Community Resources and Partnerships/India General Support Project/Wiki Loves Butterfly - Phase IX
Applicant information
[edit]- Organization name or Wikimedia Username for individuals. (required)
- Atudu
- Are you a first-time applicant? (required)
- You are applying as a(n). (required)
- Individual
- Are your group or organization legally registered in your country? (required)
- N/A
- Please provide links to the following documents if they are available
These documentation can be provided in your local language(s), no translations required.
- Organizational website
- Detailed financial reporting and/or audits
- Documentation of the governance structure, board list, governance processes
- Documentation of the general assembly decision on your plan
Main proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be a title for the Meta-Wiki page. (required)
- Wiki Loves Butterfly - Phase IX
- 3. Proposed start date. (required)
- 2026-06-15
- 4. Proposed end date. (required)
- 2027-06-14
- 5. Does your organization or group have an Affiliate or Organizational Annual Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required)
- No
- 6. Does your affiliate, organization or group have a Strategic Plan that can help us understand your proposal? If yes, please provide it. (required)
- No
- 7.1. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
- Regional (more than one country in the same continent or region)
- Bhutan is a country located between the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic regions, is part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Because of its rich variety of plants and animals, Bhutan offers great opportunities for scientific study, documentation and cross-border collaboration in sharing free knowledge.
- 7.2. If your project includes in-person activities, are there any international participants travelling to India for them? (required)
- No
- 7.2.1. List all countries of participation. (required)
N/A
- 7.3. Will the project be transferring funds to any international participants? (required)
- No
- 7.3.1. List all international participants receiving funding and their countries. (required)
N/A
- 8. What are your programs, approaches, and strategies? What are the challenges that you are trying to address and how will your strategies support you in addressing these challenges? (required)
Wiki Loves Butterfly, which is running for consecutive 9 years now, aims at creating and developing different types of Wikimedia content like high-quality photographs, structured data, well researched articles pertaining to the butterfly taxon and related matters available at different hotspots, reserve forests, wildlife sanctuaries and even in urban and rural areas of parts of eastern and north-eastern India.
The project targets to a vast exploration of the aforementioned zones of eastern and north- eastern part of the country through extensive scientific field documentation programs in collecting data about the available diversity of butterflies, their habitats, life cycle, behavioral patterns, seasonal variations etc .Through these field documentation programs, both amateur and expert data collectors and photographers of WLB team documents by minutely gathering data and shooting photographs followed by proper identification of individual species and sub species. Any specially noteworthy findings get their way through publication in peer reviewed science journals. Thus, a strong connection is built between open knowledge platforms and formal scientific research.
Strategic Approach and Team Strength
[edit]The sustained success of WLB over the years has been driven by:
- Careful planning and well-defined strategies
- A positive and solution-oriented approach
- A highly motivated and dedicated team
Our strategically devised task allocation serves the desired goal for us. We assign the right responsibilities to the right individuals who have expertise in concerned matters. This marks the planning and execution highly effective. Furthermore, we deploy multiple teams simultaneously at different regions during peak butterfly seasons which ensures maximum output and geographical coverage.
Outreach, Sustainability and Community Growth
A crucial pillar of WLB’s sustainability is its continuous outreach efforts. These include:
- Butterfly photowalks
- National-level butterfly meet-ups
- Nature study camps in schools and colleges
- Awareness programs promoting butterfly conservation
This helps us to recruit new volunteer contributors, which ensures steady growth and long-term sustainability of the project. This also increases public awareness about the ecological importance of butterflies and promotes the ideals of the free knowledge movement.
A particularly meaningful aspect of our outreach is our school engagement programs focused on ecological awareness. Many school students are too young to own mobile phones or cameras and therefore do not yet have the opportunity to directly contribute images to Wikimedia platforms. However, when we introduce them to the magical world of butterflies, we not only bring them closer to nature, but also pass the baton to the future keeper and conserver of ecology and environment. Their curiosity and eagerness to learn about butterflies and the mysteries of nature definitely inspires us to think that they may grow up to be future nature curators, researchers, conservationists or Wikimedians.
To support this learning journey, we develop promotional and educational materials using our own documented images. By showcasing the butterfly diversity of their own regions, we help students connect personally with local biodiversity. Through this process, they learn not only about species identification but also about ecological balance, conservation ethics, and the importance of preserving natural heritage.
Promotion through social media platforms further enhances visibility and connects us with a broader audience of nature enthusiasts, researchers and potential collaborators.
Importantly, transforming a newcomer volunteer into a long-term, active and agile team contributor and a capable leader requires years of careful mentoring, trust-building and prolonged field experience. We are proud that many of our core team members have remained committed and actively involved for the past five to six years.
Partnerships with institutes and research bodies
[edit]The sustainability of the project depends on strong collaborations. Over the years, we have built and nurtured partnerships with:
- Scientific organizations
- Grassroot level NGOs
- Resource persons and taxonomic experts
- Special interest groups
- Like-minded conservation and research bodies
The continuous guidance and support of the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group remains a foundational strength of the WLB project. Their mentorship has helped us to refine our understanding of Wikimedia principles and strengthened the maturity of the project.
Expansion Plans: New Frontiers
[edit]In the upcoming phase, WLB plans to expand its footprint by exploring:
- Unexplored districts and biodiversity hotspots of eastern and north-eastern India along with Bhutan.
- A stronger focus on Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Jharkhand and Manipur
We aim to expand our field documentation in Bhutan which is an integral part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Rich in flora and fauna, Bhutan offers a significant opportunity for scientific documentation. Such endeavour on our part further promotes free knowledge sharing across the border. It is mentionable in this respect that we have already made a primary collaboration with the Dzongha wikipedian community.
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Challenges and Adaptive Strategies
[edit]Field-based scientific documentation projects like WLB inevitably face challenges such as:
- Unpredictable weather conditions
- Natural calamities
- Remoteness and difficult terrain
- Transportation barriers
- Safety and security concerns
To address such challenges, we depend on constant communication and collaborative rapport with local enthusiasts, researchers and officials of concerned forest departments which helps us largely to overcome the obstacles effectively. Regular information sharing and coordination with the local community are the prime keys which ensure productive field expedition as well as safety of the field workers.
A notable example occurred in September 2025 when WLB team members conducting field documentation in Arunachal Pradesh encountered extremely heavy rainfall. The unfavorable weather conditions significantly disrupted their scheduled butterfly documentation activities. Instead of suspending the fieldwork entirely, the team adapted strategically by shifting focus to night-time documentation of moth species.
Upon returning, we connected with moth experts for proper scientific identification. After systematic verification and upload to Wikimedia Commons, we discovered that 39 of the moth images were recognized as Valued Images. This unexpected outcome opened a new and promising dimension for WLB. This demonstrates how adaptive strategies can transform challenges into new opportunities and sparked growing interest in documenting the rich and underrepresented moth diversity of Northeast India.
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_-_WLB_DSC_7067.jpg)
In this phase, we are planning to organize a WLB team meet-up. Although we have been working together as a team for nine years, we have not had the opportunity to meet all members in person. This meet-up will strengthen our team bonding, improve coordination, encourage knowledge exchange, and help us collectively plan the future direction of Wiki Loves Butterfly.
- 9. What categories are your main programs and related activities under? Please select all that apply. (required)
| Category | Yes/No |
|---|---|
| Education | Yes |
| Culture, heritage or GLAM | No |
| Gender and diversity | No |
| Community support and engagement | Yes |
| Participation in campaigns and contests | No |
| Other | Yes |
Education
- 9.1.1. Select all your programs and activities for Education. (required)
- Wikidata programs, Wikimedia Commons programs
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
- 9.1.2. Select all relevant audience groups for Education. (required)
- Primary school students, Secondary school students, Teachers or professors
- Other groups if any: N/A
Community support and engagement
- 9.4. Select all your programs and activities for Community support and engagement.
- On-wiki training of community members, Off-wiki training of community members, Organizing meetups, conferences, and community events, Supporting community members' participation in events and conferences, Offering non financial support and services to community members (equipment, space, books, etc.)
- Other programs and activities if any: N/A
Other categories
Nature documentation.
- 10. Please include a link to or upload a timeline (operational calendar) for your programs and activities. (required)
| Month | Activities (Liable to changes as per situation) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-east India | Eastern India | Bhutan | |||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Mizoram | Nagaland | Sikkim | Manipur | Jharkhand | West Bengal | ||
| June 2026 | Changlang district
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Gangtok district
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| July 2026 | Baksa distrcts & Chirang districts
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| August 2026 | Shi Yomi district (Shuvendu Khan) |
National Butterfly Meet (Souvick Mukherjee) | |||||||
| September 2026 | National Butterfly Meet (Subhendu Khan & Ankit Goswami) Anjaw district |
Photo-walk |
Mara Autonomous district |
Photo-walk | |||||
| October 2026 | Leparada district (Atanu Bose & Mahesh Baruah) |
National Butterfly Meet | |||||||
| November 2026 | |||||||||
| December 2026 | |||||||||
| January 2027 | |||||||||
| February 2027 | Godda district (Sandip Das & Supriya Dey) | ||||||||
| March 2027 | Kalimpong district (Rimi Minj) | ||||||||
| April 2027 | Tawang district (Mahesh Baruah & Subhajit Roy) |
Bodoland Territorial Region (Abhishek Chowdhury & Subhajit Roy) |
Lawngtlai district (Ananya Mondal & Souvick Mukherjee) |
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| May 2027 |
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Sonitpur district (Loren Sonowal & Mahesh Baruah) |
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- 11. Describe your team. (required)
Team and task allocation
| Name | Image | Profile | Task allocation |
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| Ananya Mondal | 
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| Sandip Das | 
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| Subhendu Khan | 
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| Gayatri Dutta | 
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| Dr.Sourabh Biswas | .jpg)
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| Souvick Mukherjee | 
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| Mahesh Baruah | 
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| Dr.Sarpita Bose | 
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| Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha | 
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| Sonam Vongchuk Rong | 
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| Dr. Manaska Mukhopadhyay | 
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| Anitava Roy | 
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| Tapan Pramanik | 
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| Aniruddha Singhamahapatra | 
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| Atanu Bose | 
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| Abhishek Dutta Choudhury | 
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| Subhajit Roy | 
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| Loren Sonowal | 
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| Savita Bharti | 
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| Suman Bhowmik | 
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| Sonam Pintso Sherpa Lama |
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| Ankit Goswami | 
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| Rimi Minj | 
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| Soumyadeep Maitra |
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| Supriya Dey | 
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| Souradipta Saha |
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- Affiliate support
| Name | Logo Image | Support |
|---|---|---|
| West Bengal Wikimedians User Group | 
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- 12. Will you be working with any internal (Wikimedia) or external partners? Describe the characteristics of these partnerships and bring a few examples of the most significant partnerships. (required)
- West Bengal Wikimedian User Group - Background administrative and technical support
- Butterfly Society of Sikkim - Helping in School outreach programme in Sikkim
- WINGS - Helping in outreach in West Bengal
- SEED - Co-organizing national butterfly meet in Arunachal Pradesh
- Big Butterfly Month - Working together in butterfly census, Online Butterfly awareness programme.
- Wings of Nature Conservation - Co-organizing butterfly meet/photo-walk in Assam.
- Paschimbanga Vigyan Mancha - Co-organizing nature study camp, West Bengal.
- Biodiversity of Rabindra Sarobar Group - Co-organizing butterfly walk, West Bengal.
- Nature Mates Nature Club - Co-organizing butterfly walk, West Bengal.
- Nature Conservation Society (NCS) - Co-organizing butterfly photo-walk in Assam.
- WildFeathers - Co-organizing butterfly photo-walk in Assam.
- Kamlang Valley Nature Club - Co-organizing national butterfly meet
- 13. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select all that apply. (required)
- Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Coordinate Across Stakeholders, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development, Identify Topics for Impact, Evaluate, Iterate, and Adapt
Metrics
[edit]Wikimedia Metrics
[edit]- 14. Please select and fill out Wikimedia Metrics for your proposal. (recommended)
- 14.1. Number of participants, editors, and organizers.
All metrics provided are optional, please fill them out if they are aligned with your programs and activities.
| Metrics name | Target | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of all participants | 1000 | * Field work-30
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| Number of all editors | 200 | N/A |
| Number of new editors | 170 | |
| Number of retained editors | 30 | |
| Number of all organizers | 8 | N/A |
| Number of new organizers | 5 |
- 14.2. Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects. (recommended)
| Wikimedia project | Created | Edited or improved |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | ||
| Wikimedia Commons | 5000 | 2000 |
| Wikidata | 100 | 500 |
| Wiktionary | ||
| Wikisource | ||
| Wikimedia Incubator | ||
| Translatewiki | ||
| MediaWiki | ||
| Wikiquote | ||
| Wikivoyage | ||
| Wikibooks | ||
| Wikiversity | ||
| Wikinews | ||
| Wikispecies | ||
| Wikifunctions / Abstract Wikipedia |
- Description for Wikimedia projects contributions metrics. (optional)
Other Metrics
[edit]- 15. Do you have other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required)
- Yes
| Other Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Photo-walks | N/A | 5 |
| Number of field works | N/A | 40 |
| Number of School outreach programme | N/A | 5 |
| Number of Offline/online meet ups | N/A | 6 |
| Number of organizing National meet | N/A | 4 |
Budget
[edit]- 16. Will you have any other revenue sources when implementing this proposal (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required)
- No
- 16.1. List other revenue sources. (required)
N/A
- 16.2. Approximately how much revenue will you have from other sources in your local currency? (required)
- N/A
- 17. Local currency
- Indian Rupees (INR)
- 18. What is the requested amount in Indian Rupees? (required)
- 2519000 INR
- Requested amount in USD
- 28464.7 USD [note 1]
- ↑ a b The following amount in US dollars was calculated by Wikimedia Foundation staff using the fixed currency rates. This amount is approximate and may not reflect the actual currency exchange rates on the day of submission or distribution. If the application is supported, the amount will be sent in Indian Rupees.
- 19. Does this proposal include compensation for staff or contractors? (required)
- Yes
- 19.1. How many paid staff members and contractors do you plan to cover with this General Support Project? (required)
- 1 contractor (Programme Lead -12months)
- 19.2. How many FTEs (full-time equivalents) in total will be covered with this General Support Project? (required)
- 0
- 19.3. Describe any staff or contractor changes compared to the current year / ongoing General Support Project if any. (required only for returning applicants)
- N/A
- 20. Please provide an overview of your overall budget categories in your local currency. The budget breakdown should include only the amount requested with this General Support Project. (required)
| Budget category | Amount in local currency |
|---|---|
| Staff and contractor costs | 504000 |
| Operational costs | 2015000 |
| Programmatic costs | 2519000 |
- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
| # | Category | Item description | No. of units | Cost per unit (INR) |
Total cost (INR) |
Total cost (USD) (Conversion rate as per Onada on 24/02/2025 ) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Logistics for team members | Flight (Economy class) and train Up and Down fare | 350,000 |
Might vary depending on situation. | |||
| 1.2 | Local Transportation by Car, Bus, Toto and Auto | 750,000 |
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| 1.3 | Permission for entering the Reserve Forest (ILP), Camera charges, Butterfly Meet Participation cost | 200,000 |
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| 1.4 | Food and Accommodations | 300,000 |
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| 1 | Logistics (1.1+1.2+1.3+1.4) | 1,600,000 | |||||
| 2.1 | Outreach & Meet-ups | Food for participants in school outreach | 50,000 |
Might vary depending on situation. | |||
| 2.2 | Design and Swag materials (Sticker, Certificate, batches) for participants in School outreach | 50,000 |
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| 2.3 | Meet-up with team members | 130,000 |
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| 2.4 | Photo-walk | 25,000 |
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| 2 | Outreach (2.1+2.2+2.3+2.4) | 255,000 | |||||
| 3.1 | Remuneration of Project Lead | 12 months | 42,000 |
504,000 |
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| 3 | Renumeration (3.1) | 504,000 | |||||
| 4.1 | Untoward expenses | 150,000 |
Any other unforeseen expenditure | ||||
| 4 | Miscellaneous (4.1) | 150,000 | |||||
| T | Total (1+2+3+4) | 2,509,000 | |||||
| C1 | Chartered Accountant fees | 10,000 |
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| C | Chartered Accountant fees (C1) | 10,000 | |||||
| G | Grand Total (T+C) | 2,519,000 | |||||
Additional information
[edit]- 22. In this optional space you can add any other additional information about your proposal or organization that you think can help us when reviewing your proposal. (optional)
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| Images | |||||||||||||
| Grant proposals | |||||||||||||
| Grant reports | |||||||||||||
| List of butterflies |
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- Yes
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