Going Global: Tamarind Tree (India)

Michelle Chawla is the Founder and Managing Trustee of Tamarind Tree. She has spent over ten years working on environmental and developmental issues both within and outside Dahanu with organisations such as Greenpeace International, Concerned for Working Children, Citizens for Peace, Campaign Against Child Labour and Redstone Farm School. Opting out of the city of Mumbai, she moved to Sogve, a sleepy tribal village in 2002 with the motivation of learning, living with and contributing to rural society, besides farming. While Tamarind Tree emerged formally only five years later in 2007, time was spent in building trust, understanding the community, their worldview and building acceptance. We spoke to her about her journey in protecting Dahanu’s environment through social entrepreneurship.