The Pipal Foundation

Central to our approach with our Indian partners is the aspiration to work with them towards independence and sustainability. To achieve this goal, SLA has been instrumental in developing a social enterprise project, in the form of a dairy farm, operating in India.

• Having already secured dedicated funding to research and establish the social enterprise, a new ‘sister’ Scottish charity, The Pipal Foundation SCIO (SC049091) has been set up.
• The Pipal Foundation aims to develop a centre of excellence for animal husbandry, which will generate financial surpluses from the dairy farm.
• This will provide sustainable funding for Indian grassroots organisations.
• It will also provide an additional source of funding for SLA’s partner projects.
• On behalf of The Pipal Foundation, the dairy farm will be operated by an Indian company, set up by our Indian partners who will oversee the implementation and management of the project.
• Both The Pipal Foundation and the Indian company will maintain close links with SLA, to ensure their strategy and vision are closely aligned.

This is a really exciting stage in the evolution of SLA, working with an innovative social enterprise offering great potential to support and develop work in India in the coming years. We are delighted to be working with our partners in India and in Scotland, particularly the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, to deliver this vision.