Close-up of tall dry grass and leaves in black and white.
Close-up of tall dry grass and leaves in black and white.

Norbu Governance Futures

A person wearing a black shirt and glasses holding a tablet with a green and orange illustration on the screen, standing in front of a white wall.
Black and white textured concrete or stone surface with cracks and discolorations.

In collaboration with It’s All Folk

Participatory Futures
Field Research
Systems Design

Based in the climate-sensitive regions of Arunachal Pradesh, this project engages with the Brokpas, yak herders within the Monpa community, whose ways of life are undergoing rapid transition. As pastoral practices shift under ecological and economic pressure, so too does the knowledge embedded within them, from weaving with yak hair and wool to ecological understanding of land, weather, and medicinal systems. What is at stake is not only livelihood, but a wider reconfiguration of identity shaped across traditional knowledge, schooling, and state governance.

It’s All Folk is leading a broader effort to build a craft ecosystem that values knowledge held by the Broka communities, closely tied to ecology. Within this, Lagori is working with the community to co-design governance for the craft collective across multiple sites, drawing from local Monpa governance systems.

Close-up of a person wearing a wristband, with tangled white ropes or strings on the ground, near water.
Brokpa women from the Monpa community in Arunachal Pradesh spinning yak wool together indoors, during field research for the Norbu Governance Futures project by Lagori Collective and It's All Folk.
View of a Monpa village in Arunachal Pradesh with prayer flags and mountain ranges in the background, the field context for the Norbu Governance Futures project by Lagori Collective and It's All Folk.
Participatory community session with Brokpa women and Lagori Collective researchers seated on the floor of a home in Arunachal Pradesh, co-designing governance for the Norbu craft collective with It's All Folk.
Signpost for the Norbu Community Facilitation Centre in Arunachal Pradesh, the base for the Norbu Governance Futures project by Lagori Collective and It's All Folk with the Brokpa community.

The process focuses on imagining and rehearsing how such a collective might function over time, grounded in local rhythms, decision-making practices, and collective organising. This includes exploring how traditional knowledge can be stewarded while adapting to changing aspirations and climate realities.

This remains ongoing, slow work, where we’re holding a process through which the community can shape its own pathways forward.

Raw yak wool laid out to dry on a wooden rack outside a traditional Monpa home in Arunachal Pradesh, documenting craft knowledge during the Norbu Governance Futures field research by Lagori Collective.
A man is standing and giving a presentation or lecture in a room while three women sit at a table listening. The room has a whiteboard, colorful sticky notes on the wall, and various papers and objects on the table and shelves.
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