Kasturba Mahila Utthan Mandal

Kasturba Mahila Utthan Mandal, popularly known as Lakshmi Ashram, was established in 1946 by the British born follower of Gandhi, Sarala Behn. Its core activity is non-formal education for rural girls. It is also active at the grassroots in Uttarakhand in social and environmental issues. These include active participation in the Chipko movement and struggles against uncontrolled mining and large dams, also the implementation of watershed development programmes. The year 2008 has been declared 'Save the Uttarakhand Rivers Year' and Lakshmi Ashram is coordinating this movemnet to highlight the threats facing the rivers of Uttarakhand, both those rising from the snowfields and the spring fed rivers of the mid Himalaya.