SUNITA RAO

Sunita Rao has a Master’s degree in Ecology from Pondicherry Central University and her wide range of interests include:

• Ethnoecology of forest home gardens in the Western Ghats
• Designing Learning for Life modules in formal and non-formal education landscapes
• Viability of nano scale sustainable livelihoods & enterprises
• Conservation and community mobilization in gendered spaces

Sunita has worked on a range of environmental issues in Delhi, Pune, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. She has been living and working on a forest farm near Sirsi since 2002. Sunita is the founder trustee of Vanastree (www.vanastree.org) – a women farmers’ seed saving collective based in Sirsi, and the key lead behind the successful ‘Malnad Mela’ that were held in Bengaluru and Sirsi. Her hobbies include creative writing, reading, gardening, land restoration, interior design with ecological features, dog walking, and soap making.

At PUNARCHITH she has designed and taught the sessions on home gardening as part of the ILP course and for the out-reach activities in the villages around Nagavalli. She along with volunteers has developed the ‘green print’ for Angarike Maala and has initiated the hand-made soap making among the HONNERU: Rural Youth Collective.