The academic curriculum at the Naropa Fellowship is tied together through a year-long, hands-on, Live-Action Project (LAP) which encourages the Fellows to design sustainable entrepreneurial solutions for the local community in Ladakh and the larger Himalayan region. The Naropa Fellows work across various sectors:
OSA is One Stop Adventure platform to provide direct access to the adventure experience of different terrains and areas with the motto of Travel, Explore and Learn.
It functions and provides curated experiential travel in the north-east region of India.
AGROW provides reliable, economical, eco-friendly and sustainable greenhouse solutions to small-scale farmers in high altitude regions.
AGROW also plans to introduce hydroponics and microgreens to local farmers of the Himalayas so that they can have multiple revenue streams.
Ladakh Basket is a community-driven venture which celebrates the harsh born stories of its people and land through indigenous produce.
It aims to provide an online and offline platform for the indigenous products of Ladakh so that it can be shard with people across the globe.
Karwaan is a first-of-its-kind mobile-based luxury travel experience in India. It aims at providing an end-to-end single travel experience platform in its homely caravans which serve as the travel hosts, companions and guides while the guests explore the real India through many curated itineraries.
Himalayan Yeti Foundation (HYF) thrives to eradicate the menace of solid waste from the Himalayan region by creating awareness among the local residents and by providing profitable recycling solutions.
HYF aims to built a technology which converts solid plastic waste into 3D printer filaments and other upcycled utility products.
Lugu Ladakh is a social enterprise that focuses on empowering rural artisans to become micro entrepreneurs and designers.
It aims to revive the culture of carpet weaving to make it an industrial identity for the Ladakhi people through design and curricular interventions.
Kangla Nyishar is an artisanal food venture promoting regional taste through their quality ingredients form local farm and recipes form Ladakhi homes.
It promotes clean farm-to-table practices and provides local, healthy, organic and seasonal dishes made by Ladakh's homemakers.
Navikarana is a trust working for the welfare of society in the energy sector.
Currently, it aims at providing sustainable solutions for water lifting in the village of Pishu, Zanskar and being a catalyst in providing better irrigation, increasing biodiversity and providing sustainable livelihoods to the local farmers.
De Khambir is a food junction to enjoy authentic Ladakhi cuisines made from local ingredients throughout all seasons.
It aims to preserve the local cuisine and ingredients of Ladakh and share it with the rest of the world. It wants to promote localisation amidst globalisation, entering every space of one’s life.
Garsha Looms provides a platform for women knitters and artisans from the Garsha region of Himachal Pradesh to sell their handicraft products.
The main purpose of Garsha Looms is to empower the homemakers and showcase the art and design of Garsha through handicraft products.
Small Wonders is a social enterprise that aims to revitalise the village schools of Ladakh by blending Science and Math with Arts, to make learning more experiential, enjoyable and hands-on for students.
The main objective is to make the disciplines of Science and Mathematics part of everyday life using five methods: hands-on learning, nature, animation, stories and magic tricks.
Courageous Earth is a zero-waste facility that promotes responsible tourism by providing sustainable solutions.
It creates opportunities for travellers to learn about travelling zero-waste. Their business model is to collaborate with events, gatherings and festivals to make them zero-waste.
Storyboard Himalaya is a community of people interested to document, write and narrate the stories of the Himalayan region, and aspires to become a publishing house.
It believes that the Himalayas are full of stories of its land, people, heritage and culture. Storyboard Himalaya seeks to celebrate all of it.
Himalayan Volunteers Foundation is a not for profit organisation which provides a platform to connect the youth and experts to NGOs and other organisations working in the Himalayan region according to their interests.
EcoPraxis is an experiential learning platform which designs learning experiences and pedagogical tools.
It integrates travel and local knowledge on Ladakh through a unique co-learning space for students, researchers, academicians and travellers.
Indus Consultancy is a brand strategy and communication consultancy that facilitates the growth of sustainable ventures in Ladakh by helping them communicate their brand effectively.
Ladakh Bildungsroman endeavours to create a book of illustrated short stories about Ladakh that explores the lives of people who make Ladakh what it is today.
The stories would be fictional, based on some narratives and mythology of the region, with a lesson to take from the stories.
Ladakh Agro Travels focuses on developing and sustaining agriculture in Ladakh by encouraging agro-tourism, where travellers can experience the farmers' way of life and provide revenue to local agriculturists.
It aims to provide a complete field experience with local farmers along with engagement with the local community.
Nomadic Wayfarer is a community-based tourism model focusing on providing unique nomadic experience for travellers through the chang-pa community of Ladakh. It aims to preserve the nomadic lifestyle of the chang-pa community by giving them multiple revenue streams.
Jang-Sa is a co-working and co-living space where travelers can immerse with the local community while working and learning different traditional skills.
This co-working and co-living space is planned to be established in a rural region of Ladakh.
The core philosophy behind Lojong is to create a creator’s hub which is aimed to localise economies and education in Ladakh, starting with Stok village as a pilot project.
It aims to create a consortium for creators from various fields of art, film, education, research, etc. It will also digitally archive the works of artisans and sculptors.
Centre of Vocational Learning aims at creating resources for school children through which they can enhance their learnings as well as other vocational skills.
It will create modules and workshops for students from Class 5 to Class 10.
The dairy sector in Ladakh is small—with products limited to milk and curd. Ama Dairy is a venture focused on bringing forth new ideas through a wide range of dairy products to Ladakhi consumers. It also aims to develop a community of milk producers and help generate livelihood opportunities for the cattle-rearing community of Ladakh.
Buckwheat has been a staple food in many villages of Ladakh for generations. However, buckwheat consumption is on a decline even though it offers high nutritional value. Broo aims to revive the cultivation of buckwheat in Ladakh, promoting healthy eating habits across generations. Broo wants to commercialise buckwheat so that farmers start growing it again and earn livelihood from it.
The objective of BHAC is to create awareness towards heritage conservation and enable private property owners to undertake the approach of conservation/adaptive reuse for the benefit of property. BHAC provides heritage conservation consultancy services and awareness to property owners who either have zero or minimal idea about such services.
The agricultural sector is filled with uncertainties. Byoul makes farming practices more controlled, automated and accurate for the farmers so that they can take data-driven decisions and minimise the risk related with it.The focus of Byoul AgriTech is to create a framework through a low-cost mother device that can collectively make it possible for hardware manufacturers and software development companies to integrate with each other seamlessly.
The footwear industry lacks a fine balance between being a good brand and delivering affordable, yet stylish entry level products. Converters aim to fill this gap and revolutionise the footwear industry by introducing the idea of a replaceable layer/skin for shoes. Their new product will solve the problem of affordability, and at the same time, allow the consumers to look top of their game at all times.
The philosophy behind Dream with Kata is to promote and share stories of people with people, in order to inspire and encourage people to live life to the fullest.
Dream with Kata is a weekly show and a platform to discuss and spread ideas, hopes, dreams in and around the Himalayas. This show will also help unfold the hidden minds and talents from the nooks and crannies of the Himalayas and beyond, and add value to their dreams.
A one-stop platform to promote Himalayan art and artists by mediating the entire process from creation of art to delivery.
Cosmic Dreams Artistry’s vision and mission is to promote and protect human rights of the Himalayan artists by providing an opportunity to earn a sustainable livelihood through their art. Supporting the preservation of the art and culture of the mountains, it aims to fuel world peace in the long run.
Adults aged 35 to 75 years suffering from lifestyle disorders like premature-aging, diabetes, carcinoma, fatigue or other conditions are looking for nutritional supplements to lead better lives. Cordyfit’s vision is to provide a better and disease-free lifestyle through herbal nutritional products exclusive to that of the Himalayan region.
Entro-Vision believes that an entrepreneurial mindset can be developed, inculcated and taught to students at a much younger age. It aims to help schools and educational institutions that want to inculcate entrepreneurial spirit among their students by intervening at a very early stage through an activity-based curriculum that encourages learning-by-doing.
Even though the demand for organic products in India is growing constantly, urban markets are unable to provide authentic Himalayan organic products.
The Hara Bhara Project is an initiative to build a sustainable ecosystem, bridging the gap between the untapped indigenous products of the Himalayas, and introducing better quality, organic alternatives to the existing urban market.
The majority of packaging materials are made of plastic that are often single-use and nondegradable. The waste generated from packaging products are one of the major sources of environmental degradation.
Green Pea is an initiative to introduce eco-friendly, unique and sustainable packaging made from banana fibre. Green Pea aims to be one of the first ventures to introduce this new product in the eco-friendly packaging segment.
The environmental issues in the Himalayas such as solid waste and air pollution are growing rapidly. Lack of inefficient waste management systems, low rates of recycling and high dumping rates are some of the major challenges faced by the region.
Himalayan Plastic Bank is a one-stop destination for the people of Himalayas to deposit their clean and segregated plastic, and avail incentives accordingly.
Lifestyle diseases are a recurring problem which affects the health of all citizens globally on an unprecedented scale.
Himalayan Root wants to identify the ancient herbal treasure of Himalayas in Ladakh and customise traditional medicine in the form of health supplements to redress the problem of lifestyle diseases.
The economy of the Himalayan region is heavily dependent on the tourism industry. It is driven primarily by the male population and lacks alternative sectors to depend on. The Himalayan Chocolates is focused on creating unconventional livelihood options for the Himalayan people by manufacturing chocolates using local and indigenous organic ingredients.
Ladakh Local is a platform for facilitating a supply chain of local Ladakhi handicrafts to art connoisseurs with the aim to revitalise indigenous crafts.
The main focus of Ladakh Local is to showcase the indigenous art of pottery, metalwork and wood-carving through a range of products. By boosting the local capacity of artisans, Ladakh Local wants to leverage the commercial possibilities of the handicrafts sector.
More than 70% of Ladakh’s population is involved in agriculture, but the income generated from agricultural activities is minimal. The agricultural sector in Ladakh is slowly dying and has resulted in urban outmigration.
Ladakh Organics wants to promote organic farming practices and healthy eating by building a bridge between farmers and consumers—aiding local farmers in earning a good livelihood.
The concept of ‘peer learning’ is not novel to India. For years, people have been learning from each other. However, an underlying problem is the lack of structure in the knowledge transfer with no focused learning outcome.
LearnHub serves as a one-stop marketplace for peers to teach, learn and exchange skills. LearnHub seeks to build communities of peer teachers and learners where learning is structured, outcome-based and easily affordable to all.
Tourism and overconsumption of imported items have resulted in failure of waste management in the Himalayas. Mountainous regions like Ladakh become inaccessible for almost six months, further adding to the issue.
Little Green World is a consulting firm that works with schools, institutes and government agencies to create awareness by imparting training on various approaches to waste management.
Ladakh, being one of the latest regions to be affected by western influence and advancement, has witnessed a substantial amount of cultural and environmental degradation.
Learning from Ladakh aims to build a supportive community network of solution-oriented individuals who wish to work towards alternative models of development in the Himalayan region and beyond.
The philosophy behind Manjushri Studio is to provide a creative space for artists and artisans to showcase their work. It is a space where ideas are shared, art is materialised, stories are created, creativity is harnessed, and a community is built.
Manjushri Studio is a studio in the Himalayas to promote film, art and design to express, preserve and promote the art, culture and heritage of Ladakh and beyond.
The Himalayas are home to a variety of indigenous products. These products are readily available in local markets but most of them never surface on the national and international markets.
Pahaldi Jayka aims for the ready availability of indigenous Himalayan products to all by creating a dedicated e-commerce platform.
Research shows that young girls and boys perform at the same levels till they reach adolescence, where girls face more social restrictions than their male counterparts.
Project Duluwa is to provide an opportunity for young girls to step outside their comfort zones and to explore themselves and their capabilities. The founders believe that such an experience at an adolescent stage is bound to have a deep impact on developing leadership in young girls.
The moment humans acknowledge their body and its workings, they become more aware of their consciousness, helping them become better individuals both personally and professionally.
Performing Arts in Collab works specifically with movements from dance and theatre. Through movement-based workshops, it will help in dealing with the day-to-day stresses of life through a better understanding of the self.
Changthang valley in Ladakh is the Pashmina-producing region of Ladakh. Even though the raw pashmina of Changthang is considered one of the finest, the nomads of Changthang are unable to get the ideal price due to the presence of many middlemen.
Serzang aims to purchase raw pashmina at a fair price and manufacture handwoven, pure pashmina products with the help of unemployed youths and housewives of the Changthang valley, thus helping them generate income.
Sharent is a peer-to-peer online lending platform for essential rental items.
Sharent is a mass aggregator of products from rental houses, providing people the opportunity to borrow anything that they want, while also providing the opportunity to small business houses to flourish and gain more income by listing their products on their platform.
The concept of Boy Scouts is alien to India, and most outdoor experiential programmes for children are in the nature of glamorous camping. There is no avenue for learning bushcraft and the basics of wilderness survival in India.
SilverSteps Outdoors aims to teach children the basics of wilderness survival and make them more confident, composed, rational and mentally strong to deal with adversities, setbacks and challenges.
The Siachen valley of Nubra, Ladakh is widely known for its variety of flowers, shrubs, herbs and other plants. These plants grow organically in the mountains, and even though they have medicinal and other health benefits, they are not put to use.
Siachen Valley Tea is a venture that aims to produce organic herbal tea using the naturally grown herbs and shrubs of the Siachen valley.
Tourism accounts for 10% of the global GDP, bringing economic prosperity to many stakeholders. In contrast, it also accounts for ecological damage, socio-economic disparity between locals, pressure on resources, and loss of cultural identity.
The Blank Collective is a social venture which merges responsible tourism with arts. It chooses to look beyond bucket-style travel and gives an immersive experience to the traveller by helping them learn a new art form.
Due to lack of basic art education at the school level, inadequate professional resources and platforms to share work, arts & media is becoming a field with no tangible future.
The Curative Corridor is an initiative where artists, illustrators and writers come together and make books for children studying in government high schools of rural Ladakh where access to basic facilities such as books to study from are missing.
The black cumin seeds that grow in the high altitude mountains of Zanskar are widely known for their nutritional value and other mineral and medicinal properties.
Zanskar Cumin Tea aims to be the first brand that produces cumin tea. They believe that cumin itself is an innovation—there is rarely any such product, and the venture aims to be the pioneer in cultivating it.
The Himalayas are an awe-inspiring region for freelance creative practitioners and ardent mountain lovers, as they often go to the mountains on a workcation to complete their projects.
Treehouse is an attempt to fuse tourism with productivity. It aims at building a creative community in Ladakh whilst bridging the gap between the mainstream creative scene and the locally existing one.
