Awards And Mentions
Avani has been a recipient of several national and global awards that have recognised the impact of our interventions at the grassroots.
Year 2022
Avani was the runner up at the St Andrews Prize for the Environment for the use of natural dyes and its positive impact on the environment.
Year 2017
Received the highest civilian honour, the Nari Shakti Puraskar, at the hands of Minister Maneka Gandhi for our work on women’s empowerment.
Year 2017
Awarded the Dr. R.S. Tolia Award for promoting sustainable development of mountains and surrounding communities.
Year 2013
Received the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award by ATREE at the hands of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for our impactful work in the environmental and societal aspects of rural Uttarakhand.
Year 2012
Mentioned vividly in the ‘India Awakened: Agents of Change’ book published by Hindustan Times, covering the journey to success of Avani.
Year 2011
Rashmi Bharti was bestowed with the Jankidevi Bajaj Puruskar for her work in the field of rural women empowerment.
- Year 2022 : Felicitated at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Forest and Environment (Nepal) for a climate resilient solution of using pine needles.
- Year 2020 : Honoured with the Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) Employer Impact Award by the University of Waterloo for our work in the sustainability sector.
- Year 2020 : Awarded the Shilp Udyam Samman The All-India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA) in the category of ‘Best Women Empowerment Model’.
- Year 2018 : Received the International Craft Award under the category of ‘Craft Brand of the Year’.
- Year 2018 : Felicitated with the Millennium Alliance Award for generating livelihood through natural dyeing and sustainable textiles programmes.
- Year 2017 : Our work in the field of developing sustainable natural colourants was recognised and honoured with the IMC Inclusive Innovation Award.
- Year 2016 : Felicitated with the Millennium Alliance Award for harnessing energy from pine needles for rural use.
- Year 2015 : The Institute of Apparel Management recognized the sustainable fashion practices followed by Rashmi Bharti, for which the Sustainable Fashion Award was bestowed.
- Year 2013 : Runners up in the CNBC Young Turks: Startup India Funding Challenge for our work on sustainable harvesting of energy using pine needles in rural Uttarakhand.
- Year 2013 : Awarded the CIIE Initiatives of Management Award for our outstanding contributions to the empowerment of rural populations in the Kumaon District of Uttarakhand.
- Year 2012 : Received the Earth Care Award for our white to promote the involvement of rural populations in the bio-energy project.
- Year 2012 :Rajnish Jain was recognized and felicitated with the IMC Inclusive Innovation Award for his contribution towards harnessing the destructive energy from pine needles and converting them into clean energy.
- Year 2012 : Kumaon EarthCraft Self Resilient Cooperative (KEC) was honoured with the Citi Micro Enterprise Award for our innovative community enterprise.
- Year 2011 : Presented the Wantraprenuer Award by Villgro Innovations for the intervention using pine needles to produce electricity, energy, and charcoal.
- Year 2011 : Recognized and awarded for the bio-gasification project by Mahindra in the Spark The Rise initiative.
- Year 2008 : Finalist for the prestigious Ashden Award and also received an honorary mention at the award ceremony.