Integreater

About Us

InteGreater was founded in 2010 with a 30 year horizon, the first 15 years of which had to be about learning the rural system through lived experience culminating in the design and establishment of the prototype of a resilient village (ProtoVillage) and a blue-print for replication. The next 15 years is about scaling it out to every district of the country.

Now we are in the 13th year and on course, and seem to be on time for the next phase. A small team of villagers have shown extraordinary commitment to get us this far.

Mission

To co-create a Resilient rural India.

Vision

To inspire and empower youth to make every rural cluster in India, an interdependent network of resilient communities, and bring back village-ness to the villages.

Initiatives

Proto Village

ProtoVillage is a one stop shop to learn and practice every aspect of building a resilient village, a space where systemic frameworks for rural resilience are build tested and refined. A space that provides the foundation to launch resilience across rural India.

Graamam

Graamam is a rural economic model that empowers rural women to transform their villages into resilient communities through ecologically sustainable enterprises.

Graamodaya

Graamodaya is a rural education model that empowers rural kids with the choice and the capabilities to establish a life of abundance in the villages, while also equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be globally competent.

Gallery

Board of Directors

Akanksha Banerji Maheshwari

After serving as the Bureau Chief of CNBC TV18 & CNN IBN in UK and Europe (2005-10), Akanksha shifted to the hospitality sector in 2010 with the Oberoi Group and then led the Marketing and Communications functions in India for the top 3 global hospitality brands- Starwood, Marriott International and (most recently) Hilton. She is passionate about how Businesses can and should contribute towards a better environment. Akanksha has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Lady Shri Ram College, a Masters in Political Science and completed the Management Acceleration Programme (MAP) at INSEAD, Singapore.

Divya Dwivedi

Divya Dwivedi is a Public Policy Strategist with over 20 years of experience of working for government departments, trade associations and corporates in India, UK and USA. A graduate of the Indian School of Business, she is currently an Edward Mason Fellow and a MC-Masters in Public Administration Candidate at Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy. She is also pursuing a course in sustainability at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Kalyan Akkipeddi

After quitting his corporate career in early 2008, Kalyan traveled exclusively through rural and tribal India for about 3 and ½ years. This turned his views on development and poverty 180 degrees. Kalyan has been living and working in a remote drought-prone village called Tekulodu in the second driest districts in India (Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh) since August 2010, to co-create ProtoVillage - the prototype of a Resilient village. Kalyan is a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Krishna Kumari

Fondly called Amma by everyone at ProtoVillage, she is feared and loved in equal proportion. A career academic, retired as a science teacher and headmistress, she was the first volunteer and has been the strongest support to ProtoVillage, right from the beginning. She now lives in the village, and works very closely with the women to create market worthy food products. All her waking hours, she is either seen researching new products or telling stories to the kids at ProtoVillage.

Lijo Stephen Chacko

Following an illustrious career in the Indian Navy, Lijo Chacko is now the CEO of Sigachi Industries for MEA. He is a graduate of the Naval College of Engineering and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. He is an alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, the Yale University, the Institute of Development Studies and the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Madhu Nataraj

Madhu Nataraj is an Indian classical, contemporary dancer and choreographer who lives in Bangalore. She is the director of the Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography and founded its world renowned performing wing STEM Dance Kampni. Madhu was awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of Sangeet Natak Akademi for her talent in the field of creative and experimental dance. She received the Mohan Khokar Award in 2011. She is a fellow of Ananta Aspen Centre's Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship.

Ricky Kej

Ricky Kej is a three-time Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer and environmentalist. In December 2022, Kej was announced as a UNHCR "Goodwill Ambassador”. Kej was also named a UNCCD Land Ambassador at the COP14 to raise public awareness about the challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought. Kej also serves as a UNESCO - MGIEP "Global Ambassador for Kindness", and was named in the "Real Leaders 100 List".

Shamsher Puri

Shamsher, a first-generation entrepreneur, founded DTSS in the late 1990’s, and has driven it to be the second Largest Facilities Management company in the country with a Pan India presence, 38 P&L’s, servicing 150 million sq. ft space, for 800+ customers, across 50 cities, at more than 1500 locations in India… all this with no debt! He has been associated with ‘The Valuable 500’ that works towards employability for the Differently abled.

Vamsi Tadisetti

Vamsi is a resident member of ProtoVillage, and leads LEAF Space (Local Engineering And Fabrication Space) that empowers rural women to start ecologically sustainable enterprises.

Contact us

Our location:

5-5-1/1, Naneppa Nagar,Hindupur, Sri Sathya Sai district Andhra Pradesh, 515201

Our Phone:

+91 - 9494888750

Our Email:

info@protovillage.org

©2023 Integreater. All rights reserved.