- Bhiksham Gujja is a renowned ecologist from Telangana who has worked all over the world, including with the UN and WWF. - After completing his postdoctorate in Canada, he returned to India where he worked with an NGO helping rural women in Medak district for 6 years. - He then took jobs with the UN and WWF before starting his own initiative in 2010 to teach farmers techniques to maximize production using less water. - Though his children grew up in Switzerland, he wanted to return to India and was impressed by the Organo housing project which aligned with his vision and environmental values.

32. - Bhiksham Gujja, Ecologist,
Naandian - Farm Unit #A10
hiksham Gujja, a world
Brenowned ecologist,
was born and brought
up in Suryapet, Nalgonda
district. With his roots firmly
entrenched in rural Telangana,
his trajectory has taken him
all over the world. “My
mother still lives in the
village,” narrates Bhiksham
who completed his post
doctorate at McGill university,
in Montreal Canada in
environmental sciences when
it was still in nascent stages,
“Like every other Indian of my
generation I moved to the
west. I got bored and came
back to India. I became
involved in the Deccan
Development Society, as a field
director. I lived in a village in
Medak district for about 6
years and worked with the
Harijan women. I felt I had
done my bit and also reality
kicked in when I got married
and had a kid. I had to do
something substantial. I joined
UN and moved to Geneva. I
switched jobs. I was part of
the Think Tank and policy
making group. This was in the
late 90s. I was involved in the
housing as well. I was offered
a job in WWF International to
head the water program. It
was a challenging but very
fulfilling phase. I was able to
build an international
program in Switzerland.
However, there comes a time
in your life when you want to
do your own thing. So in 2010
I quit my job and started a
small Farmers’ initiative to use
less water and produce more
which took me to
Maharashtra, Zaheerabad and
Kenya. We impart certain
techniques to farmers to
maximise their produce by
using less water. Our
endeavour is to offer simple
solutions to complex
problems, basically. I was also
involved with ICRISAT and we
developed several techniques
for 10 years to grow
sugarcane and rice etc. I
initiated and headed that
project. Children, 26 years old
son and 19 year old daughter
grew up there and I can’t
expect them to uproot
themselves from Switzerland
where they have grown up
there. I do make an effort to
keep them in touch with our
culture.”
“I don’t have a property in
Hyderabad and we still live in
a rented house in Switzerland.
I never felt the need earlier to
own anything but this time
when I wanted to get back to
India, I felt it made sense to
put my roots down in a space.
I saw several projects, around
30, but I found them either
too flashy or too cramped or
statement oriented. I couldn’t
relate to any of those. I did
contemplate developing a
green project with some
builders but somehow things
didn’t fall in place. To build or
buy a farm house wasn’t a
practical option for me. A year
and a half ago, I had gone to
see a trendy house in Rajendra
nagar. On the way back, my
driver Mallesh brought me to
Organo. I was impressed with
the terminology, the exposure
of the promoters, their
enthusiasm was contagious.
And then they followed up. I
don’t think I would have
invested in a villa here if the
promoters were not proactive
in getting me on board. The
clincher for me was the fact
that this is the closest to what
I had in mind.
His stature in the country
is as huge as it is outside, as
an intellectual,
environmentalist, professional
scientist.