I arrived at Forest Post expecting to learn about a process. I left having learned about the women behind it and about the limits of my own perspective.
Forest Post is a social enterprise dedicated to protecting local livelihoods by employing and upskilling Indigenous women and tribal communities. As CraftHER scholars, our consulting brief felt clear-cut: we needed to produce three social media videos, individual blogs, and a long-term campaign strategy to boost their international brand visibility.
But as a Laidlaw Scholar undertaking this consulting project, I quickly realised that true leadership in a consulting role doesn't come from analysing a brief from a distance. It comes from immersion.
Living the Process
We didn’t just study the production line; we lived it. Our first day was spent at a production unit with the women of the Kaladikkav collective. Over the next week, we worked side-by-side with weavers, craftswomen, and tribal communities. I found myself clumsily trying to shave shatavari roots and forage in the forest while the local women demonstrated the tasks effortlessly.
Trying to copy their mastery was my first practical lesson in humility. But the deeper shift happened not in what I was doing with my hands, but in how I was listening.
Dismantling the Expected Narrative
Before arriving, I carried unexamined preconceptions about tribal communities. I expected to find women who were disengaged from the modern world and constrained by limited independence. I even realised, looking back, that I was actively looking for stories to feel sorry for; I was waiting for a narrative of hardship surrounding marriage, childcare, and daily labor.
Instead, I met women who held modern smartphones, spoke calmly and matter-of-factly about their lives and separations from their husbands, and banded together as a caring community. Far from being dependent, they leveraged their existing skills to build a personal income.
They didn't need my pity; they commanded my respect.
The Oxford Character Project emphasises humility as a core dimension of character. Going into this week, I thought humility just meant being open and polite. Now, I understand it is something much more demanding: it is recognising the singularity of each person's perspective.
Curiosity isn’t only about asking questions. It is about noticing which answers you are secretly expecting, and having the courage to let yourself be wrong.
Leading by Listening
On our final day, our team presented our outputs to Manju, the head of Forest Post. We each presented our videos and blog overviews, a comprehensive social media calendar, and a long-term strategy for international reach.
The presentation was a success, but the real takeaway wasn't the strategy deck we left behind. It was the realisation that to truly lead, I first had to learn how to step back and listen. My time with Forest Post taught me that impactful leadership requires the dismantling of assumptions, and the humility to confront pre-existing perspectives.