StudyDesk Scholarships
About the programme
The Sadhana Forest Scholarship is a five-year programme, and its length is the first thing to understand about it. The first four years are full-time and residential: participants live in off-grid, solar-powered, low-waste campuses and follow a lifestyle based on compassion, sustainability and service, or Seva. During those years they contribute full-time to reforestation, water conservation, biodiversity restoration and community living, at Sadhana Forest Auroville in Tamil Nadu, at field centres in Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu, and potentially at international sites in Haiti, Kenya and Namibia. The fifth year is a mentored incubation period, in which participants design and implement their own ecological or social impact project with guidance from the Sadhana Forest team.
Learning is woven into the service rather than separated from it. Participants may combine formal and informal learning — skill-based learning in ecology, natural building, facilitation, communication, project management and creative arts, distance or online Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD programmes, diploma or certificate courses, and self-directed, experiential learning through daily Seva — with mentorship and allocated study time. Programme listings report 30 study leave days each year. The scholarship is therefore best read as five years of supported living and learning inside a community, not as funding for a conventional degree taken elsewhere.
Do not confuse this scholarship with the one-year Sadhana Forest Fellowship on the same official page, or with the two-year Environmental Leaders Fellowship. All three share the same community, the same Seva ethos and the same vegan, substance-free rules, but they differ in length and purpose: one year of service, two years of leadership training, or five years ending in an incubated project of your own.
Who can apply
- Be a citizen or resident of India.
- Be 18 years of age or above.
- No prior experience is required. What matters is commitment to long-term service and community living, and to learning.
- Commit to the programme’s core principles for the entire five years: a 100% vegan diet and complete abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, drugs and other intoxicating substances. The organisation states plainly that any violation will result in immediate removal from the programme.
Benefits
Participants live in a sustainable, off-grid, vegan community, with vegan meals and accommodation on site, mentorship and guidance from Sadhana Forest team members, support for dissertation, research or independent project work, and the chance to study while they serve. The listing describes the award as “variable benefits” and publishes no cash amount, so this article states none: the value of the programme is the five years of supported residence, learning and mentorship, not a fixed grant. International exposure, leadership and management experience, and cross-cultural collaboration with volunteers from around the world are listed among the programme’s wider benefits.
One conflict in the sources is worth stating openly. A programme listing reported a capped intake window, with applications opening on 15 November 2025 and closing at 200 applications or on 15 December 2025, whichever came first. The organisation’s own current fellowships page, by contrast, says applications are open year-round and directs enquirers to email for details. This article follows the organisation’s page, since it is the more recent and more authoritative source, but anyone applying should confirm the current intake position by email before committing to the move.
Documents needed
The programme listing asks for the following, all in PDF form:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Aadhaar Card
- PAN Card
- BPL (Below Poverty Line) ration card, your own or your parents’, if applicable
How to apply
- Read the scholarship description on the organisation’s fellowships page and weigh the five-year, full-time, residential commitment, including the vegan and substance-free rules, before applying.
- Apply through the programme listing’s online route: register or log in, navigate to the scholarship, and submit the application with the documents above.
- For details about the current intake, email fellowships@sadhanaforest.org, as the organisation’s page directs.
FAQs
Length and purpose. The fellowship is one year of residential service. The scholarship is five years: four years of residential service and learning, then a one-year mentored incubation period for your own project.
No cash amount is published. The listing describes the award as variable benefits: residential living, meals, accommodation, mentorship and study support for five years.
Yes, in the programme’s own design: participants may pursue distance or online Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD programmes, or diploma and certificate courses, alongside their service, with mentorship and allocated study time.
The organisation states that commitment to these principles is essential for the entire programme and that any violation will result in immediate removal.
According to the organisation’s current page, applications are open year-round. One older listing reported a capped November–December 2025 window; confirm the current position by email before applying.
No. No prior experience is required, only dedication, compassion and a willingness to learn and serve.
Verified 31 Oct 2026 against the Sadhana Forest fellowships page (five-year programme: four years full-time residential participation plus a one-year mentored incubation period; off-grid, solar-powered, low-waste campuses; 100% vegan diet and complete abstinence from intoxicants for the whole programme, with removal for violation; applications open year-round; contact fellowships@sadhanaforest.org; minimum age 18; Indian residents may apply) and the Buddy4Study Sadhana Forest Scholarship listing (always open; Indian citizen or resident, 18 or above; five-year structure; CV, Aadhaar, PAN and BPL ration card if applicable, in PDF). The capped 15 November–15 December 2025 / 200-application window comes from a programme listing and conflicts with the organisation’s year-round statement; the article follows the organisation’s page and flags the conflict. No cash amount is published in either source, so none is stated.
