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 was initiated through a collaboration between KHPT and Design Beku situated in Samagra Arogya GP cluster (7 Grama Panchayats in Kundapura Taluk namely Vandse, Idur Kunjadi, Hemmadi, Hakladi, Chittur, Aluru, and Keradi). The first phase concluded in March 2024.
The second phase of Samagra Arogya commenced in May 2024 by Aruvu Collaboratory and KHPT, along with communities, elected representatives and PRIs in Samagra Arogya GP Cluster. We continued to engage incorporating and reflecting on the learnings from first phase to co-envision, to foster care-based practices in local self-governance systems in the Gram Panchayat regions. All actions of Aruvu are carried out through the ‘structure of engagement’ co-developed by its transdisciplinary team for Samagra Arogya to learn and visiblise the differential needs of the communities, co-designing people-centric interventions with communities and Gram Panchayat, creating moments to learn, adapt and advocate newer governance systems attuned to the place and its people in the GPs. The modes of engagement are of various forms such as codesign sessions, artefacts, fellowships, Community Mesh Network, Participatory Geospatial Lab, Incubation of local enterprises, and so on.
We envision each Gram Panchayat to be an autonomous, decentralised entity that carries out a continuous and sustained practice driven responses by participatory action research to understand the historic and emerging needs of their communities, to plan and iteratively implement interventions.
Some Current works
Grama Drishti Dashboard
Participatory Geo-spatial Lab
A place is made by its people-culture-rhythm-stories-sounds-art & craft-smell-chaos & many more. The Participatory Geo Spatial Lab (PGSL) is being envisioned as a space that can contribute knowledge through maps, tools and spatial narratives that are collaboratively made to aid learning, adaptation and advocacy happening in these places of work. It is a shared infrastructure across our regions to digitally and physically represent these voices, histories, cultures and imaginaries of all the people in a place-based manner.
Women Entrepreneurs Directory
Vidya, Shruthi, Sangeetha and Archit worked with the MBK (Master Book Keeper) and LCRP (Local Community Resource Person) of Aluru to meet women entrepreneurs part of the Sanjeevini Sangha. Further Vidya continued to meet, converse and create a local Women Entrepreneurs Directory, with each of their journeys and stories.
Community Palliative Care (CPC) Initiative
Community Palliative Care Initiative by the seven Gram Panchayat (GP) in the Samagra Arogya Cluster. GP members along with PRIs staff of the Samagra Arogya cluster along with the support of from KHPT, KMC (Kundapura Medical College) and Aruvu members that resulted in the formation of the Palliative Care Task Force. CPC is also receiving support from an organisation called as Pallium India in Kerala
Community Mesh Networks
As internet connectivity becomes a key aspect influencing Social Determinants of Health(SDoH), Community (owned) Mesh Networks are intended to be decentralized and embedded network infrastructures. These infrastructures are co-imagined and co-built in ways that are community-driven and are responsive to local realities.