Talk:Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Telugu Indigenous & LGBT Voices:Representation, Capacity Building and Knowledge Equity

Follow up questions

Dear @WikiPBR,

Hope you are well. Thank you for applying for India rapid project. Before reaching a final decision, we have below clarifying questions related to the submitted project proposal:

1. What prior groundwork or community consultation have you conducted with Telugu community and the target communities before submitting this proposal?
2. Your proposal currently includes both Tribal/Indigenous communities and Transgender communities. Are you willing to narrow this project to one target group for this funding cycle to ensure focus and feasibility? If not, how will you manage depth and cultural sensitivity for both?
3. Can you provide a detailed, itemized budget breakdown explaining exactly how the requested funds will be allocated for the 3-4 workshops?
4. The Administrative fees are at higher end and the proposal does not adequately explain how these expenses directly contribute to the project’s objectives or why they are necessary.
5. Please remove the Institutional Development Fees from the budget and resubmit the application. The application should not contain this component.
6. What is your concrete plan for retaining participants beyond the workshops and ensuring long-term contribution?
7. Given that you and the team has limited Wikimedia editing history. What prior Wikimedia workshop experience does the team have? Who will ensure compliance with Wikipedia policies (notability, reliable sources, BLP, neutrality)?

Looking forward to your response by 4th March, 2026. Thanks

Best PDas (WMF) (talk) 19:06, 26 February 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for reviewing our project proposal and asking these insightful questions. Our detailed answers to your questions are given below.

1. Pre-project Groundwork and Community Consultations

The idea for our project was born from my personal experiences. I grew up in a tribal village in Khammam district and participated in LGBTQ+ programs at Hyderabad Central University. These experiences made me aware of the needs of both communities and the need to digitally record their knowledge. Am in Touch with Telugu Community as well to help the conducting workshops.

With the help of our team members, tribal activists and teachers, Radhakrishna & Mr. Yadaiah (Koya Activist) , we held a meeting with tribal youth to understand their problems.

With the help of my friend Deepti, who works in the LGBTQ+ community, we held a meeting with representatives of the transgender community to identify their needs.

2. Integration of target groups and cultural sensitivity

Respecting the specificities of both communities, we decided to run the project in parallel for both, rather than narrowing it down to a single group.

Special workshops: We will conduct two workshops separately for each community and provide specialized training as per their needs.

Cultural sensitivity: We will ensure cultural sensitivity with the help of Radhakrishna garu & Yadaiah in the tribal community workshop and Deepti in the transgender community workshop.

3 we will update accordingly

4. Clarification of Administrative fees

The Administrative fees mentioned in the budget are direct expenses required for project management, not for organizational development. These are used to cover project planning, coordination, time and experience of team members, as well as unexpected expenses. Without these fees, the project cannot be managed effectively.

5. Long-term collaboration plan for participantspants active even after the workshops:

WhatsApp/Telegram groups: for clearing doubts and sharing experiences.

Monthly online meetings: for progress review and discussion on new topics.

6. Team experience and quality assurance

My (applicant) experience: I have been regularly editing Telugu Wikipedia for the past year and have experience working on policies.

Team skills: Radhakrishna garu first Wikipedian from the Tribal Community has a deep understanding of tribal issues.

Mr. Yadaiah Gangadevi, a 64-year-old education activist, writer, and teacher, has dedicated his career to rethinking educational pedagogy. Through his extensive work with children, child laborers, school drop-outs, and adult learners, he concluded that centralized, standardized textbooks unnecessarily complicate the learning process. Instead, he operates on the principle that closing the gap between a student’s native tongue and their curriculum makes education far more accessible. Beyond his own writing, he is a key facilitator for Koyathore (Koitur) Bata, an empowering educational model that has trained over 2,000 Adivasi youth across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. This initiative has sparked a movement in indigenous children’s literature, transforming first-generation learners into creators. Under his guidance, over 30 new writers have emerged, recently culminating in the publication of three Koya-language children's poetry books written in the Telugu script.

Deepthi acts as our liaison with the transgender community Exclusive in Urban Culture .

External advisors: Sravan Rathod and Motiram garu from indigenous community members from Telangna, a seasoned Telugu Wikipedians (Users like , Kasyap , VJ Susheela, Chaduvari, Etc ) , will act as our external advisors and ensure the quality of the content by reviewing training materials, resolving complex queries and checking the quality of articles. WikiPBR (talk) 06:00, 2 March 2026 (UTC)

Your Project Application is Approved

Dear @WikiPBR,

Thank you for your response. We appreciate the inclusion of experienced members and external advisors, which improves the project’s potential for meaningful engagement and content quality.

After careful review, we are pleased to inform you that your project application has been approved for partial funding, with a funding cap of ₹210,000. This represents a reduced allocation from your original request and is intended to support this project as a focused pilot, ensuring realistic implementation given the current scope and team capacity.

While we note your intent to work with both Tribal/Indigenous and Transgender communities, this increases execution complexity. We strongly encourage you to ensure clear prioritization or a phased approach in implementation.

Before we proceed with the next steps, please share the below details by 24th March:

1. A revised budget within the ₹210,000 ceiling, removing institutional development fees (Please read: India Rapid Project guidelines) and providing a clear, itemized breakdown with justification for major costs.
2. Please note that admin and project coordination costs should be reasonable and capped at ₹75,000 within the overall budget.
3. Sharing the project plan with the Telugu Wikimedia community on the Village Pump, outlining workshop details along with locations and timelines.

We appreciate your commitment to advancing knowledge equity and look forward to your revised submission. Please also make sure to document all invoices & bills for financial reporting and your activities & learning for the final report for review and others to learn from. Looking forward to seeing impactful outcome and collaboration in this project, wishing you all the best for the project! Thanks PDas (WMF) (talk) 17:28, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

@PDas (WMF):Thank you for the guidance. Following your feedback and the approved funding cap of ₹210,000, we have revised our implementation plan and budget.

1. Geographic Focus Adjustment

To stay within the revised budget and manage logistics effectively, we have decided to not proceed with workshops in Vizag and Utnoor. We are narrowing our focus to:

• Hyderabad (Urban Transgender communities & Institutional partners)
• Bhadrachalam & Warangal (Tribal/Indigenous communities in Godavari/Central Telangana belts)

This change significantly reduces travel and accommodation costs while allowing us to work deeply with the groups in these accessible regions.

2. Revised Itemized Budget (Total

₹210,000):

Expense Type	Expense Details	Number of Units	Unit Price (INR)	Expense Total (INR)
Food and beverages	Refreshments for workshops (120 participants)	120	₹658 (approx.)	₹79,000
Travel and accommodation	Support for trainers/facilitators (Hyd/Bhadradri/Warangal)	6	₹5,000.00	₹30,000
Communications & Materials	Training kits, Telugu wiki guides, and outreach printouts	1	₹15,000.00	₹15,000
Internet and services	High-speed data packs for mobile editing sessions	1	₹6,000.00	₹6,000
Professional Fees	Chartered Accountant (CA) charges for audit/filing	1	₹5,000.00	₹5,000
Administration & Coordination	Project management (Capped as per guidelines)	1	₹75,000.00	₹75,000
TOTAL				₹210,000

3. Budget Justification & Administration:

The coordination fee of ₹75,000 is essential for managing parallel outreach across two sensitive communities. It covers the localized coordination required in Bhadrachalam (via Radhakrishna) and Hyderabad , ensuring that the content generated adheres to Wikipedia's BLP, Neutrality, and Notability policies.

4. Community Engagement

We have shared our updated plan on the Telugu Village Pump (రచ్చబండ) to ensure transparency and gather feedback from the local community.

We are ready to move forward with this focused pilot approach. Please let us know if you require any further documentation.

Best regards,

--WikiPBR 14:58, 22 March 2026 (UTC)