Youth Workshop Report | September 18–21, 2025 | Bagaicha, Ranchi

For four days in September, Bagaicha in Ranchi became a meeting ground for young people from natural resource–based communities across Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana. The workshop, organised by Friends of the Earth India, was built around a simple question: **what does it mean to learn, organise, and imagine the future from the ground up?**

Bagaicha itself shaped the spirit of the gathering. Surrounded by trees and memories of struggles rooted in Jharkhand’s history, it reminded participants that conversations about land, forests, and livelihoods are also conversations about identity, dignity, and belonging.

Across the four days, participants reflected on the changes unfolding in their regions. Expanding corporate interests, extractive industries, and large development projects are increasingly transforming landscapes and livelihoods. Many discussions centred on how mechanisms meant to ensure accountability—environmental assessments, consultations, and regulatory safeguards—are often diluted or reinterpreted in ways that enable corporate expansion while sidelining community voices.

A key moment in the workshop was an exposure visit to areas shaped by the historic **Koel Karo movement**. Participants had the opportunity to interact with senior members of the community who had been part of the long struggle against the proposed dam. Listening to these stories on the ground where the movement unfolded helped connect younger participants with the experiences, strategies, and collective courage that shaped one of the region’s most significant people’s movements.

The workshop also asked an important question about **education itself**. Participants spoke about how mainstream education often distances young people from their land, cultures, and community knowledge. *Education with a difference*, as explored in the workshop, meant reconnecting learning with lived realities, ecological relationships, and collective histories.

Communication and expression became central to this process. Participants painted banners, shared songs from their movements, recited poetry, and watched films that documented struggles for land and environmental justice. These moments of creativity reminded everyone that stories, culture, and art are powerful ways communities communicate their realities and sustain their movements.

By the end of the workshop, what had emerged was not just a series of discussions, but a growing network of **young people who are more aware of the forces shaping their communities, more confident in expressing their concerns, and more connected to each other across regions**.

The images from the workshop capture these moments of learning, reflection, and solidarity.

The first is a sketch by Sabiha Thanas from Media Collective, which symbolises the three days spent at Bagaicha.