With the earnings from the sale of tickets and other revenue from the World Robes 2005 competition - a total of 11,500 euros - German Agro Action is supporting a development project of its Indian partner organisation SCRIA (Social Center for Rural Initiative & Advancement) in the desert region of Northern India.

In Northern Rajasthan the people suffer from extreme environmental conditions: erosion and periods of drought have leached the soils. Most families cannot even produce enough for their own needs.

The already difficult situation is compounded by social problems. The traditional caste system increases the poverty of the lower castes and people without castes. A strict patriarchal society leaves the disadvantaged women to bear the brunt of the problems.

Thanks to the SCRIA, many things have now changed: SCRIA has helped people in 32 villages to farm the soils in an environmentally friendly way. This has brought success, particularly with regard to securing water, which is essential for life. SCRIA developed cheaper and more effective variants of the traditional water storage systems (tanks). Here one reverts to the old tradition of collecting and storing rain water in large ponds (so-called johad or talai.). Now the villages have considerably more available drinking water and nonpotable water for other purposes (in some cases up to 60 percent). Further successes are that the groundwater table has risen and harvests have become more certain.

SCRIA also supported the inhabitants in standing up for their rights - for instance minimum wages. For this purpose the inhabitants of the village established self-help groups and initiatives (so-called "sangathans"). In 2005 a total of 1,138 families were members of a sangathan, which constitutes almost 20 percent of the population! "That is certainly the biggest success of this project." says Senoo Rawat, SCRIA's programme coordinator. "Because as long as a society does not resist social injustice, help measures will not contribute towards sustainable change - at least not from a long term point of view."

The women in particular have begun to organise themselves in sangathans. Here the project provides them with education and training, which also includes diverse commercial and technical courses. That is showing initial successes: they can improve their monthly income by manufacturing printed fabrics or woven carpets - the first step towards a better life.