We are an organic-regenerative agriculture enterprise.

Our mission is to spread organic-regenerative agriculture across India to secure farmer livelihoods, biodiverse ecologies, and climate resilience in an integrated and sustainable manner.

July 2024 marks 2 years of our work*

million saplings planted for functional forest renewal

species of fruit and timber saplings sustainably sourced

hectares of fragile farmlands under restoration

smallholder farmer partnerships secured

*These milestones are outcomes of our large-scale, 20 year projects across 4 states of India. Our largest project, carried out in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, is called TRIBAL – Transformational Regenerative Integrated Biodiverse Agriculture for Livelihoods. TRIBAL is registered by Archipel under the Verified Carbon Standard, as its organic-regenerative portfolio is designed to capture about 4 million tonnes of carbon over a period of 20 years.

Our guiding principles are:

Organic-Regenerative agriculture for carbon-positive ecosystems

Our organic-regenerative portfolios, invented as a model of science, economics, and social development, are designed to recycle biomass, improve soil health, and foster wealth accumulation amongst smallholder farmer communities. Building these pillars is fundamental to supporting ecology-based economies which produce food, anchor biodiversity, and sequester carbon simultaneously. To sustain such an economy, profits and agri-inputs as literal and biological capital must be returned to farmers and soils in abundance, as such currencies allow each entity to flourish and continue their work.

Informed, long-term commitments from smallholder farmers

Entering into 20-year partnerships with smallholder farmers is a lengthy process requiring multiple rounds of transparent communication, knowledge sharing, and trust building. This approach is critical to ensuring that all farmers are willing recipients of our regenerative portfolios and eager allies in our vision of rebuilding nourishing food systems.

Trusted, traceable, and transparent food production

Food is the ultimate source of energy, nutrition, and immunity, and it is a fundamental right of all people. We believe food should be eaten with the knowledge that it brings health to the body, was grown sustainably, and provided fair profits to farmers. Our regenerative enterprise is built upon these beliefs, and the sustainable cultivation of nutritious food by smallholder farming families lies at the heart of all our projects.

OUR SERVICES: ORGANIC-REGENERATIVE PORTFOLIOS

We specialise in creating and distributing organic-regenerative portfolios which enable smallholding farmers to revitalise their soils, diversify their crops, fortify sustainable incomes, and sequester carbon long-term.

Distributed at no cost to farmers, these portfolios are designed with 3 components to confer community, climate, and biodiversity benefits as per VERRA’s CCB standards.

We distribute portfolios free of cost to smallholder farmers and provide buyback opportunities for their high quality produce. This is the bedrock of our commitment to ensuring farmers are profitable and self-sufficient.

Component	Content	Outcome
Material	Soil Amendments & Planting Materials • Compost • Bio-inoculants • Green Manuring Seeds • Saplings • Farm Tools • Training Manuals & Videos • Produce Buyback	• Soil Microbiota • Crop Diversity • Farm Productivity
Knowledge	SALM Practices & Income Diversification • Agroforestry Systems • Soil Conservation • Mulching • Multi & Cover Cropping • Pest & Disease Management • Compost & Bio-inoculant Usage • Planting Saplings • Harvesting Produce • Market Linkages	• Carbon Sinks • Value Addition • Climate Adaptation
Monitoring	Agricultural Data Management & End-to-End Monitoring • Farmer Registration • GPS Farm Tracking • Farm Activity Tracking • Sapling Nursery Audits • Sapling & Planting Audits	• Farmer Support • Produce Traceability • Project Accountability

Our on-field associates, farmer trainers, and operational teams collaborate using advanced digital systems to make knowledge about organic-regenerative agriculture accessible to all. Their commitment to our core philosophy of democratising knowledge enables us to conduct over 50,000 farmer training sessions each year.

By integrating human and digital resources in this manner, we can effectively fulfil our primary objectives: enriching soils, enhancing biodiversity, and uplifting farmer livelihoods.

We ensure that our investors and supporters share these commitments to open source knowledge, standing as loyal stakeholders in the socioecological transformations we achieve and support for the long term.

Organic-Regenerative Transformation of Chedduputtu Village in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh.

Drag the central white line on the image above to the right and left to compare before and after satellite images.

The Archipel story.

Following in the Naandi tradition.

Linking smallholding farmers to value-addition prospects which inspire agricultural diligence and entrepreneurialism was an approach to securing farmer livelihoods spearheaded by Naandi Foundation.

As our primary knowledge partner, Naandi has encouraged us to apply this approach within our operational frameworks. In doing so, we can enable farmers to enhance the calibre of their assets and fortify the profitability and stability of their smallholding enterprise.

Millions of saplings transported by convoys of trusted drivers.

Trucks travel far to deliver saplings to villages scattered across hilly terrains.

Digital interfaces are used to take inventory and confirm sapling delivery in each village.

Farmers' unique IDs are used to cross-check the count and variety of ordered saplings.

Farmers carry their saplings from the village distribution site to their homes.

Care is taken when counting and storing saplings at home.

Saplings are watered daily and kept in optimal condition before planting begins.

Farmer families carry their saplings to their GPS-tracked plots together.

Tonnes of enriched compost are bagged and delivered to farmers for the planting season.

Microbial-rich bioinoculants are similarly prepped and delivered to farmers.

Farmers use digital management systems to monitor planting, GPS-location, and sapling survival in real-time.

2x2 feet pits are dug, and soil and compost are mixed to plant each and every sapling.

Mulching is key to retaining moisture in the topsoils surrounding the sapling.

Old sarees are used to drape around saplings to protect them from animals.

Biodiverse farms thrive with enriched agri-inputs and sustainable land management practices.

Fruits, timber, vegetables, and staple crops are abundant on the farms.

The tribal cooperative meets regularly to discuss the community’s progress and needs.

A democratically-elected president oversees cooperative operations and discussions.

All images – Graeme Williams

A CASE STUDY

Our knowledge partner was instrumental in bringing tribal farmers into the global spotlight with Araku Coffee

By supporting farmers with access to organic-regenerative agriculture inputs and knowledge, the formation of a tribal cooperative, and opportunities in global markets, Naandi journeyed alongside Araku’s tribal population of smallholding coffee farmers towards new paths of prosperity.

With access to organic certifications, terroir-based regenerative agriculture, and specialty coffee expertise, the tribals refined their skills in cultivating single-origin Arabica coffee of a quality that captured the attention of coffee experts and buyers around the globe.

Today, their exclusive Araku Coffee stands as a luxury, tribal product of India, auctioned internationally at premium prices through the Gems of Araku initiative and sold at high-end Araku eateries in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Paris. This brand has heightened consumer awareness on the importance of smallholder farmers in recreating nourishing food systems which nourish on all levels.