"At Ambuja Cements, we felt that taking over the area’s development and doing it all ourselves, even though it seems the easier route, would only create further dependence on us and would be an unsustainable model for the future. We have chosen to engage and involve the stakeholder group at all stages—during assessment of needs, prioritizing, implementing, as well as monitoring the projects we together undertake around our plants. Our approach has enabled us to listen to people and learn. There is immense traditional wisdom in the communities. Pooled with the technical and managerial We faltered initially, having started our activities with a demand-driven approach, where people asked and we fulfilled. solutions we are able to bring them, we can create inclusive development. Once new ideas and projects are demonstrated, we focus on building capacities of stakeholders who then drive the projects themselves. Our process is well explained in our Foundation’s mission—“energise, involve and enable communities to realise their
potential.”"