The Fellowship for Grassroots Leaders brings together elected women leaders from cooperatives-collectives to strengthen how they govern and guide their enterprises over time.

Designed as a residential learning journey, the fellowship creates space for leaders to step away from day-to-day responsibilities and engage with decision-making, planning, and collective leadership.

The first cohort, launched in September 2024, brought together 16 women from eight organisations across sectors including agriculture, handicraft, savings and credit, and care work. For most, it was their first time travelling outside their districts independently.

Participants work through questions they are already navigating within their cooperatives. How to take financial decisions. How to work with other board members. How to plan for growth. How to build the next generation of leaders within their collectives.

“If the existing leadership is not working well, it is my duty to prepare the second-line leaders to take charge. Collectively, we must move forward.” — Sonalben, Shree Mahila Vikas Hashtakala Sahakari Mandali

Learning unfolds through workshops, peer exchange, reflection grounded in lived experience and visits to cooperatives in other states. Over time the process strengthens not just individual leadership but the functioning of the cooperative as a whole.

The next cohorts are being organised in other Indian states.