The eighth Retreat of the Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) was successfully held at Mookanana Resort, Sakleshpur, Karnataka, from March 1–3, 2025.

The Retreat began with a presentation by the Director of FAS, followed by reports from department heads and research project leads on their teams’ work in 2024. Individual researchers also shared insights from their ongoing work. The Communication and Events Coordinator gave an overview of the performance of the FAS website and social media handles. There was also a discussion on the different academic events that were organised in the last year. The last session of the day centred around the planning of an international conference on agrarian change that is being planned for later this year.

On the second day, there were presentations on accounts, human resources, and office adminsitration, followed by a detailed report by the Editorial Assistant of the Review of Agrarian Studies (RAS). A key highlight of the day was the engaging SWOT session conducted by Noopur Verma, Honorary Consultant for Human Resources at FAS. The last formal session of the Retreat was dedicated to a critical and open discussion on the different points raised in the reports. The Retreat concluded with a vote of thanks.

Both days featured several fun activities, including a treasure hunt, quiz, and charades competition, adding a fun and interactive element to the Retreat.

The Retreat gave us an opportunity to report, reflect, and critically discuss our activities and tasks, while also receiving valuable feedback to help plan the year ahead. It was a great team-building experience that strengthened collaboration and camaraderie.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the organising committee for their meticulous planning, as well as to our trustees, collaborators, team members, their partners, and children for their enthusiastic participation in making this retreat a success.

Here are some glimpses from the Retreat.