We are a collective of collectives at the intersection of collaborative research, creative practice, technology, and community engagement. Aruvu Collaboratory LLP was formed to formalise and foster our decade-long engagements and connections with grassroots organisations and collectives across multiple places in Karnataka, India. Our focus is to work towards the following core objectives - 

  1. Facilitate community-led research projects through participatory creative approaches; 
  2. Incubation of local enterprises in collaboration with our place-based collaborating organisations and communities
  3. Establishing and maintenance of community owned digital infrastructures and networks
  4. Creative learning experiences and public pedagogy
  5. Research and Development of technology, tools and services that enable community development (This focus area is new and yet to be active)
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Aruvu. A kannada word, ā€œą²…ą²°ą³ą²µą³ā€ Aruvu, is the ā€œact of observing; attention; regard; heed; cognisance; notice. all that has been perceived or grasped by the mind; learning; enlightenment; knowledge.ā€

Close Collaborators

  • Living Labs Network and Forum - A Kalyana-Karnataka focussed organisation built to bring forward ideas of development that are rooted in the place through collaborative creativity.
  • Team YUVAA - A volunteer-led organisation born in Bidar to strengthen Bidar's institutions, civil society and cultural heritage.
  • Manesiri - A Farmer Producer Organisation built by Community Health Workers in Channapatna to produce, market and sell organic, nutritional foods and ingredients

Current initiatives

  • Samagra Arogya - Samagra Arogya is a long-term place-based collaborative engagement to understand and respond to Social Determinants of Health at the Gram Panchayat level. First phase is situated in 7 Grama Panchayats in Kundapura Taluk namely Vandse, Idur Kunjnady, Hemmadi, Hakladi, Chittur, Aluru, and Keradi.
  • Local Techno Futures - Local Techno Futures is a co-experimental, hyperlocal, contextual, Creative visioning, sustained engagement exercise that Aruvu is undertaking in collaboration with various practitioners and young adults from Bidar, Channapatna and Kundapura.

Places of Work

  • Channapatna - We have a longstanding collaboration with Community Health Navigators with whom in the past we have set up a Health Narrative Library, A community network, events with Asha workers and District Administration.
    • Currently we are building an FPO in collaboration with the Community Health Workers as a form of economic and nutritional resilience infrastructure.
  • Bidar - Through our long collective history in the place, we are constantly looking for opportunities to support local efforts of strengthening.
    • Currently we are undertaking a rapid assessment of the Naubad Karez - a 14th century water structure that could be vital in drought resilience efforts for the area
    • In the larger Kalyana Karnataka Region, we have also signed an MoU with the Central University Karnataka to set up and run a Digital Humanities Lab that aims to use a Creative Urban Practice as co-learning tool for the place
  • Kundapura - Working closely with KHPT and the district administration to build and strengthen health infrastructure from the ground up at Gram Panchayat level.
    • With KHPT, Palladium and the District Administration - we are setting up frameworks and infrastructures for Palliative Care across 7 GPs in the Region
  • Chennai - Newer on our list we are building relationships with Civil Society members here and scoping out opportunities for strengthening and supporting local ventures.