As an offshot of the The Rural Changemaker e.V., Berlin, Germany, the Barefoot Skateboarders Organization is an independent section 8 company, registered in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It serves the village of Janwaar. It was founded by the youth of Janwaar – two of the young leaders, Asha Gond and Karan Yadav are directors and have taken the responsibility to make Janwaar a better place while at the same time become financially independent. Anil, th emost advanced kid when it comes to learning, has taken over the role of the accountant.
Primarily the work focusses on the development of the children. With the skatepark and the community center “Villa Janwaar” at its heart, this relatively new NGO will broaden the work which has been done over the past five years and transfer it to marketable services.
Skateboarding has already brought tangible change to the village – social, cultural and economic change. The kids hold skateboardings sessions, they run home stays in their villages, they have done merchandising and appear on public stage. Skateboarding has catapulted Janwaar on the international skateboarding map and it has become India’s skateboarding hotspot. Last year 11 of the 18 medals at the Indian Skateboarding Championships went to Janwaar, all the gold medal winners were proud Janwaar kids. Asha, one of the directors and Arun represented India at the World Skateboarding Championships in China last year.
Furthermore the “Janwaar” model has been replicated in three other villages in India (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan). This has grown the network – which is not only on a national level established but also internationally.
Now that skateboarding has become Olympic discipline – it premieres in 2020 in Tokyo – the Barefoot Skateboarders Organization will use these upwinds to establish itself as an important player in the Indian skateboarding scene. We are better equipped than any other place in India with skateboarding facilities, the density of sqm/citizen is nowhere higher in the world than in Janwaar – and all of this in a remote village. This does have transformational powers.
The Barefoot Skateboarders Organization will promote competitions with other skateboarders, it will run student exchange programs and skateboarding workshops. It will continue the Open School Project with the goal to improve education in the village – kids teaching kids – and make these young participants entrepreneurs. And with Asha at the forefront they will address more actively gender equality as well.
This company understands itself has a true change maker. The young leaders have decided to take their future in their own hands and transform their village. They do not aim to make a career in the urban areas – they focus on making their remote village a decent place to live in. And they believe that this is what India needs.

November 1, 2019
The Barefoot Skateboarders
And if you are eager to know where the name comes from – have a look here:
10 thoughts to “Barefoot Skateboarders Organization”
Pingback: ‘No school, no skating’: the Indian skate park bringing children together | Global development - Prime News
Pingback: ‘No school, no skating’: the Indian skate park bringing children together – MyCeylon
What a wonderful idea ! So simple yet so inspiring!
How can we help you – please let us know.
We need any help …. skateboard equipment, shoes …. ! We are heavy users here 🙂
Pingback: ‘No school, no skating’: the Indian skate park bringing children together | Global development – Educate Nigeria
Pingback: ‘No school, no skating’: the Indian skate park bringing children together | Global development – SkoolJobs
Pingback: Asha Gond – A Portrait - The Rural Changemakers
Was the skater girl movie based on your story only change seems the characters, place of skatepark?
Please see here https://rural-changemakers.com/blog/2021/06/23/reel-real/
and here: https://rural-changemakers.com/blog/2021/06/13/skatergirl-on-netflix/
And then decide for yourself 🙂
Hi, as a journalist I want to write about this wonderful inititiative. Pls share Asha Gond or Karan Yadav’s phone no. urgently thanks