When a new gig worker law in Karnataka introduced 15 protections, none of the random 50 workers we spoke to in Bangalore knew about them. The reason: a 30-page PDF in legal language buried on an inaccessible site. We tested simpler formats—native-language video explainers generated with NotebookLM and added to YouTube, QR-code stickers, and an online library of Acts with audio/video summaries in 14+ Indian languages. Awareness improved, though we learned that grievance redressal support needs to go hand-in-hand with information access.

Big e-commerce platforms often tend to exclude and exploit small scale handloom weavers. We started House of Kasavu as a tiny experiment with 13 women from the Pattariyar community, weaving their way through art and a 70-year-old legacy. We learnt the challenges faced by weavers in accessing the online markets. We are now getting better at figuring out sales channels for them.

Climate Khoj started as a tiny Experiment to support Abhinav Chidella who is building it as a discovery and storytelling platform for India’s climate ecosystem. We learnt how to engage with Volunteers, use free and open source tools to quickly put together a site, and design workflows to sustain them.

Meaningful benefits of technology often exclude vulnerable communities and those who serve them. One key challenge faced by changemakers in leveraging technology is hosting high quality open source tools and guidance is using them effortlessly across their organisation. We started a tiny experiment by hosting some of our favorite open source tools that can help changemakers with fundraising, operations, compliance, storytelling, impact evaluation and more.