"When we design with care and build with conscience, we don’t just create products or buildings—we weave a resilient fabric of dignity that empowers every woman and sustains an entire community.

This International Women’s Day, on my Human Library Audio Podcast “ U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty" , we celebrate a woman who walks the talk on #GiveToGain Nivedita Banerji

Nivedita is the Co-founder of Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS), and has dedicated over three decades to the tribal communities of the Narmada Valley. Her work seamlessly integrates social justice, sustainable design, and economic independence.

Her Approach from different aspects is as follows:

• Institutional Leadership: As a former Secretary and current Director at SPS, she pioneered strategies to build women-led local institutions, ensuring marginalized regions have a decisive voice in Indian democracy.
• Kumbaya (Social Enterprise): Founded in 1994, this award-winning producer company empowers over 2,500 women and persons with disabilities through ethical, circular garment design. It is now an internationally recognized, artisan-owned brand.
• A self-taught architect, she has designed over 45,000 sq. ft. of eco-friendly infrastructure. Her work rejects "box-like" industrial construction in favor of energy-efficient domes, vaults, and local materials that honor rural dignity.
• A respected voice in national planning, she served on the Government of India’s 12th Five Year Plan working group and has co-authored influential manuals on watershed management and Indian textiles.
• Featured panelist for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome and keynote speaker at international conferences on narrative practices and indigenous economies.
• Winner of the CITI Textile Sustainability Award (2024) and director of the award-winning documentary "The Kumbaya Story."

Listen in as Nivedita shares her story with the tribal women & the lessons she has learned from them.