Bhavana Rabari

Bhavana belongs to the Rabari maldhari community of Gujarat, for whom moving across the landscape with sheep and camels is not only a livelihood but a way of life that shapes their identity, culture and dignity. Growing up, she saw how her community's knowledge keeps rangelands healthy, yet how rarely pastoralist leadership is visible when decisions are made. She works at the grassroots, especially with women, on land rights and land policy. She also helps coordinate an Indian pastoral community network and brings pastoralist women's voices into regional and global policy dialogues.

Through her Champions project, Bhavana will work with seven migratory groups (deras) across Kachch and North Gujarat to map their seasonal routes, grazing areas, water sources and access to health services. The project will also document the biocultural protocol of the Chorad region and Maldhari women's knowledge of grasses, animal health and medicinal plants. In Kachch, pastoralists continue to restore native grasslands even as invasive species, renewable energy projects and shrinking commons reshape the landscape. In North Gujarat, the wolf, known locally as naar, stands as a totem of coexistence, having shared the land with pastoralists and their herds for generations. As wolves are reintroduced to the region, the project will draw on this shared history to support community-led dialogue with the Gujarat Forest Department on people living alongside them and managing negative wolf-human interactions. A cadre of Maldhari youth and women will use these maps and stories to speak with local governance institutions about land, rights and access to services.