Starts August 2025 – Apply by 30th April

Today the way our knowledge system is set up, it is possible for a city bred person to go through school and then higher education followed by a doctorate in a subject like economics from the most reputable institutions in India and abroad and subsequently become influential in policy making — without having interacted with a farmer, an artisan, a pastoralist, an adivasi or a construction worker. In fact, such has been the journey of many at the highest levels of policy making and academic discourse. 

Can we have a way of learning that is informed by and is in dialogue with the realities of our people and landscapes? It is with this idea that we are offering the Pagdandi Fellowship.

The Pagdandi Fellowship is an invitation to slow down deliberately, step off the highway, and find new ways in the forest. It is a journey of re-examining our long-held assumptions, reimagining the way we learn, rediscovering our relationships with each other and the Earth.

Over six months, this full-time residential higher learning program traverses four locations in North India and will consist of:

•⁠  ⁠Rigorous academic courses with senior faculty
•⁠  ⁠Immersive engagement with rural and urban communities
•⁠  ⁠Practical hands-on work in farms, craft workshops, and other settings.

https://pagdandi.substack.com/p/pagdandi-fellowship-2025-26

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