‘Karmi,’ in Nepali, means a doer, a practitioner, a craftsperson.
Karmis develop contextualized knowledge (intangible) as they experiment on and create physical things (tangible). Karmis engage head, heart, and hands.
At Karmi Initiative, we understand that our daily lives are rooted in reshaping natural systems to meet human needs and desires. As such, we exist to explore the interplay of design, technology, and ecology for understanding biogeochemical processes of natural systems and socioeconomic aspects of resource use across different ecosystems.
Our goal is to create a repository of knowledge on how natural systems work and to facilitate a network of practitioners to understand and explore different interventions to enhance regenerative, closed-loop production processes.
What we do:
Research:
We reexamine both localized traditional practices and modern production techniques across diverse ecosystems to address contemporary concerns on shelter, agriculture, and energy.
Collaboration:
We work with communities and like-minded practitioners to understand how they (re)shape natural systems to meet human needs.
Hands-on Learning:
We mobilize our research projects and collaborative strength to organize short-term workshops and long-term programs for curious individuals and institutions..
the Karmi initiative 