Learning, doing and growing together
The work of GRINS has never been a solitary effort. Over the years, we have learned from and worked alongside a diverse ecosystem of communities, institutions and changemakers. Each collaboration has contributed unique perspectives, capabilities and experiences, helping us explore new ideas, strengthen existing initiatives and expand our understanding of what meaningful impact can look like.
Learnings from IFOAM's Honest Food programme helped shape GRINS's first farm-to-fork initiative with marginal farmers in the Sundarbans. The experience became an important reference point for subsequent engagements in sustainable food systems, livelihoods and community wellbeing, and was later featured by IFOAM at the Organic World Congress (France, 2021) as a case study in community-led economic development.
Collaboration with TraceX Technologies enabled us to explore one of the earliest blockchain applications in agriculture in Eastern India. The experience strengthened our approach to source authentication and later contributed to the development of the Meet The Farmer programme, helping build trust and transparency in clean food systems.
Engagement with CoolCrop provided valuable insights into affordable post-harvest management solutions for smallholder farmers. The experience highlighted the role of innovative and renewable energy-powered technologies in reducing losses and strengthening rural livelihood systems.
Our engagement with NEWS introduced us to the interconnected challenges of ecology and livelihoods in the Sundarbans. The resulting work, supported by Livelihoods Funds, explored how clean food markets could support both mangrove conservation and community wellbeing, and remains closely tied to the origins of GRINS.
What began with the creation of a kitchen garden grew into a shared journey around the Grow Your Own Food approach. Along the way, we explored how urban food cultivation can deepen awareness of food systems while creating livelihood opportunities for rural communities.
Badabon Harvest became a practical platform for translating ideas around conservation-linked livelihoods into action. Working alongside farmers, government agencies, civil society organisations and market actors, the initiative helped strengthen value chains, facilitate credit, improve market access and create new opportunities for small and marginal farmers in the Sundarban Delta through demand for naturally produced clean food.
Working across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, our collaboration with PEEDU promotes community-centred approaches to the humane management of community dogs. Through awareness, compassion and local sponsorships for sterilisation, the initiative seeks to support effective implementation of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 and strengthen community wellbeing through coexistence.
Our association with Safe House for Animals reflects a shared commitment to compassion and responsible animal welfare. Through modest sponsorship support, over a reasonable period, we contributed towards the care of stray and distressed animals under the organisation's shelter and community outreach programmes in Gurugram, South Delhi and Dharamshala.