Programme impact
What changed
Youth-led action met real community needs, and built trust between young people, residents and civic bodies.
33Youth Climate Leaders across all three phases since 2021
2,643young people reached through workshops
29schools, colleges and institutions engaged
300+community members reached
36households given wet and dry waste bins
4waste black spots cleaned and greened
40+women in water literacy sessions
3community water assets improved
Youth-led action
Grassroots interventions designed and led by young people addressed real community needs.
Better segregation
Households segregated waste at source and open dumping fell in residential lanes, as sanitation workers confirmed.
Safer water
Cleaner storage, a protected tank and better hygiene practices for families and schools.
Community ownership
Residents took on follow-ups and upkeep, and partnerships with local institutions grew.
Beyond the numbers
Leadership, inclusion, lasting change
The Lab's results show up in people as much as in places.
Young leaders
- Confidence and skills
- Youth Climate Leaders grew in communication, facilitation, negotiation, documentation and problem-solving, and in confidence speaking with elders and institutions.
Gender and inclusion
- Women as decision-makers
- Women and adolescent girls led water literacy spaces, recognising their outsized role in household water. Teams worked across caste, class, religion and age with care and respect.
Sustainability
- Habits that last
- Segregation continued with follow-ups and visibly cleaner streets. Women's leadership made upkeep of shared water more likely, and young leaders left ready to keep acting.
Learning
What we learned
- Behaviour change takes time. One-off awareness was not enough; repeated household follow-ups made the difference.
- Pictures beat instructions. Wall paintings, posters and visual tools worked better than talk alone.
- Women sustain water work. Women-only water literacy spaces were strengthened after seeing their central role.
- Learning by seeing. Exposure visits, like the rainwater harvesting school, made ideas concrete.
- Systems move slowly. Delays from civic bodies taught young leaders how ward-level governance really works.
Way forward
Where the Lab goes next
- Extend the YCAL approach to more wards, adapted to each context
- Link youth groups with ward-level governance platforms
- Run longer programme cycles for deeper behaviour change
- Formalise women's collectives in water and sanitation management
- Build exposure visits and experiential learning into all youth climate programmes