In its current format, the Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) or ‘Samagra Kalike Karyakrama, is a topic-specific modular course that caters to youth groups (ages 17 to 30 years) across Karnataka and attempts to address the above questions in a holistic manner. The pedagogies are that of place-based education, critical thinking, and experiential learning. The 5 training modules and their objectives are:

1. Foundational learning – To analyse social/rural issues, learn about communication and planning, develop personal skills/growth, and to build self-confidence and leadership skills
2. Agriculture and environment – To learn about sustainable farming, local seeds, soil, biodiversity, and water conservation, climate adaptation, land restoration, value addition to products, and cooperation/collectivisation
3. Climate change – To analyse its global and local impacts, learn adaptation strategies, and participate in local activities aimed at combating climate change
4. Democracy and Leadership – To learn the basic principles/ideology of democracy, with a focus on understanding the Panchayat Ray system, build leadership and teamwork, learn good conflict resolution skills, and promote active citizenship
5. Training of Trainers (ToT) – To develop local youth as trainers and leaders in their own communities and expand training/leadership at decentralized levels in different localities
6. Tribal Youth Training – To educate tribal youth on the history, sturggles, and identity of tribal communities, and the livelihood challenges they face, while incorporating aspects of all other modules (communication, environment, democracy etc.)

From its inception in 2012 to 2026, 354 total fellows have ben trained across 13+ batches, including 225 male and 129 female youth. Additionally, the outreach programmes conducted between 2021–22 and 2025–26 that have covered Climate Change, Agriculture and Ecology, Democracy and Leadership, Gender and Health, Personality Development, and Issues related to Karnataka MLA and MP election campaigns have reached a total of 721 youth participants.

The ILP initially began as a course spread over 7 months and included only youth from Chamarajanagar district. Since 2019, we have rethought and expanded the course to engage youth from across the State. While the key content remains the same (sustainable agriculture and ecology, active citizenship, personal growth, and social issues), the format of the course has changed and is now delivered as shorter modules so that different segments of the program can cater to different groups depending on their needs/local context.

The ILP places emphasis on developing self-confidence, communication and leadership skills through activities, discussions, lecture sessions, nature-based learning, and performing arts. Resource persons and guest speakers are often invited. The pedagogical processes include an emphasis on experiential learning using the immediate social and physical world as texts. Reflexive exercises enable learners to question received ideas, overcome rote learning habits, and to unlearn many ideas and perspectives. A comprehensive learning programme for rural youth requires pedagogies that integrate issues of sustainability with the abilities to engage with multiple knowledge forms, technologies, capital, citizenship, society, and labour, which this course attempts to provide.

In its older format, Punarchith graduated 8 batches of the ILP between 2012-2023.

The ‘Gram Sethu’ or ‘Village Bridge’ program is an off-shoot from the ILP and was created to provide continued support and mentoring to ILP alumni, who would anchor their work in their local areas. Through this initiative, community organizers serve as catalysts for village-level democracy work. They are working in 10 villages on issues such as women’s empowerment, property rights, the importance of voting, environmental awareness, organic farming, establishing kitchen gardens, nutritious food, health camps, access to government facilities, personal hygiene, visits to gram panchayats, childrenís and womenís village assemblies, NREGA work, tank cleaning, protection of trees and plants, the dangers of plastic, and childrenís reading and writing skills.

The Gram Sethu group meets monthly online and discuss their work and issues that arise in their own villages, and the group serves as a co-learning space to ideate and solve these issues using each other’s experiences. Resource persons are often brought in to discuss specific issues (ex: Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the new VB-G RAM G scheme etc), and the group occasionally participates in workshops, trainings (ex: Gram Panchayat Election Training workshop), and visits to each other’s villages and other learning spaces. In 2023, Gram Sethu members from various parts of Karnataka gathered data, engaged with discussions, and supported people to get their voter IDs and to go to the polling stations during the elections. They all also provided key information that helped a larger state-level network to develop an assessment of the Members of Parliament (17th Lok Sabha) from Karnataka.

Currently, this groups includes Geeta and Yathish in Yellachihalli and Kodihatti villages of Gubbi taluk, Tumkur (guided by Chitra and Prashanth), Mahendra in Kulluru Village, Chamarajanagar Taluk, Sakamma and Puttamma in Chamarajanagar, Nagaratna and Rajeshwari in Mamballi, Chamarajanagar Taluk, Pavithra in Vijayapura/Bijapur. Rajeshwari, Nagartna, Puttamma, and Sakamma, mobilize people for discussions, have enabled women to get their job cards for MNREGA work and initiated home gardens in their villages. Geetha and Yatish have established a children’s group (Hakki Pakka) that participates in various activities that engage with environmental issues through hands-on activities such as tree planting, gardening, clearing garbage etc in their areas. Mahendra engages with youth in his community on local issues.