Abhishek Patil

I am an Environmental Anthropologist and Policy-Development practitioner with interests in conservation, sustainability, agriculture and food systems, and climate-environment policy with focus on social and environmental justice. I work in the intersection of culture, society, and environment. With this background, my experience is mainly associated with works on human-wildlife conflicts, agro-ecology and food systems intersecting with public health and climate crisis, and cultural studies through ecological paradigms.

On learning

It is through my engagement with place-based learning that I have discovered a place can be a site for many worlds and world-views. Such diversity and dynamic interactions make learning and growing with these embedded synergies feel like a journey across a vast, never-ending ocean. In this view, the course I am co-facilitating in syncretic cultures and sensitive ecologies reflect the plural world and world-views that could be explored. The facilitated themes in the courses are developed over the years of our journey and understanding them with you is a new voyage I wish to share with my learners.

Situated Practice

My place-based practise is situated in Bidar and Channapatna. I am co-anchoring the Modern Endangered Archives Program, Climate resource centre program and facilitating research for Manesiri- Women Producer Company. Being part of collectives of collectives, I engage with various intersecting and trans-disciplinary collaborations and engagements majorly in the above programmes and places.

Place-based Engagements

• Climate resource centre: Working on learning, understanding and documenting agro-ecology practices, food traditions and systems and recognising their dynamics in the embedded cultural practices and traditions.

• Manesiri: Engaging with the procurement team in providing research support in documenting agrarian practices, market developments and providing strategic inputs to help product trail and development.

• Modern endangered archives programmes: Co-anchoring the programme in archiving materials representing social movements and leaders of Kalyan Karnataka (Previously Hyderabad Karnataka) in the late 20th century.