About Us header

About Us

At The Happy Llamas, we curate Experiences for participants to show them how their domains work in the real world, and how they approach sustainability. Why?

We believe that the world has a lot to offer, and only on going out and engaging with different cultures in different corners of the world can one get a holistic view of life, and evolve personally and professionally. We also feel strongly about the need to make this planet, the only one that we have, more sustainable.

Keeping these two thoughts in mind, we offer short term experiential learning courses across different domains, aimed at professional development for college students and young professionals. We work with domain and subject matter experts to co-curate these Experiences, which include live projects, workshops, seminars, masterclasses, market visits and interactions with industry professionals.

These courses happen across different geographies, and participants also get an understanding of how businesses adopt sustainable practices to be better prepared for the future.

Our aim is to inspire today’s youth on how to make this world a better place to live for themselves and their peers, and creating positive global impact in their domains of interest.

Come join us in this journey, and be a part of an inclusive and global community of changemakers!

Our Mission

Create positive global impact through an inclusive and global community of changemakers.

Our Vision

We started The Happy Llamas with the vision of encouraging today’s youth to embrace sustainability (be it environmental, socio-economic, or at a societal level) in their industry, using practical learning and travel as a vehicle.

Testimonials from our alumni

Meet Our Llamas

Ankit founder

Ankit B

Founder / llama in chief

Ankit started The Happy Llamas to be able to ignite a sustainable mindset in today’s youth towards their profession. He believes in raising awareness about the UN’s SDGs.

Ankit travels for months together, to be able to absorb the culture of all the places he goes to, and use that to develop as a person, while creating a positive global impact. His heart lies in the beautiful continent of South America.

He loves sports, and has worked at the FIFA World Cup and Olympics in the past.

Linkedin-in Twitter Instagram
Rachita

Rachita Bhonsle

lead Curator - The Architecture Experience

All editions of The Architecture Experience are curated by Rachita. She has more than 12+ years of experience as an architect, including high-rise building projects and high-density residential communities. She has a background in environmental policy management, sustainable design, and energy-efficient planning. Rachita has worked mainly in the residential, hospitality and educational sectors. She is passionate about climatology-based design, the environmental impact of built spaces and sustainable site planning. These principles have driven her work for the last decade.

Rachita is an alumnus of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, and University of Denver, Colorado, USA.

Linkedin-in
man wearing cap and smiling

Sriram Kuchimanchi

Advisor

Sriram is an Ashoka Fellow and heads the leadership team at Smarter Dharma. He founded Smarter Dharma to inspire and enable organisational change towards sustainability. He has served as the Fundraising Director of Association for India’s Development. Among his other initiatives are 500gallons and 500eco in the space of action for climate change.

Sriram envisions a world where every individual has the will and the choice to make socially and environmentally supportive decisions.

Sriram comes on board as an advisor helping THL with experience in sustainable ventures, and research.

Linkedin Twitter
man smiling

Anup Naik

Advisor

Anup Naik has been the driving force behind Space Matrix and UrbanFrame’s holistic approach to green architecture, zero energy developments, Master planning and Urban Design.

Having been actively involved in the profession for 25 years, Anup believes in creating unique, innovative and dynamic design solutions for the benefit of people, projects and the planet. He is extremely passionate about user centric design and sustainable design. He is inspired by the seamless incorporation of sustainable elements in ancient buildings, and believes the challenge for modern architects is to understand and utilise these ancient techniques in today’s context.

His work experience has spanned across various countries like Morocco, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kenya, Vietnam and across India.

Anup comes on board as an advisor helping THL with The Architecture Experience, entrepreneurship and scaling operations.

Linkedin
Atul

ATUL SARAFF

Curator - The Architecture Experience
Vietnam, 2024

The Architecture Experience Vietnam is curated by Atul. He is a practising architect based out of Bangalore, and also currently teaches at CMR School of Architecture. He has 12+ years of experience in the field working with firms such as Mistry Architects – Bangalore, Mozaic – Goa, and Total Environment – Bangalore. Atul is an IGBC-accredited professional and focuses most of his effort on creating and teaching about environment-conscious designs. Most of his experience is focused on the Residential and Hospitality sector.

An Alumnus of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Atul is also a certified Indian Green Building (IGBC) Accredited Professional.

Linkedin-in Chrome Instagram
happy dog

Caramel

woof in chief

Caramel is the heart of the company and loves licking faces. Her main role is to ensure there’s love in the office and bring joy to the people working there.

In her free time, she loves going on drives, rolling on the beach, and posing for photos at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru. She is also an ambassador for the message #adoptdontshop.​

woman smiling

Kshitija Venkatesh

Curator - The Architecture Experience
Sri Lanka, 2019

The Architecture Experience, Sri Lanka is co-curated by Kshitija. She is an architect and urban designer based in Bangalore. Her interests lie in the social and environmental aspects of the built environment. She spent over 4 years working in Sri Lanka on a range of projects, from post-conflict resettlement housing to more urban residential and commercial work, including some rare opportunities with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust. This work forms the foundations of her architectural ideology, rooted in contextual, sustainable, tropical modern design. She also has a more general love for cities, urban politics, and ways of living, which have found expression in her more recent work in Bangalore.

Kshitija is an alumni of RV School of Architecture, Bangalore and Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL (London).

Linkedin
woman wearing white shirt and smiling

Prithy Ramadurai

CURATOR - THE ARCHITECTURE EXPERIENCE
SRI LANKA, 2019

The Architecture Experience, Sri Lanka is co-curated by Prithy. A practicing architect from Chennai, she believes that architecture echoes the voice of humanity at any given moment and can never be understood in isolation. The region, its climate, people, politics, history, and economy provide intent to a design. Having worked in Sri Lanka, her approach leans towards regional tropical architecture. Her training in carpentry has helped her approach architecture as a craft. Prithy runs Bhogar Studio in Chennai – a multi-disciplinary practice where they dabble with product design, furniture design, art, and writing.

Prithy is an alumnus of Measi Academy of Architecture, Chennai, and Ecoles dArt Americaines de Fontainebleau, France.

Linkedin
woman with long hair

Tanmayi Reddy

Curator - The Fashion Experience, 2019

Tanmayi is the Co-Founder of her own sustainable clothing label, Taia, a womenswear label that focuses on up-cycling, zero-waste design and creating adaptive, long lasting clothing. She also co-founded a charity event company, Open House, which provides a platform to artists and also raises funds for a chosen charity.

Linkedin Instagram
Nikita Sharma

Nikita sharma

Curator - The Architecture Experience
SIngapore, 2023

The Architecture Experience, Singapore, and The Architecture Experience, Vietnam are curated by Nikita. She is an ESD professional currently working for a Design Consultancy in Singapore. She has a deep understanding of the Built Environment and has extensive experience in Zero energy buildings in Singapore and Vietnam.

Nikita has prior work experience in New Delhi and was part of the team working on Hazrat Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative. The project integrates socio-economic development, built heritage conservation, health & education facilities, and contemporary buildings like a museum to enhance visitor experience or a 70-acre Sunder Nursery with the country’s first arboretum.

Nikita is an alumnus of MS ASAP, Noida, and the National University of Singapore.

Linkedin-in