manakal
Manakal is a non-profit organization founded by Luz Adriana Carrizosa and Vikrant Joshi, United People Global Sustainability Leaders working across Mexico, India, and the Global South. Manakal exists to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and guidance needed to turn concern for the planet into meaningful action.
Rooted in the belief that the future does not belong to us but is entrusted to us, Manakal nurtures young changemakers to build a healthier relationship with the environment and lead a better tomorrow.
ABOUT US
WHAT WE DO
Manakal designs and facilitates youth-centered learning and engagement spaces that connect sustainability, wellbeing, and community action.
We support young people through workshops, collaborative learning experiences, community dialogues, and emerging project-based initiatives that help them deepen their understanding of environmental and social challenges, build leadership skills, and translate ideas into meaningful action.
Our work focuses on making sustainability more accessible, participatory, and relevant to the realities young people navigate every day.
OUR DIRECTION
OUR MISSION & VISON
Shaping resilient futures through youth empowerment, language, and collaborative environmental action.
"Manakal empowers and enables young people around the world to lead environmental and social change through language, well-being, and collaborative action."
Core Insight
Environmental health, personal wellbeing, and community resilience are inseparable. We work at this intersection.
OUR VISION
"A world where every young person, regardless of background, has the confidence, knowledge, and community to shape a more just, sustainable, and resilient future."
Equity . Knowledge . Resilient Communities
OUR MISSION
"Manakal empowers and enables young people around the world to lead environmental and social change through language, well-being, and collaborative action."
Global Empowerment . Language . Collaboration
FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS
OUR philosophy
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"We believe that environmental action and personal well-being are not separate they are part of the same domain. A young person struggling with anxiety, identity, or belonging cannot fully engage with the world around them. That's why Manakal works at the intersection of sustainability, mental health, and language.
Language, for us, is more than a means to communicate. It carries culture, knowledge, and ways of understanding the world that cannot always be translated.
When young people are empowered in their own language and identity, they find their voice and with that voice, they act.
We don't just act on climate change. We build the conditions for young people to believe they can make a difference. through global eco-hubs, intercultural dialogue, and collaborative action that turns belief into practice."
The Domain
"We believe that
environmental action and
personal well-being are not
separate they are part of the
same domain. A young
person struggling with
anxiety, identity, or
belonging cannot fully
engage with the world
around them. That's why
Manakal works at the
intersection of sustainability,
mental health, and
language."
INTERSECTION OF SELF & PLANET
Language & Voice
"Language for us is more
than a means to
communicate. It carries
culture, knowledge, and
ways of understanding the
world that cannot always be
translated. When young
people are empowered in
their own language and
identity, they find their voice
and with that voice, they
act."
CULTURE, IDENTITY & VOICE
Beliefs into Practice
"We don't just act on climate
change. We build the
conditions for young people
to believe they can make a
difference, through global
eco-hubs, intercultural
dialogue, and collaborative
action that turns belief into
practice."
ECO-HUBS & GLOBAL DIALOGUE
TURNING BELIEF Into PRACTICE
WHAT GUIDES US
OUR VALUES
Seven core principles that shape how we listen, collaborate, and sustain positive community transformation.
01
Listening First
"We begin by understanding voices, contexts, and realities before taking action."
02
Care & Wellbeing
"Sustainable action requires supported people. We integrate mental wellbeing as a core dimension of change."
03
Youth at the Center
"Young people are not spectators of change - they are its authors."
04
Co-creation
"We build through dialogue,
collaboration, and shared responsibility."
05
Interconnection
"Environmental health, personal
wellbeing, and community resilience are inseparable."
06
Accessibility
"We create inclusive, multilingual spaces where more people can belong."
07
continuity
"We believe in steady, long-term impact over urgency. Sustainable change takes time."
MEET THE CREW
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COuntries Involved
Working in the following countries in pursuit of global impact:
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Algeria
United Kingdom
Mexico
Italy
India
Taiwan
across borders.
Uniting efforts, creating change,
and impacting lives
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Colombia
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Nigeria