Empowering Social Visionaries

kanthari in Trivandrum, Kerala, South of India, offers a 12 month leadership program for visionaries who have overcome adversity and who are keen to drive ethical social change. kanthari equips participants with tools that are required to start and run an NGO, organisation or social venture: project planning, accounting, fundraising, developing policies, Curriculum development, venture profile, public speaking, branding etc.
All hands-on practical workshops are conducted by a group of international experts we call catalysts.

kanthari fosters participants from all over the world. Some have university degrees while others have little to no formal education. Some are blind or physically disabled, others have no disabilities at all. What is important is a sense of ownership, motivation, creativity, talent and passion to create a positive social impact in their communities and have the strength to be forces of good rather than victims of circumstance.

kanthari is the Authorized training center of the Vocational training program of Bharath Sevak Samaj (BSS), National development agency, promoted by Govt. of India.

kanthari is the flagship program of Braille Without Borders Charitable Trust.
BWB Charitable Trust was registered in Trivandrum, Kerala on 25-01-2005 and carries the registration number 45/05/05

Why kanthari?

A kanthari is a plant that grows wild in every backyard of Kerala, a small but very spicy chili with a numerous medicinal values. A kanthari is also a symbol for those who have the guts to challenge harmful traditions and the status quo, who have fire in their belly and a lot of innovative ideas to make a positive difference. For us a kanthari will become the symbol of a new type of leader – a leader from the margins of society. The “kanthari” chilli comes in five colors, each one is dedicated to a different type of social change maker: kanthari Colors

Organisations that are started by kanthari graduates address amongst many other, the following topics:
Protection of Environment
– Water shedding
– Food security
– Agriculture
– Waste management
– Animal husbandry / beekeeping
– Forestation
– Seed banks of indigenous plants
– Lake and river protection
– Slum development

Social causes
– Domestic Violence
- Gender Based Violence (GBV)
– Sexual harassment
– Peace and conflict management
– Tribal conflict
– Intercultural Dialogue
– Female circumcision
– Discrimination
– Discrimination of people with Albinism
– HIV and Survivors of epidemic diseases
– Migrant workers
– Good Governance
– Street children
– Sex workers
– Empowerment of women, widows, and single mothers
– Empowerment of prisoners
– LBGTQ rights
– Human rights / Child rights
– Superstition
– Investigative Journalism

Education
– Alternative education
– Tribal education
– Empowerment of youth through Art, Entrepreneurship training and Advocacy

Disability
– Empowerment of the blind
– Integration
– Mental health and addiction
– Equality in the working place

"the kanthari training is a goldmine! There is no better place to learn how to become a Social Entrepreneur. When I got to kanthari in 2012, my project was scattered here and there but through the transformation concepts and many other sessions, I was able to transform my project and ideas into a Social Enterprise that would make meaningful impact. I realized my potential during the course, learned about the importance of collaborating with your beneficiaries and creatively solve problems. The experience gave me wings to fly with my dream and today, kanthari made me an agent of change all the time, everywhere!"
- Lawrence Afere (Nigeria) kanthari graduate 2012, founder of  springboard