Asar, in partnership with the Community for Gender Equality and Climate Justice, is excited to launch the Gender and Climate Learning Series!  The webinar series aims at deepening the understanding, sparking meaningful dialogue and strengthening action at the critical intersection of gender and climate change. Through this series, we seek to bridge knowledge gaps, enhance implementation, and build a stronger evidence base for placing gender justice at the heart of climate action.

The first webinar in the series is on Women-led Climate Resilient Livelihoods  in collaboration with SPREAD Odisha on July 11, 4-5.30pm IST.  It will spotlight powerful stories from the ground, featuring Adivasi women from Koraput, Odisha, who are leading efforts to build climate-resilient livelihoods. Through the use of renewable energy, early warning systems, and locally anchored climate action, these women are driving change in their communities. Their leadership is rooted in feminist principles and indigenous knowledge systems, offering transformative, community-driven pathways to resilience.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Moutushi Sengupta, Co-founder of Oneworld Colab, a regional advisory firm focused on human-centric approaches to solving the climate crisis in Asia. With senior leadership experience at Co-Impact, MacArthur Foundation, Oxfam India, and the UK’s Department for International Development, Moutushi brings a unique lens on systems change, equity, and innovation.

Arief Rabik, Executive Director of Bamboo Village Trust and a second-generation bamboo advocate. Through the Bamboo Village Initiative, he partners with rural communities across the tropics to regenerate degraded lands and build sustainable, inclusive livelihoods—placing women and marginalised communities at the heart of climate-resilient development.

Dipti Khara (36), an indigenous woman leader from Koraput, has established a climate-resilient poultry unit with 2,000 birds, powered by a decentralised solar energy system. Her model represents innovation rooted in local knowledge and sustainable energy access.

Lachhama Kantari, an artisan from the indigenous community, is reviving and reimagining tribal textile traditions through climate-resilient livelihoods in weaving and natural dyeing. Her work protects both ecological balance and cultural identity in the Koraput region.

Bidyut Mohanty, founder and secretary of SPREAD, brings over two decades of experience working on tribal rights and development in Koraput. With an M.Phil in Tribal Studies, he has championed participatory models for securing indigenous communities’  rights to commons and sustainable futures.