Projects

On June 1, 2025, we launched our “Sagar German Bakery” project. Encouraged by the success of our bakery in Nadakumar Pur, we are planning to set up a second bakery in a different location, Kamalpur on the island of Sagar, West Bengal. As in our first project, we want to use our new venture to (a) create an opportunity to train interested women as bakers and (b) generate jobs in the bakery for the trained women. This will enable the women to contribute to their families' livelihoods with their income. This will result in an increase and strengthening of the women's self-esteem, enabling them to represent their position within the family and the village community with greater self-confidence. Working women thus serve as role models for their children, especially their daughters, who learn the value of education and financial independence in their families and will in turn try to actively shape their living conditions and gain respect and prestige. 

The project will run for one year and is supported by the North German Foundation for Environment and Development (NUE), the Georg Kraus Foundation, and the Small Projects Fund of the North-South Bridges Foundation and the Schmitz Foundations with a total volume of €47,675.00.

On April 1, 2025, we launched our project “Sustainable social and economic development in wastewater management through capacity building in India” together with our Indian partner Centre for Environment and Development (CED) and funded by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). India has a serious drinking water problem that is directly linked to the wastewater problem, because in large parts of India, polluted water is not treated but discharged onto fields or into waterways. This practice is a major cause of the current pollution of open waterways and groundwater and is therefore also responsible for the contamination of drinking water, which poses a medium- and long-term health risk to the population, for example through the transmission of infectious diseases. The ecological balance is disrupted by the undesirable increase in nutrients in the water (eutrophication).

We have therefore launched this project with the aim of building capacity in the wastewater industry through state-of-the-art training, workshops, and webinars for decision-makers, technicians/engineers, and managers from Indian wastewater management, industry, and relevant institutes in India. The increased volume of wastewater creates a need for experts and technicians who can solve the problems using state-of-the-art technologies. 

Knowledge such as wastewater analysis and classification, and technical competence building are urgently needed and contribute to climate resilience, public health, and sustainability. The project will run for one year and the support volume amounts to 47,850 euros.

Please find more information here

Ila Gouri Hastashipa Prashikshan Kendra:

Our Indian Partner, the NGO Sabuj Sangha has initiated an exclusive handicraft business for marginalized women in the remote Sundarbans, who have formed various self-help groups and joined together under the umbrella of an SHG association, the Sundarban Mohila Swanirvar Gosthi Cooperative Society, and are striving to provide for themselves using their own potential.

The unit was founded through the inspiration and support of Dr. Amal Mukhopadhyay, 1st Chairman of the Hanseatic India Forum e.V. in Germany, and named in memory of the two sisters Ila and Gouri Mukherjee - Ila Gouri Hastashilpa Prashikshan Kendra.

The marginalized women from the remote villages of the Sundarbans are gradually becoming self-reliant through the manufacture and sale of these quality products.

The facility currently manufactures petticoats for saris and nightgowns and has set itself the goal of producing 1,000 to 2,000 petticoats and nightgowns this year. To this end, new machines are being purchased and trainers hired to teach the women how to use the sewing machines.

Modernization of waste management practices in India through capacity building (ReWACa)

Waste management is a crucial challenge for India in terms of its far-reaching economic, environmental, and social impacts. The waste management system in the country is underdeveloped, and more than 70% of waste is dumped or burned in the open. As cities grow and living conditions change, solid waste is expected to triple by 2030, and greenhouse gas emissions are already doubling to 40 million tons. The Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD), the Planning Commission (2012), and the World Bank (2016) clearly identify the insufficient availability of technical and human skills as one of the key challenges in the waste management sector. Therefore, a specific target and a participatory and practice-oriented development program based on scientific data must be developed to meet these challenges. This mixed concept for capacity building can be significantly strengthened through knowledge exchange and transfer between Indian and German diaspora communities, as some students and professionals who were educated in Germany are now well equipped to contribute to solving the problems of Indian waste management. To make this possible, the project will develop several prototypes of innovative training techniques and test their impact on the behavior and skills of the target group. The project partner in India is the Centre for Environment and Development in Kerala and was funded by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ).
 

Here you can find detailed information about the project.

A bakery in the Sundarbans, India, (“Sunderban German Bakery”) run by the women of the village themselves

The “Sunderban German Bakery” project, which is intended to benefit women in the remote rural areas of the Sundarbans in particular, was launched on December 13, 2015. In cooperation with the Indian NGO Sabuj Sangha, a “bakery project” was launched. The establishment of a bakery serves to (a) train interested women from the region to become bakers and (b) generate jobs in the bakery for the trained women. This will enable the women to contribute to their families' livelihoods with their income.

You can find detailed information about the project here.

Medicines for health stations – sponsored by Shell Germany Anniversary Capital

In a follow-up project, the aim was to fill the health stations' 50-liter refrigerators, which were specially designed for storing medicines, with the most important life-saving medicines, such as antidotes for snake bites and rabies, as well as antibodies against the Rhesus factor for Rhesus-negative pregnant women. HIF e.V. received a donation of €4,200.00 from Shell Germany Anniversary Capital to support this project. The medicines were purchased in India in the summer of 2014.

You can find detailed information about the project here.

Solar Medicus: Renewable energies to improve the living conditions of people in need in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, India

The Solar Medicus project is the result of an initiative by Hanseatic India Forum e.V., Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e.V., and the Indian NGO Sabuj Sangha. The aim of the project was to ensure basic and emergency medical care in remote villages in the Sundarbans. Selected villages were equipped with three solar-powered health stations (“Solar Medicus”).

The three Solar Medicus units were shipped from the manufacturer's warehouse to Kolkata in September 2013.

You can find detailed information about the project here.