An ancient sanskrit word.
A guiding ethos.
A partnership across the oceans.
samanvaya
While Sara Jolena was working in India in 2011 and 2012, she was intrigued by a network of social/environmental change instigators who tended to work behind the scenes, sought inspiration from traditional culture…and were highly skeptical of Americans.
It took her a long time to learn that most of them were paying a lot of attention to “swaraj” and the decolonial approach of Gandhi. And even longer to realize that many of them were part of a loose network under the banner of “samanvaya.”
Friendships developed alongside various collaborations in different sectors - health, food, agriculture, local governance, climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods. Ethics. Dharma.
The approaches and questions of this network re-configured Sara Jolena’s own questions. When, years later, she looked to start her own eco-theology initiative, they suggested she use the term, “samanvaya.”
Ramasubramanian, one of the key people in this network, became a key thought partner in Sequoia Samanvaya ventures.
Sara Jolena and Ram, during the LATAM NEXUS conference in Quito, Ecuador, where they partnered with JumpScale on south-south dialogues for indigenous entrepreneurship.
Joint research, dialogues, and projects emerged that challenge and redefine core concepts such as “east-west dialogues” and “north-south collaborations.”
Research initiatives and collaborative projects around culture and sustainability have stretched from the Himalayas to Germany, from the Sustainable Livelihood Institute in Auroville in Tamil Nadu to the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto.
Ramasubramanian (Ram) Oruganti
Ram enjoys working with diverse people, challenges, evolving initiatives and ideas. Sustainability, Resilience and Climate Emergency are the biggest challenges of our times and he prefers to work with people who are willing to take on these challenges.
Ram catalyzes and supports systemic shifts, bringing together financial institutions, government officials, farmers, community institutions, academics, and multiple forms of knowledge to achieve sustainable livelihoods at the local level.
Previous initiatives include:
co-founding the Sustainable Livelihood Institute, which has trained over 5,000 women village entrepreneurs and over 800 government officials.
co-founded and successfully handed off one of the biggest seed festivals in southern india
co-founding and supporting the safe food/organic farming movement, including building farming collectives, developing market opportunities, and capacity building
co-founding the Multi-Versity and Green Economy Curricula which are being hosted by multiple higher educational institutions across southern India
Regular consulting with the World Bank, the FAO, the National Institute of Rural Development, the Institute of Indian Technology, and other key players in India’s movement to return to sustainability and collective well-being.
Whilst engaging in dialogue with indigenous entrepreneurs in Ecuador during a NEXUS LATAM gathering in Quito, the team recognized the common challenges and opportunities between indigenous communities in different parts of the world - and amidst investors and philanthropists.
We co-create renewed forms of east-west, south-south, and south-north collaborations. These include indigenous dialogues, partnerships, and learning opportunities.
Ram is actively engaged with supporting the growth of an indigenous entrepreneurship network in India, and spoke at the 2024 National Conference on Tribal Entrepreneurship.
This includes shifting the funding landscape to support the communities best suited to address critical climate challenges.
Stay tuned for ways to get involved,
including attending events, learning journeys and investment opportunities!
