Namrata Tiwari
Founder, Its all folk
I am a multi-disciplinary designer and social entrepreneur working at the nexus of crafts, sustainable development and conservation. I have worked extensively with women at the grassroots including indigenous and rural communities in India and exiled communities in France. My experience spans design consulting, teaching, community engagement, capacity building and rural enterprise development.
I am the founder of 'Its all folk', a grassroots organisation building stewardship-based craft economies to incentivise community-based conservation in the Eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh, India. For the last three years I have been living and working closely with the last semi nomadic yak herding Brokpas of Arunachal Pradesh, investigating yak wool as a socio-ecological material rooted in the Brokpa identity and their role in maintaining the high rangeland ecosystem in the Eastern Himalayas.
Through my work I hope to amplify the role of indigenous people in environmental stewardship and champion solutions that prioritise meeting the needs of the small farmer - producers in the global south.
What does stewardship mean to you?
Stewardship for me means responsible use and management of resources part of a community’s commons - socio-economic, environmental, cultural and intellectual.
The image was captured at the Sela Pass in Tawang, India at an altitude of 13700 ft. The image captures a yak herding Brokpa family in transit as they migrate from the higher altitude to lower altitude at the onset of winters.
