Rainmatter Foundation is a non-profit initiative by the people behind Zerodha. We recognise that climate change is the biggest existential threat to life as we know it. We have committed to using the resources available to us to enable, and to attempt to replicate at scale, the potential solutions that may help address at least some of these threats, and aid in the restoration of our natural ecosystems.
We aim to support fellowships and organisations engaged in solving these problems, as well as startups working to help scale ideas in this space. Our focus is on ecological restoration, fostering distributed and federated green economies and livelihoods.
If you are experienced or passionate about this space and would like to work with us, send an email.
Team
Sameer Shisodia CEO
Sameer heads the Rainmatter foundation developing projects, and building funding and investments programs, among many other things. He left his long career in the tech industry a decade ago and partly moved to Coorg to experiment with sustainable farming, farm collectives, and his personal passion, rejuvenating soil and forests. He runs Linger as a hobby, and shares his thoughts regularly on his blog
Dinesh Pai
Dinesh handles research and review of projects, organisations, and opportunities. He hails from an agricultural family, and his drive to work for the environment emanates from his family roots and his younger days growing up in rural India. He is passionate about safeguarding livelihood most at risk due to human activities in communities around us.
Divya S
Divya looks after administrative affairs and communication with organisations at Rainmatter. She believes in sustainability and aims to live her life in the same path. She is a part of the Zerodha CSR team as well.
Santhosh Kumar
Santhosh is a project coordinator for Rainmatter foundation. He works with stakeholders that enable sustainable livelihoods which in turn promote healthy natural systems. He enjoys doing small projects that give creative room for artists and techies to engage with communities in varied ecosystems in a collective fashion. He also pilots some of these projects on a personal enterprise mode.
Marisha
Marisha is the resident listener at Rainmatter Foundation. A large part of her role is to listen... not just to the people and entities Rainmatter engages with, but also to the message that the planet has been sending : we have to be sustainable, not extractive. Reach her at: [email protected]
Akshay Kanthi
Akshay is a Tech Fellow for Rainmatter. His mandate is to get computers out of the way for organisations and individuals to let them do what they do best, ecological restoration. He did not study Chemical Engineering at college and instead spent time at his professor's organic farm learning about sustainable living. He's passionate about data ownership, open source and alternate education.
Ganeshram
Ganeshram is a Research Fellow at Rainmatter Foundation focused on Ecological Wealth. With a strong belief in deep - ecology, his work involves creating products and experiences that connect back to Nature. He is a Naturalist and loves facilitating People - Plant Interactions, when he is not playing percussion instruments.
Rishabh Lalani
Rishabh is an advisor at Rainmatter, where he supports in building linkages with the larger world, making meaningful connections with organisations, influencers and movements. His work and passion unites in cultivating meaningful relationships for non-profit work of all kinds and at all scales, from those starting out in underserved communities to large institutions to complex collaboratives.
Varun Balakrishnan
Varun manages the Elephants by the Lake project. Also prefers short bios.
Vikas Hosoor
Vikas works on soil, farming and localisation efforts of Rainmatter Foundation. He has been working on natural farming for 4 years now, and has tried a couple of initiatives in the farm to fork space. He also has a keen interest in making simple and affordable agri implements to reduce the drudgery of women farmers. Eco-friendly construction and waste recycling are his other areas of interest.
Rishabh Verma
Rishabh believes in the need for radical re-imagination of our social and economic systems for real change to happen. He has some experience in developing deep tech solutions and leading a non-profit that sought to be an alternative to a college education. At Rainmatter, he works on strategy to understand how different initiatives fit together in the climate change puzzle. He also looks at creating open platforms for knowledge sharing around ecology, technology & strengthening local economies.
Directors
Nithin Kamath Director
Nikhil Kamath Director
Volunteers
Gaurav Kushwaha
Gaurav handles press and media communications at Rainmatter and Zerodha. He is also a part of the Zerodha CSR team and helps with NGO partnerships.
Karthik Rangappa
Karthik actively volunteers at Rainmatter helping research and evaluate organisations and causes.
Seema Patil
Seema and her team helps evaluate organisations and social causes at Rainmatter and as a part of CSR at Zerodha.
Mohammed Shoaib
Shoaib handles fund and project administration and liaising with organisations that Rainmatter supports. He manages and administers social projects and causes as a part of the Zerodha CSR team as well.
Somnath Mukherjee
Som has a background in law, and is enthusiastic about all things around startups & markets. He helps with legal matters at Rainmatter including reviewing and research of organisations, opportunities.
