Uncommon and Out of the Ordinary Under The Mango Tree is bound by our shared commitment of recruiting and retaining a talented, passionate team that seek a career that is uncommon and out of the ordinary. As a team of self-motivated professionals with accomplished careers in agricultural livelihoods, business development, sales and marketing, operations and finance, we are moved by our mission, grounded in our shared values, and inspired by the progress we have made in using honeybees to impact agricultural productivity and address rural poverty. Like the honeybees we work with, our team consists of a Bee Team and a Honey Team, with a Queen Bee supporting both initiatives.
Vijaya Pastala, Founder and CEO
Vijaya’s passion lies in developing community based, pro-poor approaches for environmentally sustainable economic development in India. Before establishing UTMT, she worked as a development professional with the World Bank, KFW, European Commission, DFID, and the Aga Khan Foundation primarily on livelihood and natural resource management. Vijaya’s competencies include community-based livelihood and poverty analysis and enhancement programming, strategic development analysis, capacity strengthening and communication. She has a Bachelor’s in International Relations and Women’s Studies from Mount Holyoke College, USA and a Masters in Regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Besides helming UTMT, Vijaya tries to be the best possible mom to her 7 year old and catch up on her reading. She is also a foodie and tries the local fare wherever she is.
The Bee Team – Under The Mango Tree Society
Sujana Krishnamoorthy, Program Leader, UTMT Society:
Sujana has been part of the team that operationalised UTMT’s Bees for Poverty Reduction Programme since 2008-09 and is driven by her strong belief in the need to improve market access for India’s small and marginal farmers. Sujana and the team’s current interests revolve around building a sustainable and replicable “Bees for Poverty Reduction Framework”. She brings strong programme management skills to the team having lead PRIA’s programme in the state of Himachal Pradesh earlier. She has also researched and written extensively on labour rights, while at Centre for Education and Communication, New Delhi. She has a Masters Degree in Economics from Gokhale Institute, Pune and an M.Phil in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Sujana likes to travel and counts having travelled to and worked in icy Bharmour in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh to Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and everywhere else in between as among the perks of her job. Her other interests relate to food, especially food blogs, music and reading.
Atar Singh Kaintura, Technical Expert
An M.Sc in Bee Science from India’s premier Central Bee Research and Training Institute, Pune, Atar Singh has 15 years of work-experience with the indigenous honeybee, the Apis cerana indica. He was responsible for setting up a cerana based programme in the state of Uttarakhand and is widely recognized as one of the best experts in this field. As UTMT’s technical specialist, he provides training, technical inputs, hand-holding and mentoring support to farmers, Master Trainers and staff of partner NGOs in bee-management, production and collection of honey. Atarji is passionate about beekeeping and the cerana and even spends his free time thinking about bees which makes him very unpopular with his wife and kids. Setting up a beekeeping programme in a new area among farmers who need livelihood support gives him immense satisfaction and fulfillment.
Bhumika Tulalwar, Programme Officer
Before joining UTMT in April 2010, Bhumika worked for the National Dairy Development Board on cooperative development and institution building. Bhumika completed her undergraduation from the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan and her Master’s in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her interests lie in working on rights based and livelihood issues, women’s development and community development issues. Bhumika recently went on a trek to the Valley of Flowers and counts it as amongst the best experiences of her life so far. She is a foodie and loves listening to music and being with her friends.
Sachin Dhavle, Programme Associate
After completing B.A Psychology from Mumbai University, Sachin felt the need to involve himself deeper with the community, so went on to do an MSW from Nagpur University. He worked with Aangan Trust in Mumbai for 3 years on issues related to juvenile children. He joined UTMT in January 2011. Sachin spends almost half the month in the field monitoring UTMT’s Bees for Poverty Reduction Programme. In his free time, he likes to play and watch cricket, listen to Hindi and Marathi movie songs and read newspapers.
Prakash Chauhan Program Associate
PrakashChauhan joined UTMT in July, 2011. He has completed MSW from College of Social Work, NirmalaNiketan, Mumbai. Prakash also has a Post graduate Diploma in Criminology and Correctional Management from M.S. University, Baroda.Prakash is based at the Dharampur field office.
He has a deep interest in insects and animals, especially their role in ecology and likes to spend quality time with family and friends.
Dhara Patel
Dhara has completed her Master’s in Social Work from College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai. She also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from MS University, Vadodara. Dhara is a certified First Aider both in theory and practice.
She joined UTMT in July 2011 and is based at the Dharampur (Gujarat) field office. Dhara likes to travel around to explore and experience places with unspoiled natural beauty.
Gurushabd Khalsa, Urban Beekeeping Project Coordinator
Gurushabd joined UTMT in April 2011 after being inspired by the mission and values of the team. She is driven by her passion for spreading an awareness and love of honeybees to the public, and building an urban beekeeping movement in India. Prior to working with UTMT, she graduated with Hon.B.A. in Environmental Policy and International Relations from the University of Toronto, where she researched the impact of the oil industry on Canadian climate change policy, and spread urban beekeeping to the roofs of her campus. Beyond her love of urban beekeeping, Gurushabd is also a Kundalini Yoga teacher, an urban gardener, and enjoys running around playing ultimate frisbee on the beaches of Mumbai.
The Honey Team – Under The Mango Tree Naturals and Organics Pvt Ltd.
Emily Paarmann
Emily discovered UTMT through the Villgro Fellowship program, which she joined in 2011 through her desire to work with the social enterprise movement. Her goal with UTMT is to help bring market access to India’s rural farmers by applying the business skills she has learned in the corporate sector. Emily is harnessing her passion for UTMT’s mission to ensure natural Indian honey is available to consumers worldwide, and bring awareness of our mission to global citizens.
Prior to relocating to Mumbai, Emily lived in New York City and worked as a consultant in the financial services. She has also volunteered with development organizations including the Microfinance Council of New York, Acumen Fund, and ACCION USA. Emily is a 2006 economics graduate from the University of Virginia.
Emily loves any activity outdoors, and especially enjoys running, biking, practicing yoga, and trekking. On the weekends, you can find Emily frequenting jazz clubs and eating delicious food (especially Italian, sushi, and dosas).
Ashwini Shelar, Admin & Accounts in Charge
Ashwini, a B Com graduate, has the spiciest lunchbox at UTMT and the toughest job juggling accounts for both entities. She loves dancing and is a diehard fan of Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar. Ashwini relaxes by making sure she gets her daily fix of Marathi and Hindi soaps. Before joining UTMT, Ashwini was with ALERT India for 2 years.
Sujata Pawar, Administrative Assistant
Sujata has been with UTMT for 2 yrs and is particularly efficient at dealing with customers at events and over the phone. She loves to watch movies and makes sure she especially catches Salman Khan movies first day, first show! Sujata is also a BCom student at SNDT University and thinks being at UTMT has resulted in her becoming more independent and responsible.
