Continuity of Knowledge and Artisan Traditions of Handlooms
11 February 2024 | Speaker: Pavithra Muddaya
This session focused on the continuity of handloom knowledge across regions and generations. Pavithra Muddaya drew from her experience working with weavers from different states to highlight how stylistic differences are secondary to ensuring dignity, attention, and fair livelihoods for artisans. She emphasised the responsibility of designers to adapt to weavers’ limitations and absorb risks while experimenting with new designs, ensuring that artisans receive maximum benefit. The discussion stressed that crafts must be commercialised in ways that sustain livelihoods otherwise they remain art for art’s sake, detached from real impact.
Pressures of Urbanisation on Landscapes, Wildlife, and Rural Livelihoods
18 February 2024 | Speaker: Vinod Krishnan
Through compelling field stories, Vinod Krishnan spoke about human–animal conflict and the consequences of unchecked urbanisation. He advocated for minimal interference with wildlife, emphasising coexistence rather than control. The session connected everyday lifestyle and consumer choices to habitat loss, explaining how products like palm oil contribute to forest destruction. Vinod also unpacked the hidden environmental costs of so-called green solutions, such as pollution around coal mines that support electric power generation, encouraging participants to reflect critically on consumption patterns.
Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods and the Wildlife Nexus
3 March 2024 | Speaker: Bhargavi S Rao
This session presented a powerful narrative on the interconnectedness of tradition, livestock, wildlife, and community livelihoods in Karnataka’s agropastoral regions. Bhargavi S Rao critiqued large-scale projects such as the Science City at Chalkere and the solar park at Pavagada, describing how they displaced generations of herders, cut off access to grazing lands and water sources, and dismantled cultural practices. The loss of livestock also led to the disappearance of Kambli weaving made from Deccani sheep wool, illustrating how development decisions can irreversibly damage ecological and cultural systems.
"ನೂಲೆಳೆಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ನನ್ನ ಬದುಕು"– Stories of Rural Women Entrepreneurs
24 March 2024 | Speakers: Sreelathangi & Mamatha Yajaman
This deeply personal session highlighted the lives, struggles, and resilience of rural women in the handloom sector. Mamatha Yajaman shared insights into social norms and weaving traditions in Anekal through her work with Gamana Mahila Samuha. Sreelathangi, along with her elder sister, narrated their journey of perseverance in building a weaving enterprise against societal pressures. Through photographs and storytelling, the session underscored the central role of women in sustaining handloom livelihoods and concluded with a call for greater governmental attention to the challenges faced by weavers.
What’s on My Plate? & ದೇಸಿ ಆಹಾರ ಪದ್ದತಿ
26 May 2024 | Speakers: Ananthoo & Prasanna
This joint session brought together conversations on food systems and traditional dietary wisdom. Ananthoo discussed industrial food production, preservatives, and the importance of knowing what goes into our food, while also speaking about growing consumer awareness. Prasanna spoke about local ingredients, traditional cooking practices, and the philosophy that food itself is medicine. Together, the session encouraged participants to reflect on food choices as an extension of cultural knowledge, health, and sustainability.
How Can I Be a Conscious Consumer? – Sustainable Choices in Clothing
23 June 2024 | Speaker: Ananthoo
Focusing on clothing and consumption, this session traced the history of cotton cultivation in India and the impact of industrialisation and colonisation on indigenous cotton varieties and handlooms. Ananthoo explained the environmental and health hazards of chemical-intensive textile production and outlined how consumers can make informed choices. Through his work with Tula Organic Clothing, he demonstrated alternatives rooted in natural dyes, handspun yarn, and direct collaboration with rainfed farmers.
Buildings That Breathe: Sustainable Construction Choices
25 August 2024 | Speaker: Lakshmi Swaminathan
Architect Lakshmi Swaminathan spoke about earthen building techniques and sustainable architecture grounded in local materials. Drawing from her work in Tiruvannamalai and her association with Didi Contractor, she shared insights into eco-friendly construction that integrates aesthetics, functionality, and environmental responsibility. The session explored how sustainable building choices can be seamlessly woven into everyday lifestyles, offering alternatives to resource-intensive construction methods.
Sustainability in Acting
29 December 2024 | Speaker: Prasanna
The final session of the year explored sustainability within the performing arts. Drawing from decades of experience as a theatre director and teacher, Prasanna spoke about the power of the actor’s body and emotions over elaborate stage design and props. Through vivid demonstrations from well-known plays, he showed how minimalism in theatre can be both powerful and sustainable. The session resonated strongly with theatre practitioners, young actors, and enthusiasts, reinforcing the idea that sustainability can also be an artistic and creative choice.
A Discussion on the Book Permaculture
18 August 2025 | Speaker: Gayathri V
This session centred around a discussion on the book Permaculture and its relevance to Indian agricultural contexts. Gayathri V shared insights from her extensive work with rain-fed farmers in the drought-prone districts of North Karnataka. Through her organisation ICRA, she has supported small landholding farmers in adopting permaculture principles rooted in traditional knowledge and region-specific practices.
Drawing from her interactions with the book’s author, Dr. Arnendhu Chatterjee, whom she described as an expert in permaculture, Gayathri unpacked key ideas from the book and connected them to real-world farming challenges. The audience, comprising practitioners and aspiring organic farmers, actively engaged with the discussion and found value in the practical, innovative approaches shared to address land and cultivation-related problems.
The Sunday Samvaada Series reflected Desi Trust’s commitment to fostering thoughtful dialogue across disciplines. By bringing together voices from handloom, conservation, food, architecture, clothing, and theatre, the series highlighted how sustainability is not a single issue but a way of engaging with the world through livelihoods, creativity, consumption, and culture. Each Samvaada created space for reflection, learning, and connection, reinforcing the importance of slow, rooted, and inclusive approaches to change.