The Himalayan Environment and Life Trust (HEAL), established in 2023 is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to environment conservation, livelihood generation and empowerment of village communities in the remote mountain regions of Garhwal, Uttarakhand. The founding members of HEAL from Uttarakhand are passionate, committed and environmentally conscious individuals, Udai Rawat and Sonika. Their vision for HEAL, “is to protect and safeguard the fragile Himalayan ecosystems and help revitalize traditional sustainable village economies through a multi-dimensional, inclusive and participatory community-based approach”.

Deforestation, forest fires, environmental degradation, global warming, altered weather patterns, landslides, depleting water reserves, bio-diversity loss, among other challenges, has inflicted serious pressures on the fragile Himalayan ecosystems. Since its inception HEAL is dedicated to protecting the Himalayan environments, supporting greener ecosystems, replenishing traditional water management systems, extinguishing forest fires, preventing bio-diversity loss and ensuring sustainable ecological development.

In addition to this, HEAL is supporting the Himalayan village communities through sustainable livelihood generation initiatives, skills-based occupational trainings, reviving local farming and encouraging local village tourism. Particularly, with a focus on sites facing pressures of urban migration and ‘abandoned’ village farms for rural economic re-vitalization.