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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 Dharavi
In 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 Plans
ACORN 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 streets
ACORN 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 children
The 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 Committee
Peoples 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 2023
ACORN 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 day
On 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
- ORGANIZING FOR RELIEF AND CHANGE IN AN OVERHEATING PLANETWhy talk about heat? The issue: Of all types of weather, extreme heat is the most fatal. 489,000 people die each year due to extreme heat, and 18,970 deaths annually are attributed to workers exposed to dangerous temperatures. The problem is not going away. In fact, due to the climate crisis, it is getting much… Read more: ORGANIZING FOR RELIEF AND CHANGE IN AN OVERHEATING PLANET
- Sign the Petition: BEAT THE HEAT!Extreme heat is deadly and it’s only getting worse. Climate change is fueling longer, hotter summers, and low and moderate income people are being left to suffer the consequences. Tenants are baking in unsafe apartments.Delivery workers are being forced to work in 45°C heat.Governments and corporations are doing too little, too late. OSHA heat protections… Read more: Sign the Petition: BEAT THE HEAT!
- Beat The HeatDeadly heat is rising. Tenants, workers, and vulnerable communities are paying the price. This July 23rd, join ACORN members around the world to demand climate justice that protects people — not profits. ✅ Protests, petitions & public pressure✅ Tenant demands for cooling and retrofit justice✅ Gig workers fighting for heat safety and rights. ✅ Fighting… Read more: Beat The Heat
- Join the 2025 Organizers’ Forum in Romania and BulgariaConnect with local and international organizers for a deep dive into the most effective strategies in community organizing today. From cutting-edge grassroots mobilization tactics to communication skills and electoral campaigning, the Organizers’ Forum is a unique space to share experiences, sharpen tools, and build collective power across borders. This year, the Forum heads to Romania… Read more: Join the 2025 Organizers’ Forum in Romania and Bulgaria
- GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST THE ADANI GROUPACORN’s 55th Anniversary Goes Global On June 18th, ACORN affiliates around the world marked our 55th anniversary not with cake, but with coordinated actions across four continents to confront the corruption, displacement, and environmental destruction of the Adani Group. The Adani Group, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, is currently evicting hundreds of thousands of people… Read more: GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST THE ADANI GROUP
- ACORN’s 55th Anniversary Press Release: Global Action Opposes AdaniGlobal Day of Action Targets Adani’s Land Grab in Dharavi, Mumbai ACORN International and Affiliates Around the World Stand in Solidarity with Residents Facing Mass Eviction June 12, 2025 – On June 18, people across the globe will rise in coordinated action to demand justice for Dharavi residents and accountability from the Adani Group, as… Read more: ACORN’s 55th Anniversary Press Release: Global Action Opposes Adani
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