Levellers Foundation in Nagpur: Building Social Architecture Beyond Blueprints

Levellers Foundation in Nagpur: Building Social Architecture Beyond Blueprints

Founded in 2021, Levellers brings together trained architects, planners, and community workers. It describes itself as an architects' not-for-profit organisation registered under the sec-8.

The core team, led by Samruddhi S. Chaphale, spends more time on dusty sites and in settlement lanes than behind desks. They strive to become an ambulance organisation to provide design aid and be a voice in the fraternity to advocate for accessible design. 

Over the past four years, their work has included health kits for labourers, slum-level medical outreach, documentation of rural housing gaps, community-led design workshops, and animal shelter upgrades using repurposed materials.

The foundation’s name refers to the historical movement for equality, and its current practice reflects that reference, not in symbolism, but in action.

Health, Safety and Workers Who Build the City

Levellers Salamati Programme

One of the foundation’s earliest major efforts took shape in 2023 through a programme called Salamati.

It began with a group of 15 women working at a construction site in Nagpur. The team had observed that most labourers, especially women, arrived without safety gear and left without access to basic healthcare. Many had never used helmets. Few had heard of government welfare schemes.

Salamati 1.0 provided each of them with a custom-designed kit including protective equipment, over-the-counter medication, basic nutritional supplements, water bottles, clothing, and first aid materials.

The contents were adjusted seasonally and distributed with explanations in local languages. The foundation also partnered with CureDiab, a local Ayurvedic clinic, to offer medical advice and required health check-ups.

Lakshmi, a worker who received one of the first kits, said she hadn’t known what the government provided or what safety rules applied to her. "They told us why we need helmets, and even where to go for further help," she said during a site visit in summer 2023.

Sessions included guidance on workplace safety, nutrition, and land rights.

One demonstration led by Samruddhi and Avanti Chaphale involved adjusting helmets to show how head protection should sit. Smt. Hemlata Chaphale, who is the Director of the organisation, attended and inspired the young team of Levellers towards social practices and distributed all the various safety and well-being kits to construction workers

The programme expanded rapidly. A health camp in June 2023 served 30 wage earners in a slum cluster.

By April 2025, a larger outreach programme served over 40 individuals in a single day. Treatment included blood pressure checks, allergy assessments, and support for chronic musculoskeletal conditions.

Levellers Foundation invited Nitin Meshram, from Yuva, a non-profit, to spread awareness of housing rights and urban development policies. The collaboration helped introduce informal workers to information they would not normally receive.

At each event, field members used simple printed materials, group conversations, and small health demonstrations to engage residents without requiring formal paperwork or attendance.

Across all Salamati sessions, over 250 kits have been distributed. The number of workers receiving long-term follow-up also continues to grow. The foundation maintains all records manually and in digital logs for accountability, with each item tracked back to its distribution point and recipient.

Environmental Practice Through Hands-On Engagement

Environmental Initiatives By Levellers

On a hot morning at Ravi Nagar Ground, Levellers volunteers stood in a row holding bamboo stakes and cloth bags of soil.

They were planting 50 native tree saplings under the guidance of environmental advocates Baba and Rohit Deshpande.

The foundation contractor, Santosh Bawiskar and his skilled labour team, along with Samruddhi, manually dug the pits using the donation received.

Building on this activity, Levellers Foundation planted 100 trees on 8 June 2025 at Ravi Nagar Vasahat in Nagpur, furthering its mission to transform the area into the city’s green lungs.

Led by Shri Baba Deshpande and Shri Rohit Deshpande, known as Nagpur’s “Tree Man,” the drive emphasised not just planting but nurturing saplings into a thriving forest. The initiative saw enthusiastic participation from volunteers of all ages, who gathered through a pre-planned campaign on the foundation’s social media channels.

Under Rohit Deshpande’s guidance, volunteers learned careful planting techniques to ensure healthy root establishment while maintaining cleanliness at the site.

Contributions included plants from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and donations from architect Shirish Beri, helping the foundation sustain its green efforts. The event concluded with discussions on long-term maintenance, focusing on strategies for watering the young trees during dry spells.

The team also runs public events that link urban awareness with food access. Salad for Souls, held at the Japanese Garden, drew over 150 participants.

The event followed a gift culture model of no fixed pricing, no formal stalls. Instead, visitors picked up healthy salads prepared from local produce while reading posters and research summaries placed around the garden.

Panels displayed at the event included architectural research on urban flood management, climate response strategies, and waste segregation models specific to Nagpur. The materials were produced by the foundation using community data and open-source reports.

The event was designed not for teaching, but for direct reading and conversation. Samruddhi Chaphale, along with Nidhi Joseph, Maansi Shah, Gayatri Kursunge, Shivangi Prasad, Rohini Kalambe, and Tanaya Chaphale, served salads near one of the boards. The idea was to share verified findings in a relaxed public space where people could absorb them without the formality of lectures.

Their online presence extends this work. The YouTube series “Get Real Talk” includes interviews with civic actors, including activists and government officials.

Topics range from water access to civic participation. The series is recorded and edited by the team’s in-house media unit using basic equipment and free software, with a focus on keeping production local and self-managed.

Village Surveys, Local Knowledge, and Design Outside Cities

Village Surveys, Local Knowledge, and Design Outside Cities

Levellers Foundation’s work is not restricted to urban areas. In Kotamba village, the foundation launched its GROUNDUP initiative, an exercise in rural design support built around local materials, housing surveys, and planning workshops.

The foundation’s team visited the village with volunteers and mapped housing styles, material use, and construction timelines.

Findings showed that only 35 percent of homes used reinforced concrete. Other structures used a mix of mud, bamboo, tin sheets, and bricks. Villagers expressed interest in affordable and sustainable designs but said they had no access to technical advice or material compatibility data.

The local Sarpanch, Smt. Renuka Tai Kotambkar had already led a tree plantation drive to improve water retention. Over 12,000 trees had been planted in the area with help from the panchayat and youth groups.

Levellers Foundation documented the process and used it as a case study to link traditional water conservation with modern planning frameworks.

Another programme, Salamati 6.0, focused on animal shelter improvement. At the Rise for Tails facility near Hingna, the Levellers team and volunteers transformed discarded truck tyres,  identified and procured by Deep Tyres,  into 30 waterproof dog beds. Each tyre was cleaned, shaped, sealed, and painted with low-VOC coatings. Cushioning was added using fabric scraps by Sushil Furnishings.

The beds were sized for medium and large dogs, with drainage factored into the design. A total of 30 beds were placed at the shelter. Staff members at the facility said it was the first time any external team had offered this kind of structural help without requesting funds or branding space.

Every step in the process, from cutting to drying to delivery, was logged by the team’s documentation coordinator, ensuring material reuse statistics and visual records were archived for future replication.

An Organisation that is present for the people

Levellers Foundation operates with a small core team. In addition to Samruddhi and Smt. Hemlata Sanjay Chaphale, the team includes Swetha Manivanan (strategy), Nidhi Joseph (communications), Shivangi Prasad (visual design), Tanaya Chaphale (video), Santosh Bawiskar (on-site construction), Kewal Rewatkar (documentation), and Rohini Kalambe (regional planning). Samruddhi’s sister Avanti makes her contributions whenever possible through outreach support.

Their structure allows each project to draw on a different mix of skills. Unlike conventional offices with fixed departments, the group adjusts weekly depending on location and urgency. Phone coordination, field prep, editing, kit packing, and follow-up all happen in the same room.

The foundation also participates in wider architectural forums. At the Walk for Arcause event in 2024, they facilitated a session where over 40 workers spoke about construction safety, salary issues, and access to schooling for their children. The event was held under an open canopy and did not use presentation slides. Notes were taken on paper and posted for public viewing during the closing circle.

The worker-to-architect exchange was recorded by the Levellers' staff and later transcribed for use in project planning. Rajesh, one of the participating workers, said it was the first time anyone had asked what he thought about a building he helped build.

Levellers Foundation documents its activities through its website levellersfoundation.org and Instagram (@levellersfoundation). Its contact form lists both volunteer and collaboration categories.

Support can be offered through financial contributions, material donations, or time-based skill sharing.

The foundation’s stated focus remains the same since its beginning: using architectural thinking to connect with social concerns not covered by conventional planning. 

Levellers adopts a genuine people-centred approach, with all projects designed based on direct input from beneficiaries. 

Their methodology is straightforward. They identify the community's needs through active participation of the people themselves, ensuring that their impact remains pure and their process transparent. Through this approach, Levellers addresses current challenges while simultaneously building foundations for future development.