About Us
Folk.Exchange is an initiative of the Patkai Himalaya Foundation, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage of tribes and communities.
Our Journey
The Idea of Patkai Himalaya Foundation was conceptualized over a decade back in 2014 as a website named Cultural Human. The idea was to create a platform for preservation and presentation of traditions, ethnic heritage and cultural traits of tribes and lesser known communities in the digital domain. Folk.Exchange is the refined version of the same platform with proliferated ideas and missions with identical vision. Finally, to attach a legal identity to Folk Exchange we have registered the Section 8 Company, Patkai Himalaya Foundation, as a Not-For-Profit organization in the year 2022.
Re-inventing the Idea
We are introducing Folk Exchange as the initiative of Patkai Himalaya Foundation to Promote and Preserve Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tribes and Communities focusing on the North Eastern Region of Bharat at the moment.
We are developing Folk Exchange as:
- A Medium for Community Empowerment
- A System to Preserve and Promote Traditional and Ethnic Heritage
- A Collaborative Platform for Sustainable Commercialization of local natural resources
- Digital Database of Traditional Knowledge and Community Information
Patkai Himalaya Foundation
Aim
Creating a sustainable world with co-existing natural and ethnic diversities
Objective
- Socio-economic and educational development of communities
- Preservation and Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritages
- Sustainable commercialization of Traditional Knowledge and local-natural resources
How We Work
The 3-Pronged Strategy
- Economic Empowerment
- Educational Empowerment
- Cultural/Ethnic Identity Preservation
The 4 C's
Connect
With people ready to cooperate, cultural societies, living human heritage, people versed in traditional knowledge, self-help groups, organizations with similar objectives.
Capacitate
Providing the necessary support for capacity building, enabling transfer of traditional knowledge for preservation and propagation.
Coordinate
Maintaining seamless coordination between the working modules within a community for holistic development of education, economy, and ethnic culture.
Concentrate
Continuing the process of connecting, capacity building, and coordination for constant propagation of knowledge, generation of commercial resources, and continuation of traditional practices, art forms, and other aspects of ICH.
Our Team
Meet the passionate individuals driving our mission forward
Gautam Bikash Mech
A tech graduate with a decade of experience in the IT sector as a Technical Content Writer, Gautam chased his passion for ICH preservation into the NGO segment. The brain behind the idea of Folk Exchange, he is the strategist working on ground.
Rituparna Sharmah
Rituparna, a commerce graduate, maintains close contacts with local stakeholders, government bodies, and other NGOs. He is actively working in Arunachal Pradesh, empowering indigenous tribes while ensuring the protection and promotion of their traditions and rituals.
Ranjit Debnath
Ranjit Debnath is an active social worker associated with several social organizations. He actively engages in surveys and on ground activities while implmenting our projects
Binud Terang
Binud Terang, a post graduate in Political Science, is actively associated with several social organizations. He has been contributing to multiple community development projects with several tribes in Assam
Dileep Kumar
A technology enthusiast with a Master's in VLSI Design, bringing diverse experience from both corporate and startup environments to bridge the digital divide. Passionate about leveraging technical expertise to preserve and digitize North East India's rich cultural heritage, making it accessible for future generations.
Damutmiki Dkhar
Damutmiki Dkhar is from Meghalaya, specifically the Jaiñtia Hills District. He holds a Master's degree in Education (PG) from Assam. Currently, He works as a social worker across various fields, focusing on promoting societal well-being, preserving cultural identity, and safeguarding heritage.
Nalson Langthasa
Nalson Langthasa, a science graduate, is coordinating with communities to implement our projects. He maintains active communication with our community stakeholders.