Name:

The WISE Project

April 4, 2019 –

Project PI:

Project Co-PI:

Dr. Sidney Strauss
Wafa Singh

Funding Agency:

Consulate of Israel to South India (Bengaluru)

Project Summary:

The environmental impact of the Kerala floods has been significant. Top soil in most affected areas has been completely washed off. The dwindling tree cover that barely held the top soil in place has been drastically reduced, triggering and triggered by landslides. Rivers and ground water sources have been polluted by debris, human and animal carcasses. The Western Ghats was already deemed a fragile ecosystem, and fauna like snakes that were washed out of their habitats and survived the deluge were slaughtered by the thousands in fear and desperation to reclaim property. This post-disaster scenario, if not addressed sustainably, can only lead to larger disasters in the future.  Experts proclaim that Women’s Empowerment is the key to true sustainability. Traditionally, rural women are the natural caretakers of the environment. They often tend to their families, livestock, fields, water sources and even the forests that surround the village thereby effectively protecting the entire ecosystem on which the community subsides. The monitoring and maintenance work women do in their villages is an integral part of sustainability of their natural resources.

Project Updates:

July 20, 2022
WISE: Women in Sustaining the Environment Project’s deployment has started in Raichur’s Dongarampur Village in Karnataka. The WISE initiative is to equip rural women with the technologies they
need to successfully monitor and maintain local drinking water supplies.

Students from Tel Aviv University joined the outreach in the field. Ten water ambassadors will be trained as part of the project to monitor water quality in 1000 households in Dongarampur. Operations in the village have commenced towards bettering water monitoring and systems.WISE Team: Lekha, Parameshwari and Reshma & Efrat, Hannah and Asaf from TAU