We’re working to make that possible.
In India’s cities, 25.7 million people live in multidimensional poverty, trapped not just by low income, but by systemic barriers to safety, dignity, and opportunity.
Among them are 1.5 -4 million people who survive primarily through waste-picking, largely from marginalized caste communities. They collect and sort the waste that keeps our cities functioning, yet their work rarely leads to stability or recognition.
For many, waste work isn’t a choice but a fragile fallback, one of several precarious jobs that barely sustain a household. There is a Dream Gap existing in here: the distance between what people hope for and what they’re forced to accept; between working endlessly to survive and having the safety to dream beyond tomorrow.
At Foundation Without, we’re helping create opportunities rooted in dignity, agency, access, and decent living standards for all. We begin with waste-picking communities, where our trust and understanding are growing.
But our mission reaches further – to help all informal urban poor households build secure, dignified, and self-determined lives.
Because no one should have to trade their dreams for survival.
Foundation Without extends the philosophy of Without®, taking the same belief that business can be made without exploitation, and applying it to how society itself can be rebuilt without poverty.
We exist to help people move from survival to stability, and from stability to self-determination – building pathways of agency, safety, and dignity where they’ve been hardest to find.
A thriving world made without poverty, where every person has dignity, equal opportunity, and access to education, healthcare, and decent living standards, while contributing positively to the planet.
To increase the value of waste ethically by using technology to convert it into high-quality, scalable, and planet-positive resources, while deeply empowering and formalizing the informal economy that drives the industry.
To permanently graduate informal urban poor households, starting with India’s waste-picking communities, into secure, dignified livelihoods that enable agency, safety, and stability in their lives.
Before Foundation Without was born, the roots of our impact were already growing inside Without® – supporting waste workers and their families with dignity-centred, formal livelihoods. The latest impact report of Without captures that early journey.
Before Foundation Without was born, the roots of our impact were already growing inside Without® – supporting waste workers and their families with dignity-centred, formal livelihoods. The latest impact report of Without captures that early journey.
We’re just beginning. Right now, we’re building our team, selecting our first community cohort, and shaping a strategy grounded in real learning.
We believe honesty is impact’s first step, so we share not just our progress, but our process.
We’re just beginning. Right now, we’re building our team, selecting our first community cohort, and shaping a strategy grounded in real learning.
We believe honesty is impact’s first step, so we share not just our progress, but our process.
These are an amendment to the core values of Without
We lead with compassion while respecting autonomy and protecting our energy.
Always sugar-free: transparent, truthful, accountable.
Systems should reinforce fairness, not charity.
Optimism grounded in honesty.
Change is collective.
Here’s how you can help bring that future closer – donate!
Every rupee or dollar funds the deep, permanent transformation that metrics often miss. If you’re in India, donate to Foundation Without®:
Bank Details:
Registered Name: Shashwat Urja Bioenergy Foundation (Brand: Foundation Without®)
Account number – 44535634410
IFSC – SBIN0006319
Branch name – Bund Garden, Pune
80G tax exemption & 12A registration and CSR compliance in progress
For queries, email us at [email protected]