The Making of BBF – Build a Better Future

New beginnings from old sensibilities…..

Three decades of work in the field of education, welfare organizations and village level societies and individuals had made us aware of the immense gap in the equitable distribution of resources, knowledge, and intention. The knee-jerk and off-the-mill programs and efforts seem to offer only band-aid temporary fixtures to problems which seem eternal and on-going.

There was so much more to be done.

Where do we start?

What can be done?

How can we make a change?

Or even a dent, maybe?

The choice of the scope of our work at BBF started from our desire to make an impact wherever we could. Delving into our areas of expertise, passion, knowledge, and connections to the societies’ communities which need help and support for sustenance and self-reliance was a conscious decision.

The rush of everyday lives, the corporate and professional jobs saw us plan and dream of doing it one day.

Then the pandemic happened and the world we knew and saw and understood changed forever.

Post the reopening of the world, our desire to take the plunge was ever so stronger.

EDUCATION was an area all of us had worked in at some point of our professional careers and post the Covid 19 pandemic, we saw ourselves questioning and understanding from the stakeholders as to what and how life had changed in the two years.

The underserved section of our school students had been lost and forgotten in the urban cacophony of the “oohs and aha’s” of the elite educated majority of both parents and private schools.

 The two years was way too long for the underserved section of school goers, and it was a nasty and painful fall from the already dubious & shaken educational academics. The loss seems unbridgeable and overwhelming.

And unfair too.

The thought was born and cemented further as we were clear that this was the area where we shall look to forge meaningful partnerships. The first thought as we started our outreach, our research and work definitions.

The work is vast. The canvas to be served on even more.

The experts stepped in and with long hours packed into our days with planning, burning the midnight oil on most occasions, our education outreach was finally defined and matched to our mission and cultural code.

Project A.M.R.I.T. was born – the educational vertical of BBF.

HERITAGE PRESERVATION has always been an ‘emotion’ with all of us at BBF in some form or the other. In our professional and personal lives we have appreciated and relished the richness which our country offers. Being in the services helped getting to know several art forms closely in their original vibrant setup. Each of us comes from a different state of our country and thus our understanding and enthusiasm about our rich heritage is a passionate emotion.

A culturally vibrant and rich country like ours suffered in infinite ways, the devastation of means of livelihoods during the pandemic. The traditional arts, music and local communities bore the unfortunate brunt the most.

A chance visit after a decade and a half to what was once a bustling community & thriving market of the famed weavers made us gasp in horror. The pulsating vibes of the famous handloom town were lost and dying. The craft would soon be extinct.

We could not let this pass. Sustaining and supporting these amazingly vivacious art forms had to be brought under the ambit of BBF’s effort and work scope immediately. Our decision and brainstorming led us to think and strategize how to shape our outreach. With plans and discussions, we were finally able to match to our mission and cultural code.

Project DIL SE was born – the cultural vertical of BBF.

WASTE MANAGEMENT has been a way of life for each of us at BBF. While in school the motivation was to get everyone to recycle and make the best of it. Getting the children to adopt appropriate choices and undertake action which was sustainable in terms of routines which helps in small ways to protect and safeguard our environment has always been paramount for us at BBF.

A visit last year to a foreign land and a stay at a leading long stay hotel saw us running into recycled utilities. The hotel had tissue napkin boxes, toilet paper rolls, kitchen napkins all made from recycled materials. That got us thinking. As I got back from my trip, I shared this thought and observation with my friend’s son who is part of BBF too, as a Co-founder.

I was pleasantly surprised to understand the immense amount of work being done by young individuals with zeal and often at a loss, not to mention being at logger heads with society.

Combined with an angst and a deep passion for reducing our carbon footprint, an idea germinated and our research and serious networking with relevant partners led us to bring this vital aspect under the BBF’s widening umbrella.

Project SHRAM was born – the mass-awareness vertical of BBF.

AGRI-TECH touches our lives everyday without any of us realizing it. As we continue to live busy lives and follow maddening routines, we oft fail to account for the daily necessities which reach our tables in the shape of our ‘food’. How many of us even pause to think of where and how it has reached our tables? Who toiled for it and what conditions does he/she continue to live in even as we – as customers – pay heavily for our ingredients.

In the race to achieve new targets and breakthroughs, the traditional cropping patterns are being disregarded, environment friendly techniques are being given a cold-shoulder and the younger, second generation of farmers are deciding to move away from their traditional professions and seek more ‘sparkling’ opportunities of the over-burdened cities and towns.

The progress is happening but the more the merrier. The source and means of our food – the one that reaches our tables and the one we eat with family & friends – is very important for each of us at BBF. What is sustainable? What comes from healthier and environmentally friendly practices? What is acceptable? What is livelihood friendly?

Our scrutiny is minute and our understandings practical. Thus, including viable and sustainable farming techniques, providing proper market for small farmers, revival of the old cropping patterns while making it commercially viable, involving the younger generations right from the school level into this change and meaningful partnerships, needed to be the work scope of BBF.

Project BARGAT was born – the agri-tech vertical of BBF.