Field research
About four months of fieldwork with LEAD at Krea University, across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan.
- 👤 Role
- Part-time Consultant (Research)
- 🏛 With
- LEAD at Krea University, an action-oriented research centre
- 🗓 When
- 2025 – now
- 📍 Places
- Srikalahasti · Kerala · Rajasthan
Where
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Where Do Women Sell?
Co-author · LEAD at Krea University · 2026
80 conversations with women running small businesses in Kerala and Rajasthan. Co-authored with Niveditha Rajesh.
- Most first customers came through people the women already knew.
- A visiting card, or a phone number on the packet, is what brings a buyer back.
- When a relative or a bulk buyer does the selling, the woman often loses touch with her customers.
The Kalamkari Project
Co-author · LEAD at Krea University · 2025
A survey of every artisan in a set of Kalamkari workshops in Srikalahasti, and interviews with their owners. Co-authored with Niveditha Rajesh.
- Nine in ten artisans are paid in cash.
- Most have no artisan card, the ID that opens up schemes and loans.
- Young people aren't joining, mostly because the pay is low.
From Product to Purchase
Contributor · LEAD at Krea University · 2026
A national report by LEAD with the Ministry of Rural Development on how rural women's enterprises reach buyers. My part was background research, product mapping and an audit of e-SARAS, the government's online store.
- Buyers come back for reliability, not for the story behind a product.
- Groups that worked with designers or used standard packaging got 2–3× more repeat orders.
- Most groups turn their cash over in under two weeks, so big orders need an advance.
Photos: MoRD / STREE, LEAD at Krea University
What carries into my product work
🧭 How I do fieldwork← Back to all projects