Author: sampurnaa0409

The first awareness session that I facilitated on anemia and healthy dietary practices was a very special experience for me. Since the beginning of my fellowship, I have been working closely with adolescents, and my project primarily focuses on them. Over time, I have built a friendly and comfortable bond with the students, which made […]

One of the most intriguing aspects I observed from my very first days in the fellowship was how deeply culture shapes everyday life in the Kumaon region. It is not just present in festivals or rituals: it quietly governs food, health practices, caregiving, and even decisions around childbirth. During my initial field visits, I found […]

In the hills of Uttarakhand, festivals are not just occasions marked on a calendar; they are lived experiences, deeply rooted in nature, memorya nd community life. One such festival that captures this essence beautifully is Khatarua, celebrated across the Kumaon region with warmth, energy, and a strong sense of togetherness. Khatarua is observed in mid-September, […]

On 9th February 2026, during my exposure visit to Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) in Bhuj, I spent time engaging with the Samvedna programme. Among all the powerful initiatives the organisation runs, this was the one I was most keen to understand. I had carried a quiet curiosity about it even before the visit, perhaps […]

In development practice, analysis often begins with numbers-coverage rates, compliance percentages, savings generated, and beneficiaries reached. During my fieldwork in rural Uttarakhand, I too worked within such frameworks, documenting kitchen gardens that had begun producing vegetables, recording the savings households generated through home-grown produce, and tracking postnatal mothers’ consumption of iron and calcium supplements. However, […]

As I stand at the verge of completing my fellowship journey, I often find myself reflecting on the past few months and asking- what has been my greatest learning? More than any technical skill or field exposure, the answer that comes to me most clearly is this: learning how to be a good manager, and […]

Food often arrives on a plate without revealing the long journey behind it. In the hilly villages of Pati, tucked deep into the Kumaon region, small kitchen gardens are bringing that journey back into view, transforming empty patches of land into spaces of learning. Here, adolescents are slowly learning that food is not just nourishment […]

It’s been more than a month now since I’ve arrived in Pati, a quite, hilly block of Champawat, Uttarakhand. I came here as a fellow, hoping to serve- whatever that truly meant. But I think it’s Pati that’s serving me- with lessons, with warmth, with simplicity that we often forget to value.  One thing I […]