Learning From Tribal Communities

The talk explored how tribal communities have lived and worked over generations, sharing lives and resources. Both the events hope to spur discussion and dialogue which will be taken beyond the events and into the community.

How are resources and land shared in tribal communities? What defines their ideas on ownership and how do commons get organised and managed? In the absence of clear hierarchies and power, how do we take responsibility for our community and its surrounding? How do we facilitate inclusion without creating chaos?

Stan Thekaekara, activist, thinker and social entrepreneur has worked for nearly 40 years in the field of human rights and development.

Stan’s public life began in 1974 with Adivasis in Bihar. In 1986, he co-founded ACCORD, to mobilise the Adivasis of the Gudalur Valley, Tamilnadu to fight for their social, political and human rights. In 2000, Stan founded Just Change, an international cooperative linking producers, investors and consumers in mutually beneficial ways – rebuilding the notion of community and regaining power in the marketplace.

Stan has 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.

Known for his radical and innovative thinking on development economics, he has delivered numerous lectures, including the Alternative Mansion House Speech in London and the Fourth Annual Feasta Lecture at Trinity College, Ireland. He has also written extensively on development issues. Outlook Business listed him among the top 50 Social Entrepreneurs of India and described him as “the man who delights in turning textbook theories on its head”.