Hi, I’m Maharshi Patel, I just finished my junior year at Duke University and am going to be spending the next six months working as a fellow with Sarvajal.

I joined Sarvajal because I wanted to be a part of something that makes a resounding and sustainable impact. I had volunteered for nonprofit organizations before but found their biggest drawback to be their dependence on others;  Sarvajal is different, and it is for this reason that I joined.

Sarvajal is based on a franchise model; with water entrepreneurs from each village operating a reserve osmosis purifier that provides water at a cost of 25 paisa/liter, about a half a cent. In this way, local residents get employment and everyone gets affordable water (bottled water current sells for rs 15 per liter, making it an unaffordable luxury). Sarvajal’s mission is to make clean drinking water accessible and affordable, and it devotes all of its manpower, resources, and technology it has at its disposal to achieving that end.  I’ve joined the Sarvajal initiative because I realized that here, I can help make a significant and lasting impact in tackling the colossal problem of the scarcity of clean drinking water in rural India, and help better the lives of countless numbers of people.

Another thing I like about Sarvajal is its exciting and open startup environment. Like any other new initiative, there are many challenges, some of which I’ll address in later entries. However, with the rapid application of the creative minds behind Sarvajal and implementation of technological innovations that our R&D department has pioneered, we’ve managed to overcome many of them. Working in an environment that demands a timely and effective use of problem solving skills and practical application of the mind to address many and unique challenges is extremely exciting and stimulating.

At Sarvajal, I’ve become a part of a fast paced and rapidly growing initiative, with unbelievable potential for growth, implementation, and positive impact across all of rural India.