AMMACHI Labs Advances Women-Led Seaweed Initiatives in Coastal Karnataka

Members of the AMMACHI Labs Ocean Farming team have continued their field engagement in Karwar and surrounding coastal regions of Karnataka over the past several weeks, strengthening efforts to introduce seaweed cultivation alongside women’s empowerment initiatives within local communities.

This phase of work builds on an initial period of groundwork that focused on connecting with local institutions, Panchayat leaders, and community representatives, onboarding facilitators, and preparing community centres to support upcoming activities. These early conversations and site visits played a critical role in ensuring that project plans are locally grounded, feasible, and aligned with existing governance and social systems.

With this foundation in place, the team has begun deeper engagement in villages where interest and readiness are strongest, enabling sustained interaction and clearer pathways for participation. Trust-building and continuous dialogue remain central to the approach, ensuring that community ownership develops as the initiatives begin to take root.

Adding an academic dimension to the fieldwork, MSW students from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, have been actively involved as part of their academic training. Students have supported a range of activities including awareness programmes, digital literacy sessions, field observations, and community engagement. Through learning rooted in compassionate service, students gain firsthand exposure to coastal livelihoods while contributing data and insights that strengthen people-centred project planning.

With committed field teams, strong institutional collaboration, and active academic participation working in tandem, the initiative is making steady progress as it moves toward its next phase of implementation.

The women’s empowerment projects in Karnataka are being implemented by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham with support from Esri, reinforcing the role of data-driven, community-based approaches in advancing sustainable coastal livelihoods.