PARIDHI NARVAR
Founder – Phoolja Foundation
In the heartlands of India, where fields bloom and seasons change, a quiet revolution is taking root. Phoolja—a dream built not just with vision, but with love, gratitude, and purpose.
Started by Paridhi Narvar in 2024, Phoolja was born from a simple yet powerful idea: What if the waste left behind on farms—flowers, stalks, husks—could be transformed into something meaningful? What if rural women, often overlooked, could be the ones to steer this transformation?
At its core, Phoolja, a tribute named after her grandparents, Late Smt. Phoolwati and Late Shri Jogendra Singh carry forward the values they lived by: compassion, resilience, and community strength. For Paridhi, it is more than just an initiative. It is a promise to her roots, a way to give back to the soil that shaped her family.
An earnest student at Sanskriti School, Paridhi, stood out early, both academically and in extracurricular activities. At this young age, she held various leadership roles such as President – Student Discipline Council and Director – Model United Nations and was recognized for her work with the UN Global Compact’s YuWaah initiative. Her keen research on women’s employment in rural India laid the foundation for Phoolja, after she discovered how agro-waste could become a source of livelihood and dignity.
Today, Phoolja works with over 80 rural families across villages in Uttar Pradesh, where women are trained to transform humble farm waste—especially cornhusks and dried flowers—into beautiful, handcrafted products like wall hangings, floor cushions, coasters, placemats, flowerpots, baskets, and delicate floral bouquets. For Paridhi, it isn’t just about skill-building; it’s a restoration of confidence, independence, and establishing a woman in her household and society, which has long been ignored.
With every workshop she conducts, every woman she empowers, Paridhi is walking in the footsteps of her elders—fulfilling a dream they once envisaged: to create a self-sustaining, dignified life in the village they call home.
For Paridhi, change isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s in the quiet hands of a woman carefully weaving cornhusks into a flower or shaping a wall hanging with pride and patience. Sometimes, it’s in the smile of a child seeing their mother earn for the first time. And sometimes, it’s in a field where waste no longer lies forgotten, but blooms again with purpose.
Paridhi’s deep belief in “From the Farm to the People” is not just a tagline, but a promise to nurture inclusive growth and resilient economies at the grassroots. Her foundation doesn’t just produce goods; it tells stories of dignity, determination, and change.
And with Phoolja, Paridhi hopes to bloom that belief—one woman, one village, one story at a time.
Ruchi Sharma
Programme Manager
Ruchi Sharma is a dedicated social development professional with a Master’s degree in Social Work and over 7 years of experience working with adolescents, women, and rural communities across India. Her work centers on empowering marginalized populations through education, life skills, gender equity, and sustainable livelihood initiatives.
She brings hands-on experience in program design, community engagement, participatory training, and capacity building. Ruchi is skilled at developing context-sensitive interventions rooted in local needs, and she is known for building strong, trust-based relationships with communities.
Her key competencies include:
- Programme Planning and implementation
- Life skills and gender-based facilitation
- Education and adolescent development
- Community mobilization and participatory approaches
- Curriculum design and training delivery
- Monitoring, evaluation, and impact documentation
- SHG capacity building and rural entrepreneurship
- Digital literacy and employability skills
- Gender equity, education planning, and HRDP (Human Resource Development & Planning)
With a strong academic foundation and grassroots experience, Ruchi blends empathy with strategy—using creative tools like art, dialogue, and experiential learning to drive inclusive, community-led change.
Deepak Gusain
Deputy Manager
Deepak is a seasoned social development professional with over a decade of experience leading impactful initiatives in CSR, rural development, livelihoods, and sustainability. In his current role as Deputy Manager at Capital India Finance Limited, he oversees CSR projects with a strong focus on strategic planning, program implementation, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory compliance.
Over the years, Deepak has held significant roles at organizations such as Chintan, NIDAN, and the Piramal Foundation, where he contributed to advancing waste management solutions, youth skilling programs, and educational leadership development. At the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), he worked extensively with nomadic and denotified tribes—building trust, delivering life skills training, and designing interventions tailored to marginalized communities.
Previously, with Magic Bus India Foundation, Deepak led pioneering efforts in life skills and Sports for Development (S4D) programs across Delhi and Gwalior. He facilitated over 4,000 S4D sessions, trained more than 1,000 youth in livelihood skills—achieving an 80% placement rate—and mentored a team that directly impacted over 2,400 children.
A former professional football player, Deepak brings the same discipline, teamwork, and passion from the sports field into his development work. He leverages sports, experiential training, and grassroots engagement as powerful tools to drive behavioral change and build resilient, empowered communities.
Pradeep Chandra
Programme Officer
Originally from Sult, Almora (Uttarakhand), Pradeep currently resides in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad with his family. He holds a postgraduate degree (MBA) from Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University.
With over two years of experience as an Admin Assistant at Dixon Technology India Pvt. Ltd., Pradeep brings strong organizational and coordination skills to the team. Currently, he is actively involved in livelihood training and enterprise formation under the initiatives of Phoolja Foundation, contributing to the development of sustainable and community-based economic models.
Priyanka Narwal
Livelihood Incharge
Hailing from Jugsana Kalan, Bulandshahr, Priyanka holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science (B.Sc.) from Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University, Aligarh.
She began her professional journey as a Primary Teacher at Atulya Foundation in 2024, where she contributed to early education and child development. Currently, she is working as a Livelihood Expert at Phoolja Foundation, where she plays a key role in mobilizing rural women, training them in sustainable craft practices, and supporting enterprise development at the grassroots level.
Neeraj Kumar
Coordinator
Neeraj Kumar hails from Navinagar, Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh). He has completed his Graduation from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut.
As a dedicated member of Phoolja Foundation, Neeraj supports various community initiatives focused on rural development, skill-building, and livelihood promotion. His commitment to social impact and grassroots change makes him a valuable part of the Phoolja team.
PROGRAMME TEAM
Deepak Gusain
Deputy Manager
Ruchi Sharma
Programme Manager
Pradeep Chandra
Programme Officer
Priyanka Narwal
Livelihood Incharge
Neeraj Kumar
Coordinator