We, The Farmers

Who We Are

GramHeet as a social enterprise, is committed to a ‘farmers first’ approach. Understanding the complexity of agrarian distress, GramHeet offers a holistic bundle of services to farmers with a mission to make farming a profitable business for them.

Vision

We are committed to building an ecosystem where every farmer cultivates with dignity and feeds the world with pride.

Mission

Transforming farming into a profitable business for farmers.

Values

F

FORTITUDE

A

ADAPTABILITY

R

RESILIENCE

M

MINDFUL

E

EMPATHY

R

RESPECT

 

Let Us Tell You Our Story

GramHeet has a two-member founding team – Pankaj & Shweta, who are close friends and life partners. They worked together between 2009 and 2013 in Kastkar, a grassroot organisation based out of Yavatmal which advocated for farmers rights and decided to become life partners in 2015. Both Pankaj & Shweta belong to farming families and have extensive experience of working in the field.

"Born and brought up in the smallholder farming community of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, both Pankaj and I, experienced the struggles of this community since childhood. And these are the struggles that have left deep imprints in our hearts which continue to shape our work today.

I remember as a 12-years old, there was nothing left year after year from our traditional farming business and the loans kept piling up. My family had no choice but to migrate to a different town, where ironically my father worked as a labourer to feed us, despite coming from the community that feeds the world. These memories haunted me till I decided to devote my life to make farming a profitable venture.

Festivals like Diwali brought hopes of new clothes and festivities which would soon be snatched away by the moneylenders’ grabbing of their produce. These hopes remained mere hopes. But now, Pankaj has resolved to transform these hopes into reality not only for himself, but for millions of other farmers by building a system for them where they can rightfully own the harvest that they grow.

It was only after graduation that we met whilst working for Kastkar—a youth movement for advocacy of farmers’ rights. In the 4 years of our extensive work in Yavatmal, we realised that the complex problems of farmers can’t be solved in silos, and a holistic and robust approach is required. Having decided to become partners in life in 2015, we also partnered to sow the seeds of GramHeet in 2020 to cultivate prosperity for all farmers."

Our Team

Pankaj Mahalle

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Shweta Thakare

Co- founder and CPO

Gajendra Wankhade

Operation Head

Chetan Kate

Operations Manager

Shifali Khurana

Communication Officer

Vidya Mainde

Area Co-ordinator

Yogita Paradhi

Area Co-ordinator

Pravin Dhakulkar

Area Co-ordinator

Our Mentors and Advisors

M. V. Ashok

> Retd. CGM NABARD, 
> Senior Adviser NGO BAIF based in Pune
> Adviser at Agritech startup Biofuel circle

Biren Bhuta

> Founder of Disom - The Leadership School
> Former Chief, CSR at Tata Steel Ltd.

Nikhil John

> Sr. Engagement Manager at Sattva Consulting
> Former Portfolio and Program Manager, Social Alpha
> Former New Business Strategy Lead, IFMR Holdings

Praneshachar K.

> Former Consultant (Finance & Accounts), BECIL
> Former Sr. DGM (Finance), Bharat Electronics Ltd.

Prof. Swati Banerjee

> Chairperson - Centre for Livelihoods and Social Innovation,
School of Social Work, TISS, Mumbai

Prof. Ghanshyam Darne

> Professor- Savitri Jotirao College of Social Work, Amaravati University, Yavatmal
> Farmers' Rights Activists

Voluntary Support

Prerna Terway

Vijayendra Kadalabal

Shaun Joseph

 
GramHeet Private Limited
98/ Warud (Tuka),
Tal - Arni, Dist. Yavatmal,
Maharashtra 445106


+91 93707 16975

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