From a social organisation, RUCHI became a socio-technical organisation during 1990 when it pioneered roof top water harvesting and established a demonstration unit at its own office building in Rajgarh (Sirmour district). There was no other source of water near RUCHI office. Roof catchment was used to collect rain water and store it in low cost highly durable ferro-cement storage tanks. Roughly 90,000 litre water is stored and supplied to 3 floors through gravity. The rain water is filtered before it is collected in the tank and was used for all purposes – drinking, washing and flushing in toilets etc. Ferro-cement technology was later patented by RUCHI. The technology became very popular and led to RUCHI being recognised as a Technology Resource Centre of CAPART, Ministry of Rural Development, GOI.
Subsequently, work was done on developing and testing other technologies. As a TRC, RUCHI trained officials of other NGOs in the northern Indian states and propagated the tried out technologies.
HUDCO also identified RUCHI as one of its Building Centre to promote low cost construction technologies.