* Chairman of Operational Smile in India (voluntary organization doing exemplary work to correct cleft lips, cleft    palates and other facial deformities in children around the world)
* First socio-economic study of the Manas National Park, Assam and was responsible for studies and action on    preservation of the greater and lesser adjutant stock, the Himalayan Salamander, the brown antler deer, etc.
* Supported and was the responsible for the Pygmy Hog Captive Breeding Programme, and in that context was    closely working with the Jersey Wildlife Trust, UK.
* Worked closely with the Wild Fowl Trust, Slimbridge, UK, in studying the captive breeding programme of the    White Winged Wood Duck
* Ranjit was the Chairman of World Wildlife Fund (Eastern India) and was responsible for creating the national    conservation corps including giving birth to the North Eastern Chapter in Guwahati, Assam, India
* Pioneered the case of supporting the education of children whose parents were martyred by poachers    through a trust - Wildlife Afforestation & Nature Trust (WANT)
* Principal Advisor to Sanctuary Asia, India's leading wildlife, conservation and environment magazine and    thought leader. Along with Bittu Sehgal (founder of Sanctuary Asia), Ranjit has co-authored "The Kaziranga    Inheritance" giving birth to the "Inheritance" series of books from Sanctuary Asia.
* Additionally Ranjit is focusing his activities on the recently founded 'Balipara Foundation'

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Ranjit was CEO of Orange in India, Chairman of Marconi in the Indian Sub-continent, and held senior positions in sales and marketing at ITC, one of India's leading FMCG companies. Ranjit has extensive hands-on experience in diverse geographic markets like India, South East Asia, Japan, Russia, Middle East, UK, Europe and USA.

Email : ranjit@baliparafoundation.com

Radhika Barthakur is the director of River Journeys & Bungalows of India. River Journeys and Bungalows of India (RJBI) is a nature-based tourism business targeted at the discerning traveler. Current initiatives include Wild Grass - a travel lodge at Kaziranga National Park, Assam and Wild Mahseer - a 100 year old restored heritage tea garden bungalow with a cluster of bungalows around it located within a picturesque tea garden at Balipara, Assam.

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Email :radhika@baliparafoundation.com

Prabir brings with himself 26 years of experience in sales and marketing having worked in Reckitt & Colman and VST Industries, with specific experience in the categories of FMCG, pharma and tobacco products. Mr. Banerjea joins from VST Industries, where he was head of Sales and Marketing reporting to the Managing Director, and where his primary responsibilities were distribution, logistics, improving brand health measures, development of new brand mix elements, geographical expansion, and building an effective sales team. He has sound knowledge of packaging and consumer research, and has worked extensively with design agencies in India and abroad. His additional responsibilities at VST includes being the Chairman of the Product Development Committee, and the Chairman of the People Development Team - a cross functional team for building managerial competencies in the organization.

In the last few years, Prabir has accquired hands knowledge on organic agriculture, floriculture and fresh water fisheries. Having spent significant amount of time not only in the local villages of Assam but also in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh & Andhra Pradesh.

Email :prabir@baliparafoundation.com

 

Smt. Sentila T. Yanger is widely acknowledged for her work with women craft artisans as vital links in bridging sustainable rural development. She is a Naga textile specialist and craft revivalist, and is an ardent advocate for the use of natural dyes as eco friendly alternatives.
,br>Sentila has been awarded the Padma Shri in 2008, for her contribution and recognition in her field of work.

Sentila has played a significant role both at the State and Central level in shaping the policies for Handlooms and Handicrafts and Womens Empowerment and has been a member of the working committees in the Planning Commission, Handloom Export Promotional Council, Indian Council of Small Industries, and Craft Council of India. She is also the State Convener, INTACH Nagaland Chapter and the Founder President of Tribal Weave. Sentila has also published and presented papers on a wide range of diverse topics such as the History and Traditions of Natural Dyes, Crafts & Textiles in Support of Cultural Tourism, Intangible Heritage in International seminars organised by UNESCO, INTO etc.

Vishaka is currently based in Hong Kong and is Director and Consultant with Balipara Tract & Frontier Foundation working on Naturenomics and Environmental issues. From March 2005 to October 2006 she was Director, Policy Development & Advocacy in Washington D.C with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC). Her responsibilities included developing policy, implementing advocacy strategies and programs related to U.S.-India bilateral trade and business.

Prior to joining USIBC, she worked for twelve years in New York with the American International Group Inc., (AIG), as Associate Director, International and Corporate Affairs, AIG’s global Corporate Affairs Department. She worked with senior management on licensing and corporate affairs issues. She has worked in AIG’s Corporate Law Department in New York and was Director, Corporate Affairs, AIG in India in 2005. She completed a six-month internship with the law firm Arnold and Porter in Washington, D.C. and a year and half with a law firm in New Delhi, India.

Vishaka holds an LL.M in International & Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law School, Washington D.C. and an LL.B from Delhi University, India. She has completed a semester at the American University Cairo, Egypt, in Near Eastern Architecture and Art. She serves as Emeritus Board Member of a New York not-for-profit ballet company, Battery Dance Company. She moved to Hong Kong with her husband in April 2007 where she worked six weeks at the American Chambers of Commerce, Hong Kong.

Rubul holds a master's degree in geography from Gauhati University, graduating first class. He also finished, with distinction, a post graduate diploma program in remote sensing and geographic information systems from Dehradun, India, and obtained a Professional Master degree in Geoinformatics from the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands.

Within the academic milieu, he was involved in independent or team projects with agencies like the European Space Agency in Paris, International Foundation for Science in Sweden and The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation in the UK. He gained substantial experience in research planning, design and implementation using geographic information systems and technologies. He has valuable knowledge of the northeast considering his involvement in the Wasteland Mapping and Disaster Management project under the Department of Space, Government of India and in helping create a book called Path Finder for Guwahati City under the Society for Research Development and Communication. He has written six papers on the applications of GIS and remote sensing and these were published in local and international journals including 'Current Science' and UNEP Publications. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Deforestation and Man-Elephant Conflict and his main area of expertise is in Conservation GIS.

Post Graduating from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, in 1971, Harki joined the Tea Industry in Assam Harki headed the North East Indian operations of Unilever's plantations, was also Whole-time Director of Rossell Industries Ltd, and was the International resource for Unilever's Tea operations in Kenyan & Tanzanian.

Harki has been part of the Unilever Plantations & Plant Science Group's policy making team, Member Secretary of the Commerce Ministry's appointed Evaluation Committee Team (2007/08) for the Evaluation of all Tea Research Institutes in India, their Scientists, their work and for recommending future directions in research and was instrumental in setting up a Post Graduate Plantations Management course in Dibrugarh University. Harki is currently working on projects in tea and agriculture in the areas of Mechanical Harvesting, Pest Management, Organic conversion, and introducing sustainable Vriksh Ayurveda systems for protecting the bio diverse ecology of the North East.

Proposed Organisation Structure

 

BALIPARA TRACT & FRONTIER FOUNDATION TEAM MEMBERS

The members of The Local Farmers Community - They together form the most importanat part of this organization

  

             Nibedan Kurmi                            Deepak Saikia                          

 

              Khem Chhetri                             Utpal Goswami