Experiential learning

When ex-techie Muneet Dhiman left his IT career in Germany, he dreamt of reimagining education. At Vidyakshetra in Bengaluru, 157 children now learn for free—through farming, weaving, science, music, and Sanskrit—without the pressure of exams or fees.

Burnt out by hustle culture in the UK, Renata and Sridhar moved to Tamil Nadu to live intentionally and raise their children without school. Through farmschooling, they turned a barren plot into a food forest, proving that learning can grow naturally, just like the land they cultivate.

Showcasing the five education changemakers who have been nominated for ‘Optum Presents The Better India Showcase’ supported by the M3M foundation. They prove that benches and blackboards aren’t always the yardsticks for success.

Struggling with culture shock in big cities, five friends built Nanakmatta Public School in Uttarakhand — replacing rote learning with curiosity through films, debate, and real-world exposure.

A veteran educator and puppeteer, Lata Satagopan is helping teachers bring stories to life, promoting experiential learning across India.

Mohammad Sajid Hussain is a scientist and educator from Jharkhand, who quit his high-flying job to return to his native village and start Schoolasium, a learning centre that employs a different learning model to teach underprivileged students across the state

Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s principles of Natural Farming, Raghava decided to transform the coconut monoculture that he had inherited into a food forest without the use of any fertilisers, pesticides, cultivation or weeding.

Their next goal is centred on the European refugee crises, under which they will be heading to countries like Turkey and France.