I am a social entrepreneur for over 16 years, creating and sustaining innovative models for market linkage, price discovery, and rural farmer collectives based on Gandhian values of economics and rural development. As the Co-Founder and Director of JaivikHaat Pvt. Ltd., a social enterprise that connects organic farmers with consumers, I aim to enhance the livelihoods of smallholders across India and Himalayan ecosystems.

I was also an IFOAM Ambassador, with experience in developing and managing projects for donors and official development assistance (ODA) organizations in Africa and Central Asia. I have built capacities at all levels on sustainable food systems, participatory guarantee systems, non-timber forest produce, vegetable seeds, and carbon measurement frameworks. I have authored and contributed to several publications on these topics, as well as policy advocacy, agroecology, and sustainable development goals. I am always eager to learn and work with smallholder farmers, and to share my knowledge and skills as a trainer and mentor.

As an International Consultant to projects in the Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh, I have had the opportunity to create primary architecture of an Innovative Certification system (Certified Evaluation – CETARA-NF) functioning for over 100K farmers in the state. I have also designed the Sustainable Food Systems Platform for Natural Farming (SuSPNF) presently been rolled out across the state of Himachal Pradesh.

As a Technical Expert on Sustainable Agri-Food Systems design, I have had the opportunity to design, create and curate Trainings hosted on FAO Virtual Learning Center. Since 2022 over 60 trainees across multiple continents and countries have been trained as Innovators for Food Systems Transformation based on Agroecology. The training platform uses Innovative Digital Tools and a Pedagogical methods to conduct cross-sectoral training – through a network of Global Expert, Systems Thinking and Experiential learning design to solve real world ‘Wicked’ problems for Food Systems Transformation.