Stan Thekaekara is a social activist who has worked with indigenous and Adivasi communities for over forty years.

Born into a deeply religious family in Bengaluru, Stan found himself grappling with his privilege at a very young age. These feelings, accompanied with his exposure to social action through All India Catholic University Federation, or AICUF, set him on the path to working with marginalised communities.

After stints in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, Stan and his young family moved to the Nilgiris in South India, where he was involved with mobilizing the Adivasis of the Gudalur valley to fight for their rights. In 1986 he co-founded ACCORD, or the Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development. Through his work in ACCORD, he also helped found the Adivasi Munnetra Sangam (AMS), a membership based tribal organization with 4000 families as members.

In all his endeavours, Stan Thekaekara has set out without a larger plan and a belief that the community would find him and shape his purpose. In his life living and working with the Adivasis, he learnt the importance of balancing progress, with cultural preservation.

In 2000, he founded Just Change, an international cooperative linking producers, investors and consumers in an effort to reimagine a community-based trade and marketing system.

Stan has also served as a trustee of Oxfam GB and was Visiting Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School, Oxford University. Stan is married to Mari Marcel Thaekekara, the journalist, writer and co-founder of ACCORD.

In this episode, Stan is in conversation with Dr. Roopa Devadasan a Public Health expert and school teacher.

This conversation was recorded at the Bangalore International Centre in Bengaluru.

This is part one of a two-part episode.

For more information go to www.rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org