Climate Circle Residency 2.0

J.B. Ramesh, a Jenu Kuruba tribesman, dreamt of preserving his people's traditional music and art. He founded the "Girijana Samagra Abhivridhi Kala Samsthe" to inspire younger generations to carry on the cultural traditions. In 2024, Ramesh performed at the prestigious Mahindra Percussion Festival.

Arunabha Bhattacharya is a systems orchestrator and fundraiser with Practical Action, working across Asia to build collaborative ecosystems for climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, and urban inclusion. At the intersection of technology, philanthropy, and systems change, he helps connect funders, Academic Institutions governments, businesses, and communities to design solutions that are practical, equitable, and scalable. An alumnus of the Goa Institute of Management, he continues to champion human-centred innovation and partnerships that turn ideas into long-term social impact.

Co-founder, The Ignite Foundation | Director, Social Innovation and Learning Experience Design

Jaseel C K is a social entrepreneur and educator passionate about enabling young people to solve pressing social and environmental challenges. At The Ignite Foundation, he leads Social Entrepreneurship Education and Learning Experience Design, shaping programs that connect innovation with sustainability and climate action.

A graduate of TKM College of Engineering and TISS (Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship), Jaseel is UGC-NET qualified in Social Work, Management, and Adult Education. His work focuses on equipping changemakers to design climate-conscious, community-driven solutions that address inequality and ecological resilience.

Naji Mahfood is a social changemaker and community builder dedicated to nurturing youth-led initiatives for sustainability and social transformation. As Director of Changemakers Ashram under The Ignite Foundation, he leads a living-learning space that incubates alumni and local changemakers working on climate action, environmental conservation, and community wellbeing.

Rooted in the belief that inner change drives social impact, Naji blends mindfulness, collaboration, and experiential learning to enable individuals to co-create solutions for a just and sustainable future.

Founder, Broadway Communication | Lead, Local Sustainable Living

Noufal Mahboob leads Broadway Communication, a Kerala-based creative agency that bridges culture, communication, and conscious living. He also leads Local Sustainable Living, an evolving community initiative that connects people, craft, and sustainability through experiences and local collaborations.

Driven by the belief that meaningful change begins quietly and locally, his work explores the balance between creativity, culture, and sustainability—encouraging people to reconnect with nature and each other.

Filmmaker | Co-founder, Local Sustainable Living

Mujeeb Latheef is an ad filmmaker and storyteller passionate about bringing sustainability to life throughpp art and community-driven experiences. As co-founder of Local Sustainable Living, he uses creative storytelling to celebrate people, places, and purpose.

Rooted in mindful living and collaboration, Mujeeb explores how films, festivals, and shared spaces can inspire collective change and reconnect us with the living world

Senior Manager, Udhyam Learning Foundation

Founder, Forest Post

Dr Manju Vasudevan spent the first years of her career carrying out ecological research in the Western Ghats and other parts of India with organisations such as ATREE, FES and Keystone Foundation. She holds a PhD in Pollination Ecology from Imperial College London. She was a Fulbright Nehru post-doctoral Fellow (2014) at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is currently one of the Trustees of River Research Centre, Kerala, and consults with grassroots NGOs and conservation groups across the country. She is the 2021 recipient of the Duleep Matthhai Nature Conservation Fellowship.

More recently, her work has focussed on helping assert Community Forest Rights of forest-dwelling Adivasis in central Kerala. Using the cooperative model of enterprise building, women's groups have been trained in value addition of minor forest products, and local economies strengthened. The work demonstrates that Adivasis can find secure livelihoods close to their ancestral domain without jeopardizing the future of the forests and can take on stewardship roles in conservation. She is Founder of Forest Post, a brand that creates market linkages for value-added forest produce from these villages.

Co-founder, aikyamhq

Co-Founder and CEO of TinkerHub Foundation

Jaisree Kumar is a passionate social development leader and educator, and the founder of the Totem Resource Centre, an organisation empowering marginalized communities through education, culture, and sustainable development. His work reflects a strong commitment to social justice, inclusion, and community-driven change.

At Totem, he bridges traditional knowledge with modern learning, creating inclusive spaces for children, women, youth, and tribal communities to learn, preserve cultural identity, and achieve self-reliance. His initiatives use education and culture as tools for empowerment and sustainability.

His key contributions include establishing experiential community learning programs for rural and tribal children, advancing women’s livelihoods and economic independence, preserving indigenous knowledge systems, and mentoring grassroots leaders. He also mobilizes community resources and partnerships to ensure lasting social impact.

Thajudeen Aboobaker is the Co-Founder of Urban Trash, a pioneering waste-tech enterprise based in Kochi, Kerala, driving innovation in waste management through circular economy principles and community participation. Since co-founding Urban Trash in 2022, he has guided its growth into a B2B waste aggregation and management platform serving businesses, communities, and local governments.

Blending technology with sustainability, Thajudeen transforms waste challenges into opportunities for environmental resilience and social impact. Under his leadership, Urban Trash has introduced tech-enabled systems for waste collection, sorting, and value recovery, while partnering with institutions and government initiatives to promote behavioural change and inclusive waste solutions.

Rooted in Kerala’s urban and peri-urban contexts, he has scaled Urban Trash from humble beginnings into a model of sustainable enterprise—creating livelihoods and inspiring a new generation of innovators in circular economy and waste-tech leadership.

Akhina Mohan is a sustainability educator and development professional committed to fostering climate-conscious communities through learning, facilitation, and dialogue. With a background in Environmental Science and extensive experience in education, she works across Kerala and beyond to advance environmental stewardship, circular economy practices, and ecological well-being.

Her work bridges research, storytelling, and participatory learning—making complex climate ideas accessible and actionable for schools, youth groups, NGOs, and community networks. Akhina designs reflective learning spaces that inspire awareness, empathy, and collective action toward sustainability.

Her key contributions include leading workshops on climate and sustainability education, facilitating community dialogues rooted in climate justice, promoting zero-waste practices, and mobilizing youth for local climate action. With an intersectional and systems-thinking approach, she continues to shape transformative educational pathways for a resilient, sustainable future.

Gautham is the co-founder of Fireflies, a systems-thinking learning community that cultivates youth leadership and imagination for just and regenerative futures. With a background in engineering and experience in facilitation, organizational development, and social innovation, he creates spaces for young people to reflect, unlearn, and reimagine their role in ecological and social transformation.

His work integrates strategy, learning design, and grassroots engagement—bringing together communities, collectives, and educators to rethink sustainability and systems change from the ground up.

Through Fireflies, Gautham has co-created values-based learning ecosystems centered on reflection, dialogue, and collaboration. He facilitates programs on ecological literacy and systems thinking, mentors grassroots leaders, and partners with schools, NGOs, and fellowships to build non-institutional, climate-resilient learning pathways. Advocating for slow learning and deep community connection, he continues to shape holistic approaches to education and regeneration.

Sonal Kuruvilla is a policy consultant and social strategist, and the co-founder of the Nayaneethi Policy Collective (NPoC)—an initiative advancing education reform, governance innovation, and social equity. Guided by a commitment to participatory governance and systemic change, she works at the intersection of policy design, community engagement, and institutional transformation to foster climate-resilient and inclusive development.

Through NPoC, Sonal has co-created evidence-based policy initiatives that strengthen youth leadership, governance capacity, and education systems. Her work integrates social justice, sustainability, and inclusion into policy and curriculum frameworks while facilitating dialogue among governments, institutions, and communities to drive reform.

Applying a justice-centered approach to climate and social systems, Sonal empowers young changemakers and organisations to adopt reflective, adaptive strategies that promote equity, transparency, and long-term systemic resilience.

Anish T. Thomas is a social worker and emerging climate leader dedicated to promoting human–wildlife coexistence and sustainable community development. A postgraduate in Social Work from the Central University of Karnataka (2021–2023), he explores how climate change intensifies human–wildlife conflicts and affects agricultural livelihoods in rural Kerala.

Blending research with community engagement, Anish practices green social work, placing local knowledge and participatory approaches at the center of conservation and climate resilience efforts.

His key contributions include pioneering research on the impact of human–wildlife conflict on farming communities in Pathanamthitta, facilitating participatory rural development programs, and promoting eco-friendly agriculture and biodiversity conservation. Through education and youth outreach, he fosters climate awareness and encourages collective responsibility toward sustainable living and ecological harmony.

Abshana Jamal is a researcher and eco-social work scholar pursuing her PhD at Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), Kochi. With a Master’s in Social Work specializing in rural and urban community development, she focuses on sustainable agri-food systems, climate action, and the circular economy, advocating for models that harmonize human livelihoods with ecological balance.

As a Team Finland Knowledge Programme Fellow and Climate Leadership Fellow at the Sustera Foundation, Abshana collaborates on international initiatives addressing sustainability, crisis preparedness, and grassroots climate advocacy. Her projects—such as Rewild: Building Community Fruit Forest in North Paravur—reflect her commitment to participatory ecological restoration and community-led resilience.

Through her research, writing, and field practice, Abshana bridges academia, sustainability, and social transformation. She continues to build collaborative networks that empower communities and institutions to advance inclusive, resilient, and ecologically responsible development.

Executive Member, CLAN | Climate Leadership Programme Fellow | Community Representative, Kumbalangi | Sustainable Development Advocate

Syama Praveen is a climate action volunteer and community leader from Kumbalangi, Kerala’s first model tourism village, with over three years of active involvement in the climate sector. Passionate about community resilience, she focuses on empowering flood-prone coastal areas through sustainable and locally driven solutions.

In collaboration with Ignotech, Syama led a data-driven project mapping flood impacts across Kumbalangi households—helping shape informed local climate planning. As a Volunteer with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), she contributed to installing solar-powered streetlights and transforming a government school classroom into a smart classroom, promoting both clean energy and education.

A Climate Leadership Programme Fellow under the Sustera Foundation and Executive Member of CLAN (Climate Leadership Alumni Network), Syama continues to champion grassroots climate initiatives. She actively represents her community in national climate forums, including a seminar hosted by TISS Mumbai, advocating for resilient and inclusive climate solutions for her tidal flood-affected region.