Karuna-Shechen is an international association founded by Matthieu Ricard in 2000. It supports more than 380,000 people every year through humanitarian and development projects in Northern India, Nepal and Tibet, in four areas of intervention. : health, education, women's empowerment and the development of rural communities.
Committed to a responsible approach, Shanti Travel will support Karuna-Shechen in its event Yoga For Karuna, an international movement that invites yoga teachers to organize donations to projects in India. Shanti Travel also participates in the ongoing project of training female electric rickshaw drivers, an approach which has both an environmental and social impact.
Reducing air pollution and supporting the socioeconomic empowerment of women through training and job opportunities are both central to the eradication of poverty. Through its Female Electric Rickshaw Driver program, Karuna-Shechen provides disadvantaged Indian women with the skills and the means they need to work as e-rickshaw taxi drivers in Bodhgaya, India. The program is also contributing to the socioeconomic empowerment of women and promoting gender-equality by training them in a profession that is largely regarded as male-specific in India.
Since 2014, Karuna-Shechen’s Solar Power program is an innovative solution that provides clean electricity and opportunities for women to be bearers of light in their communities. These systems provide much more energy than kerosene lamps and wood fires, and present no danger (fire or respiratory diseases) for the villagers. The NGO provides to underpriviledged and disable women a comprehensive solar technician training in India or Nepal. Upon their return, they install and maintain 100 solar home lighting systems in their respective villages.
