WHO WE ARE
A cleaner India.
Built to last.
Saaf Sutra is a WASH-focused institution working to make safe sanitation and water security a nationwide reality. We build scalable, community-owned sanitation models; document what works; and use that evidence to shape policy and unlock sustained funding partnerships with technology, training, and research as our foundation.
OUR STORY
Start with the ground.
Saaf Sutra was founded on a simple but stubborn observation: India does not lack sanitation infrastructure as much as it lacks infrastructure that lasts. Toilets are built and abandoned. Water points are installed and run dry. Behaviour change campaigns end when the funding does. Saaf Sutra was created to work differently; starting from grassroots realities, not blueprints, and building WASH solutions that survive contact with the real world.
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Our vision
A clean and hygienic India. We aim to grow into one of India’s leading WASH institutions, recognised by communities, government and funders as a trusted, evidence-driven institution shaping how India delivers water, sanitation and hygiene at scale.
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Our mission
Acquire learnings from grassroots-level challenges in WASH, build scalable projects, drive policy influence, and mobilise sustained funding partnerships to make safe sanitation and water security a lived reality nationwide through technology, training and research.
What guides us
- Ground-up, not top-down. Every scalable model we advocate for has been tested, adapted, and proven in the field first.
- Evidence over anecdote. We document rigorously because donors and governments fund what they can trust.
- Infrastructure + behaviour, always together. A toilet without a hygiene habit is a wasted asset. We never treat them separately.
- Scale through systems, not projects. Our goal isn't more toilets; it's better systems for building, maintaining, and financing them.
- Sustainability by design. Every project includes an Operations & Maintenance (O&M) model from day one, not as an afterthought.
From grassroots learning to lasting change.
Explore our approach