We’re not just here for us.
We’re here for others.
We believe it’s important to sustain success both inside Cactus Life Sciences and outside in the wider world. That’s why we practice mindful philanthropy, to help people stay healthy, follow their dreams, and make the world a better place for everyone.
Promoting promising futures
Our mission is to promote research in science, technology, and the humanities. We strongly believe that the future of innovation starts with one person—one researcher—who has an idea, a philosophy, a vision, and strong evidence that can create an impact for everyone in the world. And as part of our greater corporate responsibility, we are committed to helping that person grow in an actionable way that will benefit humankind.
People
We support and nurture the technical skills and experiences of our employees, inspired researchers, and partners.
Potential
We fund innovative research with our profits, helping to support new perspectives that could make an impact.
Product
We address the pressing needs that keep projects from moving forward by providing products and services free of cost.
Making an impact
We support a variety of global initiatives to help innovators reach their full potential.
Cactus Foundation
Project Suraksha
Project Green Gold
Rural Solar Irrigation Project
MENTAL HEALTH initiative
Giving with purpose
Cactus Foundation is a global non-profit initiative aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and it aims to provide researchers with the opportunities and support they need to create a global impact through their research.
Funding awareness of
human trafficking
In 2020 alone, India reported 3000+ human trafficking victims—most of whom were marginalized women and girls from poor communities. Many of these victims were targeted for sexual exploitation and forced labor. The Project Suraksha collaboration between CACTUS and the NGO Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) in 2020 focused on raising awareness around human trafficking and child labor in the Darjeeling region.
Through this partnership, we were able to fund awareness campaigns on prevention of human trafficking and child sexual abuse at various schools and colleges in Darjeeling, Sikkim, and West Bengal.
These campaigns encouraged women and children to voice their experiences through wall paintings and short videos, bringing in personal perspectives that have helped create awareness through visuals.
We organize sensitization programs for community-based organizations, the tourism industry, and local police departments, so they can more readily identify potential human trafficking situations and intervene.
Funds are contributed to the protection and rehabilitation of the impacted victims, as well as to assist their families in prosecuting the traffickers.
Sustaining opportunity for tribal populations
Project Green Gold is an innovative initiative designed to help Indian tribes become economically self-sustaining using local bamboo (green gold) to create eco-friendly alternative products to plastics. CACTUS has been associated with Project ‘Green Gold’ as their CSR partner since January 2021. Project ‘Green Gold’, spearheaded by Keshav Srushti, aims to empower tribal communities through bamboo-based skill development. Their work is concentrated mainly in the tribal villages of the long-neglected and oppressed Palghar district. Project Green Gold trains women and youths in bamboo handicrafts, including jewelry and household items.
To date, the program has helped:
Empower about
500 Women
& youths in 16 villages
Produce more than
100 Types
of bamboo handicrafts
Provide a viable, local, &
Sustainable
plastics alternative for city-dwellers
Improve the socio-economic
Status of Tribal
communities in India
Improving lives with
water access
Water availability has been a critical issue in tribal regions of Palghar district, located 100 kms away from Mumbai. Scarcity of irrigation water has forced farmers to discontinue farming and migrate in search of labor jobs to cities. This, in turn, creates a situation where locally grown food sources are reduced, community income is lost, and the region’s environment is at risk of soil degradation.
CACTUS founder Anurag Goel collaborated with Keshav Srushti to co-fund The Rural Solar Irrigation Project, piloting the partnership in the village of Nishet.
Through this initiative, the people of the village will have the opportunity to:
Keep their local farms
Producing Food
Earn a better livelihood right
In Their Villages
Inspire the next generation to
Consider Farming
Help regional soil
Stay Fertile
A similar partnership with CACTUS in the Dongripada village has produced astonishing results, with farmers flourishing. Not only are they able to bring tons of fresh produce to market, but they no longer need to look outside their own village for work.
A focus on physical and mental health
CACTUS is dedicated to making sure our employees stay healthy physically as well as mentally. Our global survey on mental health among researchers aligned with multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) such as good health and well-being, reduced inequalities, and decent work and economic growth. The survey was designed to shed light on what aspects of their work environment bring researchers joy, what aspects cause stress, and what research institutions can do to create a more positive and nurturing environment for researchers.
Released on World Mental Health Day, the survey ran for 9 months and gathered responses from over 13,000 researchers across over 160 countries, making it the largest and most diverse global survey on mental health in academia. Click here to know more about the survey.
Experienced leadership makes all the difference
