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India
ACORN India is a grassroots organization empowering informal workers across multiple sectors, with chapters in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Through its initiatives—including the Dharavi Project for waste pickers, the Hawkers Joint Action Committee (HJAC) for street vendors facing harassment and displacement, and the Janpahal Initiative for gig workers seeking social security—ACORN India fights for dignified working conditions, fair policies, and environmental justice in one of the world’s largest informal economies.
The organization’s philosophy centers on collective power: bringing together hawkers, waste pickers, gig workers, and their communities to advocate for themselves through unity and coordinated action rather than individual struggles. Working directly with affected communities while simultaneously engaging government stakeholders like the Ministry of Labour Resources, ACORN India is building a nationwide movement that recognizes that real change comes when ordinary people act together to secure their rights, entitlements, and dignity.
Affiliates
Cities
- Bengaluru
- Delhi
- Mumbai






Latest Updates from ACORN India
- ACORN India continued fighting for housing rights in DharaviIn response to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, a government initiative aimed at transforming Asia’s largest slum. Building on momentum from last month, the Hawker’s Joint Action Committee organized a regional meeting of street vendors to demand trade licenses and social protections.
- ACORN India Advocates for Dharavi Residents Amid Major Redevelopment PlansACORN India spent April amplifying the voices of the residents of the Dharavi housing camp, home of over one million people. As the government and businesses negotiates major re-development plans for the camp, ACORN Dharavi has been advocating for clarity and accountability in the project to ensure the people are heard. The Green Warrior Women continue their waste-picking… Read more: ACORN India Advocates for Dharavi Residents Amid Major Redevelopment Plans
- ACORN India’s Green Warriors, salvaged over three tons of plastic waste from streetsACORN India’s Green Warriors, (the women’s waste pickers of Dharavi) salvaged over three tons of plastic waste from streets, and participated in an ACORN workshop focused on their mental and physical health, hosted by Dr Shreya Agrawal.
- ACORN India and SOSVA are making a difference in Dharavi by educating and providing resources.ACORN India and SOSVA continued their important program to provide education and resources about menstruation to teen girls in Dharavi. Since the program began, they have worked with over 600 adolescents, providing three months worth of free sanitary products.
- ACORN India has been hard at work with many events and campaigns to empower women and childrenThe Empowering Women in WPC Conference held at the YMCA in Mumbai, which addressed the various concerns of women in leadership, and ACORN India and SOSVA held a women waste picker collectives training meeting. Important campaigns in Dharavi continued for youth, including hygiene programs for menstruating young people, art education, and healthy nutrition programs.
- ACORN India: People’s Commission and Public Enquiry Committee Collaborate with Hawkers Joint Action CommitteePeoples Commission and Public Enquiry committee and Hawkers Joint Action Committee jointly organized the third public hearing in Delhi. Today’s People’s Commission: Jyoti Laxmi (of Satat Sampad, many years of work with hawkers), Arun Mohan (film maker associated with Media Collective), Dr Seema Mathur (Ambedkarvadi Lekhak Sangh and professor at DU), Dr. Avinash Kumar (former… Read more: ACORN India: People’s Commission and Public Enquiry Committee Collaborate with Hawkers Joint Action Committee
- ACORN India : Updates from July 2023ACORN India representatives spoke at a convention in New Delhi on Contemporary Popular Movements in India. In Dharavi, ACORN India hosted a Women’s Group Discussion Meeting among waste collectors, homemakers, and small unit workers. They also conducted a free Food Safety Training & Certification (FOSTAC) training session in Noida for street food vendors.
- For ACORN India Black Friday is #MakeAmazonPay dayOn Black Friday, join workers and activists around the world as we mobilize to #MakeAmazonPay. Amazon workers paid for Jeff Bezos to go space. On 26 November, they are demanding justice — and asking you to join them: MakeAmazonPay.com Amazon could give each of its workers a Covid-19 bonus of $690,000 — and still be… Read more: For ACORN India Black Friday is #MakeAmazonPay day
ACORN Affiliates
Updates from the Field
- Celebrating 55 Years of Organizing with a Global Stand Against AdaniConfirmed Affiliate Participation WHO Gautam Adani is one of the richest men in the world and the oligarch behind India’s most powerful corporate empire. His companies span fossil fuels, infrastructure, media, to defense and have grown through a pattern of land grabs, environmental destruction, and political favoritism. Adani’s destructive empire is propped up by a… Read more: Celebrating 55 Years of Organizing with a Global Stand Against Adani
- STRASCAS marches for workers’ rights in Cameroon?? STRASCAS marches for workers’ rights in Cameroon ?? On this year’s 139th International Workers’ Rights Day, ACORN International affiliate STRASCAS led a powerful protest parade in Douala with 190 members demanding decent work, safety, union rights, and social dialogue. Their slogans were clear:
Decent work = Decent pay
More protection = Fewer deaths
… Read more: STRASCAS marches for workers’ rights in Cameroon
- ACORN is featured in Jack Shenker’s review of Against LandlordsACORN is featured in Jack Shenker’s review of Against Landlords: How to Solve the Housing Crisis by Nick Bano, published in the latest issue of the London Review of Books. The article doesn’t just name-check ACORN, it highlights the heart of our work: turning frustration, fear, and isolation into collective action and power. Shenker writes… Read more: ACORN is featured in Jack Shenker’s review of Against Landlords
- ACORN London members have been working non-stop throughout April, delivering impressive results in their fight for housing justice and community power!From standing shoulder-to-shoulder to prevent a neighbor’s eviction to launching a new branch — Every door knocked is another potential member, every meeting builds our collective strategy, and every action puts landlords and officials on notice that housing justice cannot wait. 10 direct actions with targets confronted1 successful eviction resistance5 community meetings organized1 new branch… Read more: ACORN London members have been working non-stop throughout April, delivering impressive results in their fight for housing justice and community power!
- Dundee in Scotland: A full pause on rent payments & £1,000 in compensationCongratulations to our affiliate, Living Rent Dundee in Scotland, for their victory securing both compensation and critical repairs for union member Charlie. Charlie endured unacceptable living conditions in their Dundee tenement flat, suffering from severe roof damage that caused water to leak into walls and ceilings. This led to serious mold and dampness issues throughout… Read more: Dundee in Scotland: A full pause on rent payments & £1,000 in compensation
- ACORN Bradford – 1 – 0 Bailiffs!In a huge victory for member Stuart, ACORN Bradford has successfully fought back against harassment from bailiffs. Stuart had been relentlessly chased over debts, facing threats of forced entry and a council that refused to establish a payment plan. But thanks to the determination and solidarity of Bradford members, the bailiffs have been called off,… Read more: ACORN Bradford – 1 – 0 Bailiffs!