Mrinalini’s family: Harsh (son), Yutika (daughter), Mrinalini, and Manish (husband).

Mrinalini joined our Global Tree Initiative (GTI) team in 2020. Since then, she has developed many projects as our original regional coordinator for India.

First and foremost, Mrinalini is a devoted and caring homemaker. As Mrinalini puts it, she takes good care of her small ecosystem – her family. Mrinalini extends the concept of family (or ecosystem) to her entire community. It is called Raghunathvihar.

“My family and my community are the foundation from which I draw motivation and inspiration”, Mrinalini shares.

Mrinalini says that the moment she saw the GTI website, she was attracted to our mission and vision. Additionally, Mrinalini shares that she was touched by the sweet and prompt reply from our global director, Jacie Keeley.

“This warm and instant reply touched my heart. I knew this was the place I was looking for – a warm-hearted planting community”, Mrinalini shares.

Mrinalini was also inspired by our founder, Tenzin Ösel Hita. She says helping the GTI is a way to show gratitude to Ösel.

When asked what she would like to share with the community, Mrinalini says: “I want to share that life is beautiful. We need to focus on developing a good heart more than ever.”

Our environmental hero, the 14^th Dalai Lama also shares: “When educating the mind of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.”

Mrinalini is deeply aligned with GTI’s vision. She tirelessly works to bring more people to our global community. Thanks to her, many people have become aware of the GTI and our mission. “We need resilient communities. There is hope. We can do this together. Together we are strong.  Alone we are vulnerable”, says Mrinalini.

Recently, Mrinalini took a course about ecovillage design, hosted by Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). She hoped that she would broaden her network and gain knowledge that would help her as a regional coordinator. According to Mrinalini, “This was a life-transforming journey;  I was equipped with many tools through this course. People from many countries joined”.

Mrinalini would like to share her appreciation “For the excellent facilitation of the course, done by Taisa and Macaco. They brought the best guest lecturers to facilitate the sessions.”

We have seen Mrinalini grow tremendously since she joined the GTI. We can only imagine what she will do next.

Thank you for being part of our team, Mrinalini! Your work, passion, and dedication are appreciated!

Let us close with this quote from Sobonfu Somé,  a Burkinabe teacher and writer, specializing in topics of spirituality:

“When we are separate, we at vulnerable. Being in a community forces us to cultivate a deeper sense of intimacy with one another, to notice one another and value one another’s gifts.”

– – – – –

Mrinalini shares the following link so you can learn more about GEN:

https://learn.ecovillage.org/course/ecovillage-design-education-oct-2022/

https://ecovillage.org/ecovillage-design-course/

Here are a few pictures of Mrinalini, her family and firends, during Ganesha Festival.