Hi I’m Mansi,

My journey into development began in classrooms and research spaces across New Delhi, Lucknow and Uttarakhand, where I immersed myself in climate-smart action plans and impact assessments. During my M.Phil. and early professional years, I learned to study systems from a distance, to understand patterns, vulnerabilities and possibilities through data and policy.

In February 2025, I chose to step into those systems.

Joining Transform Rural India (TRI) and relocating to the Petlawad block in Madhya Pradesh marked a turning point for me. What was once theory became lived reality. The shift was not just geographical, but philosophical — from analysing change to co-creating it with communities.

Today, the journal articles I once read have faces, names and stories. Working within village ecosystems, I witness how development truly unfolds when it is anchored in people’s aspirations. Listening to communities has shown me that lasting change is not delivered through plans alone, but shaped through trust, dialogue and shared dreams.
One of the most powerful parts of my work has been alongside the village Didis. Watching them recognise their own agency, step into leadership, and reshape family priorities around education, health and vaccination shows me the heart of grassroots system change. To me, they are not beneficiaries, but change-makers redesigning the future of their villages.

My research background now finds meaning on dusty roads and morning drives to field sites, in conversations under trees and in homes that welcome me as one of their own. The work is no longer about implementing frameworks — it is about nurturing processes that communities feel, own and sustain.

Through #HerWork, I share a journey rooted in purpose — contributing to a future that is inclusive, resilient and community-led. One village, one conversation, one system at a time.