First few updates of the year
January marked a significant inflection point for Socratus’ on-ground work through the Proximity Project. Across our verticals in Experience Centres and Community-led Initiatives, we saw strong uptake, repeat engagement, and partner-led amplification. Taken together, these efforts offer a glimpse into how Socratus tends to work— intervening at intersections, enabling participation, and supporting models that can be adapted and carried forward by others.
As an ecosystem enabler, Socratus focuses on reducing coordination friction so that diverse actors can work together. Our work prioritises activating multiple actors around shared problems and lowering barriers to participation for new stakeholders into ongoing efforts.
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Socratus was invited- through partner recommendation- to participate at an upcoming session on 31 January with the Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster (BEST) and the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF), drawing on our work in waste and urban sustainability. For us, this reflected trust in our ability to bring practice-led insights into broader systems conversations.
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We were also invited by Saahas to participate at a talk alongside Rainmatter Foundation and CEEW, on the role of NGOs and civil society in enabling a circular, inclusive, and financially resilient waste management ecosystem, informed by our ongoing work in the waste space.
These invitations were not outreach-driven; they were partner-initiated, signalling Socratus’ role as a trusted connector across the ecosystem.
Meanwhile, urban climate action is shifting away from isolated, project-led interventions toward neighbourhood-scale, participatory systems.
In this context, Socratus is part of the 
Working Group set up by the Climate Action Cell (CAC) to develop Ward Climate Action Plan (WCAP) reports for pilot wards. This comes out of the Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) launched in November 2023. Beginning with Shanthinagar, the process brings together scientific expertise, local knowledge, and citizen participation to address flooding, pollution, and water stress.
Being part of this process- alongside actors who are widely recognised in the climate and governance space- signals Socratus’ credibility as an ecosystem enabler. [This was covered by Citizen Matters as well.]
(Bengaluru is building ward-level climate action plans: Here is how - Citizen Matters) 
2. Experience Centres
Learning Experience Centres are part of The Proximity Project, a city-wide initiative by Socratus to make public systems- like rivers, waste, water, and materials- visible and tangible in neighbourhood spaces. Each modular centre functions as a low-risk sandbox for hands-on learning and experimentation, bridging gaps in formal and informal education; Bengaluru already hosts the Rivers of Bengaluru and The Loom – Textile Experience Centres, and the Everyday Materials Centre with several more in the pipeline
Rivers of Bengaluru Experience Centre 
- In early January 2026, after three months at its initial location, the Rivers of Bengaluru Experience Centre was relocated to RR Nagar as part of its rotation, demonstrating its mobility and adaptability. The centre has continued to attract visitors of all ages, with children engaging deeply in interactive river games and residents exploring local river systems through hands-on activities.
Events: SAPT Jan Utsava | Rivers of Bengaluru Experience Centre
As part of the Republic Day celebrations, the Rivers of Bengaluru Centre came alive at its new home, the SAPT Clubhouse at SAPT apartments, BEML Layout, RR Nagar , attracting 70–90 residents including senior citizens, working professionals, and children.
We piloted interactive features such as:
- River visuals tracing different points along the rivers’ journey- helping residents visualise local waterways and understand their role in the urban ecosystem
- “Discover Your Neighbourhood” maps with local stories, challenges, and space for resident input- building local awareness and community ownership
- Sustainable Games Corner and hands-on activities like waste segregation and drawing; teaching children practical skills while reinforcing environmental responsibility
- Interactive feedback wall- capturing resident voices for future programming
Impact:
- Visitors discovered five rivers in Bengaluru, and many were surprised to learn about the Vrishabhavathi flowing near their neighbourhood- sparking curiosity and awareness around local stewardship.
- ~40 children applied learning through games and creative exercises, building early habits around sustainability and civic engagement.
- Residents expressed interest in repeat visits and contributing to future activities—indicating community buy-in and the beginnings of behavioural and attitudinal change.
The Loom – Textile experience centre 
As part of the Proximity Project, The Loom transforms traditional textile knowledge into hands-on neighbourhood learning spaces, making arts, crafts, and sustainable practices tangible for diverse audiences.
- Early January 2026: Members of the Saahas team visited and spent extended time exploring the space. They engaged deeply with the content, examined almost every weave and fabric, and tried their hands on the handloom and DIY looms.
Key outcomes:
- Identified strong potential to collaborate with Saahas’ Textile Recovery Facility, offering visitors a more holistic textile journey.
Saahas’ social media team proposed hosting workshops at The Loom and offered to promote them- demonstrating partner-led amplification.
- Later the same day, a group of 10 residents from Miraya Greens
dropped in out of curiosity.
They left inspired and excited, promising to return and even offering to connect nearby schools- showing genuine curiosity and engagement from the community.
Events :
On 19 January 2026, sixteen students from the University of Washington participated in an immersive learning program. They explored the cultural significance of sarees and traditional weaving techniques, practiced on our stand and sample looms, and engaged in a creative sustainability exercise: a fashion-design challenge using reused fabrics. This reinforced principles of reuse, circular design, and responsible consumption, while encouraging hands-on experimentation in a low-risk sandbox environment.
Looks like they had fun!
Impact:
- Visitors across age groups gained firsthand understanding of textile practices, bridging formal knowledge and experiential learning.
- The centre activated multiple actors- international students, local partners, and neighbourhood residents- around shared learning goals, creating the conditions for lasting collaborations and knowledge diffusion.
Everyday Materials Experience Center (BCC) at Bangalore Creative Circus toothbrush: 
We played host to fellows from the Bangalore Climate Action Cell (BCAC) at the Everyday Materials Experience Centre. They appreciated the way the centre combines storytelling with hands-on elements, and shared thoughtful, encouraging feedback on the concept and design.
They also mentioned plans to bring friends and family back- often the most meaningful signal that a space has truly resonated.
Visits like these reaffirm why we do what we do: creating neighbourhood spaces that spark curiosity, learning, and connection around everyday public problems.
TL:DR
Rivers of Bengaluru
At the Rivers Experience Centre, more than 500 visitors encountered- often for the first time- the idea that Bengaluru has five living rivers. Many children initially described these rivers as “drains”, highlighting how disconnected everyday understanding has become from ecological reality.
What followed went beyond awareness:
- School students wrote to their local councillor asking for action on river issues
- Christ University students created a short documentary on the Vrishabhavathi and are now planning a podcast
- Residents became more aware of river-related initiatives in their own neighbourhoods
- Bangalore Apartments Federation partnered to plan a 200–300 metre river clean-up
- Paani.Earth Foundation, as a knowledge partner, initiated plans for a Kasa Kiosk in Kambipura
The Loom:
At the Textile Experience Centre, students and working professionals engaged with 50+ types of weaves and fabrics, grounding sustainability in touch, craft, and cultural context.
A simple “Rags to Rugs” activity led to:
- Narrative-driven garment ideas using scrap materials
- Early concepts that showed clear livelihood and enterprise potential
What this demonstrated was not just learning, but the value of low-stakes experimentation. When people are given space to try, combine ideas, and think aloud, new forms of creative and economic imagination surface. Here, the centre functioned as a sandbox- designed not to prescribe outcomes, but to make exploration possible.
Everyday Materials
At the Everyday Materials Experience Centre, visitors explored how everyday objects—cosmetics, kitchenware, clothing—shape outcomes related to:
- Personal health
- Household wellbeing
- Environmental and river systems
A river-based game became a surprisingly generative entry point. Participants responded by writing poems, songs, and short stories addressed to the river, with strong engagement across age groups. This reinforced something we are seeing repeatedly: play lowers barriers, and once those barriers fall, people are willing to engage with complexity.
Early system-level signals
Across centres and engagements, a few patterns are becoming clear:
- Communities and institutions are increasingly expressing interest in hosting Experience Centres locally
- Engagement programmes are leading directly to community-led initiatives, including with WoW, Siruthuli, and Saahas
- A growing network of NGOs, CBOs, designers, fabricators, artists, and storytellers is beginning to work alongside each other through these spaces
What this tells us
So far, the work suggests that Socratus is:
- Supporting collaboration that lasts beyond a single event
- Working at neighbourhood-scale intersections, where institutions, infrastructure, and everyday life converge
- Developing engagement formats that can be adapted and reused across contexts
- Helping move knowledge from awareness into collective action pathways
3. Community Initiatives
1. Pourakarmika Vishrama Kendra & Hasiru Gnana Kalika Kendra, JP Nagar
In early January, we held a soft launch of the Pourakarmika Vishrama Kendra & Hasiru Gnana Kalika Kendra in JP Nagar. The centre was inaugurated by MLA C.K. Ramamurthy, with BBMP officials, marshals, Pourakarmikas, and neighbourhood residents in attendance.
The initiative is led by our partner, a community organisation- Women of Wisdom (WoW), with two clear goals:
- to create a safe, dignified resting and engagement space for Pourakarmikas, and
- to build a community learning space around everyday sustainable practices—menstruation, RRR, solid waste management, and daily lifestyle choices—using simple, engaging formats.
The site itself had gone through several phases. It was once a black spot, briefly functioned as a DWCC, and later became a yellow spot, mostly used for vehicle parking. WoW worked closely with local officials and residents to reclaim the space and reimagine it as something genuinely useful for the neighbourhood.
With ongoing support from the Socratus team and design and creative inputs from Alt Lab, the space is now shaping up as a community-owned experience centre.
Events:
On 10 January, the Hasiru Gnana Kalika Kendra hosted its first children’s workshop, organised by AltLab Innovators in collaboration with Women of Wisdom. Around 22 children from the community took part in a hands-on session that explored:
- how waste is generated,
- its impact on soil, water bodies, and air, and
- why waste minimisation matters.
The Long Cut
Getting here wasn’t easy. The process involved navigating legal notices, political pressures and resistance from residents. The WoW team deserves deep appreciation for persevering through complex negotiations and challenging circumstances that were anything but easy.
For many Pourakarmikas, “rest” has meant sitting on hot, dusty footpaths, often without access to toilets or changing areas, and being discouraged from using nearby homes. Against this reality, having a space of their own- clean, shaded, and dignified— has already made a real difference. The relief and pride visible at the launch spoke for itself.
At the same time, the centre has been designed as more than just a facility. It also functions as a shared neighbourhood community space- for meetings, workshops, and learning sessions. The space is already in use, and its role continues to evolve with the community.
As part of our wider knowledge-sharing work, Socratus is also curating the Women of Wisdom team’s journey to be featured in The Science of Sustainable Living public talk series, so that their work can inspire similar efforts elsewhere and make community leadership more visible.
2) Kasa Kiosk, Hebbagodi
The Kasa Kiosk 
, a small, manned, waste drop-off stall where you can drop off your waste anytime, even if you miss the collection truck. The Kasa Kiosk makes it simple to dispose of waste responsibly and keep your area tidy.
In December, with the support of our Partners, Saahas and the CMC of Hebbagodi, four Kasa Kiosks in Hebbagodi diverted 3,584 kg of waste from roadsides, vacant lands, and landfills into designated, segregated channels. Around 50 citizens a day consistently brought in their waste, turning everyday disposal into a small act of civic care that, together, is shifting how Hebbagodi handles waste.
At the Indira Canteen Kiosk, daily collections averaged:
- Wet Waste: 1,042 kg
- Dry Waste: 445 kg
- Domestic Hazardous Waste: 82 kg
Awareness continues to grow. IEC boards are up, door-to-door engagement is active, and participation is steadily increasing. By intervening at intersections- between households, kiosks, and municipal systems- and lowering barriers to participation, more waste is being diverted into the right channels rather than left on streets or in landfills.
3) Cutlery Bank, Sarajapur
The Cutlery Bank is a community-led initiative run by a resourceful Self-Help Group (SHG) named Tunturu, to reduce single-use waste at the source. It provides reusable cups, plates, and cutlery for local events in the Panchayat, offering a practical alternative to disposable items commonly used during gatherings.
By making reusable cutlery easily accessible, the Cutlery Bank helps households and event organisers move away from single-use plastics without compromising on convenience.
In December:
- Events held: 8
- Earnings: Rs. 4,320
- Single-use cutlery avoided: 1,051 pieces
Residents are discovering and adopting something new:
- Kiranmayi who used it for their Vanabhojanam: “First time we heard of the Cutlery Bank. So excited about this idea and will definitely call you again!”
- Anantharam who hired the cutlery for a Birthday Party: “Our first time renting from the Cutlery Bank- it was wonderful! The cutlery was clean, sturdy, and made our event stress-free and sustainable.”
We’re happy to share what we’ve learned and help make things happen; by bringing people together, supporting local groups, and testing ideas that can work across neighbourhoods.
Interested in bringing the Proximity Project to your neighbourhood? Reach out 
- we’re always open to new partnerships!
Three principles guide our work:
