Its founders felt that the ecological heritage of Braj, represented by the groves, Yamuna and the sacred-raj (dust) of Vrindavan is in great danger and desired to serve this sacred land by taking some concrete steps. The FoV dedicates its services for environment, with focus on conserving the ecological and cultural heritage of the Braj region focusing on Vrindavan. It mixes traditional methods a
nd modern technology to sustain shared natural resources of Braj, the holy abode of the Divine Couple Sri Radha Krishna. Vrindavan is literally losing its ground to garbage, ruthless cutting of trees and in their place mindless concrete jungle emerging all over. There is an utmost need for preserving the swarupa (ambience) of this holy Dhama. FoV has grown into a community enterprise, an enviro-regeneration and care based initiative, in tune with the spiritual values and the cultural traditions of Vrindavan. FoV has undertaken various community-based projects to realize its vision of a Vrindavan that is eco-friendly and sustainable. Successful partnerships with the local community and various national and international organizations and institutions have allowed us to increase the impact of these initiatives. It has been at the forefront of many struggles for conserving the pilgrimage town of Vrindavan, specially sanitation, restoring river Yamuna back to the ancient ghats, plantation, water harvesting and other heritage conservation measures. The projects run by Friends of Vrindavan benefitted the marginalized sections of the community and other vulnerable groups, by finding them the job opportunities, while serving the sacred land to maintain its sanctity. It has been working vigorously to find effective solutions to keep Braj-Vrindavan’s essence alive for the future generations. FoV has facilitated community platforms for discussions and peaceful resolution of issues related to environmental conflicts.