The annual "Tomatina" festival which is held in the town of Bunol in the province of Valencia in eastern Spain is without doubt one of the most popular "fiestas" in the country and this year it will be one of the "fiestas" which shows the most solidarity.

On the last Wednesday of August every year tens of thousands of tourists join the 9,000 inhabitants of the town to throw tones of tomatoes at other in what is also one of the messiest events of the year.

So popular has the Tomartina become that after around 40,000 people crammed into the town?s streets in 2012, the local authority took the decision to limit attendance to 20,000 ticket holders.

It was a controversial decision to exclude possible visitors, but on Thursday the Bunol town hall announced that the profits from ticket sales this year will be donated to a social project to help women in India.

The "Sahell" association works with the charity organization "Lokpanchayat" in India to maintain a safe house for women of the "dalit" (untouchable) caste, the lowest social caste in India, who have either been abandoned, mistreated or suffering social exclusion.

They aim to offer a safe environment for the women to learn how to become economically independent, while receiving help to raise their self-esteem and advise on how to defend themselves from aggression.

Meanwhile the project is to be accompanied by campaigns in Bunol to teach about the situation of these women, the majority of whom, according to the local authority, have arranged marriages, which involve the payment of a dowry.

Aug. 14 sees a photographic exhibition to open in the town entitled "the Odyssey of being a woman in India", along with the showing of a film "The Fountain of Women", which looks at traditional roles and exploitation of women in India.

The Tomartina may be lots of fun, but it?s also going to help a very good cause.