I spent my early years in a village, rearing silkworms, milking buffaloes, sowing paddy, growing melons and bananas. Later on, I lived in the city working with non-profits at the policy and grassroots level with women and children on issues of ecology, environment, livelihood, health and gender. I also worked as a research scholar, studying the ecology of lakes and water bodies at the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore.

I strive to live life conscientiously and in harmony with the environment. Towards achieving this, I realized that I couldn’t do it alone. That is when I started to look at various possibilities of building communities that are progressive, inclusive, self-reliant and sustainable. That was the birth of ‘swaYYam’, an idea that lingered for years but came into formal existence on Dec 2nd, 2011. After years of wading through the city life I realized it was time to move back to the land, back to the roots in 2014. Open Shell Farm was started since and as on 2020 in its 7th year is a fully functional and a demonstration farm for Regenerative Practices using Permaculture and Agroecolgy principles.

I completed my 1st Permaculture Design Course with Geoff Lawton in 2013 and subsequent PDC's with Rico Zook and Narsanna Koppula. I took my Permaculture Teachers’ Training with Rosemary Morrow in 2018 followed with several learning journeys to aid my work with the land.

I was highly inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka's ‘One Straw Revolution’ and Schumacher’s ‘Small is Beautiful’. For over a decade I have been helping people to discover their inherent strengths and gifts to live with integrity and in harmony with nature. I conduct regular trainings, drawing from our real-life experiences at Open Shell Farm and across the country, Introducing Permaculture, and Regenerative agroforestry for aspiring ‘city refugees’ who are increasingly becoming aware of their unsustainable ways of living and aim to take charge of their lives, starting with food, soil and water. I have volunteered on several organic and permaculture farms and bring with me a diverse range of experiences. I am a certified Permaculture Designer, teacher and consultant, a yoga therapist, an excellent cook, and a farmer who prefers to dig my hands in the soil. In addition to this I also consult on farm designs for clients and design subsistence model farms for marginal farmers.

I have lived on Open Shell Farm since its inception and am currently engaged with the local village working with small and marginal farmers on the 1000 Tree Project which aims to ensure food, fodder and livelihood security through regenerative practises that in turn reduce the stress on the fragile forests and prevent biodiversity losses.