# YouthLeadershi p| In the quiet rural landscapes of Odisha, the bare earth is a theatre stage, and Adivasi youngsters are artists. Communities gather and watch the intimate reflection of their own stories of struggles with water, forests, and the climate of their homeland. In seeing themselves reflected, communities own the challenges and shape sustained improvements.
This is Natyamanch, an initiative to train local youth in theatre. Gram Vikas began the initiative in early 2024 to encourage youngsters to develop artistic skills and create plays on complex environmental and social issues for local communities. Youngsters from across villages of Ganjam, Kandhamal, and Gajapati districts auditioned. 24 got selected and trained intensively under the guidance of Ankur Roy, a renowned artist and educator. They learned acting, playwriting, stagecraft, and direction.
Seven trained youngsters from the cohort registered a troupe as a partnership company.
The troupe has performed over 100 times in the remotest villages across the three districts. Their two original plays are titled Sango Mora Kuade Gala (Where Did My Friend Go) and Pani Amhoro Simit (Our Water Is Limited). The troupe performs in Odia and the Adivasi language Kui. The plays are free of cost for local people.
Women and children who often cannot attend community meetings watch the plays in large numbers. Today, the troupe earns income as a professional collective. Gram Vikas is one of their first clients, commissioning performances for community campaigns. Most of the youngsters in the troupe are pursuing college. Often the performers travel on foot, carrying props across hilly terrain to reach the villages. They manage all aspects of operations, including accounts and scheduling, building confidence, teamwork, and a sense of collective identity.
The troupe is exploring ways to diversify income and deepen their impact, partnering with NGOs and CSR initiatives across the state. They are also documenting learnings from performances to develop training modules and toolkits that can support revenue generation.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dxX0xTColDulzQlUFUfFeXTGUqOknGvL/view