Why this space exists

Over the last few years, our collective has been working alongside individuals, communities and organisations through moments of conflict, harm and systemic violence in India and beyond. Again and again, we’ve encountered how limited the available responses are.

The infrastructure needed to practice restorative and transformative justice in India is still quite thin. There are few consistent spaces where people can learn tools, share struggles, reflect on failures, or figure out how to practice this work in contexts that are often complex and evolving.

Practicing Repair is an attempt to build such a space.

A place where people already engaging with these questions can come together to learn, experiment and support one another. Over time, we hope this helps strengthen a network of practitioners rooted in their contexts who can hold processes of conflict and repair when communities look for alternatives.

What this community of practice offers

We imagine this space as:

Long-term: A sustained process over a year that allows relationships, trust and depth of learning to grow.

Committed and consistent: A group that shows up regularly, creating a container where participants can take risks, share challenges and hold each other accountable.

Collective: People bring their own questions, experiences and challenges into the space and learn from one another.

Experiential and practice-focused: We learn by doing - through role play, case discussions, facilitation practice and collective reflection.

By the end of the year, the intention is for the group to emerge as a community of practitioners who can continue supporting one another in this work.

How the year will unfold

The community of practice will meet regularly over the course of a year through a mix of in-person gatherings and online conversations.

• Opening and closing gatherings: We begin and end the year with two-day in-person gatherings in Bengaluru. These are spaces for building relationships, grounding ourselves in shared political commitments and reflecting on the learnings that emerge over the year.

• Monthly in-person gatherings: Once a month the group will come together for a full-day gathering in Bengaluru focused on practice, skill-building and collective reflection.

• Monthly online teach-ins: Each month we will also host a 1.5 hour online conversation with experienced practitioners who will share perspectives and tools from their work.

• Practice beyond the room: People will be encouraged to experiment with applying what they are learning in the spaces they inhabit and bring those experiences back to the group.

Who is this for?

This community of practice is for people who are already trying to engage with conflict and harm in the spaces they inhabit.

This might include people who:

• support conflict processes within organisations or movements

• work in community or grassroots spaces

• facilitate difficult conversations or accountability processes

• are experimenting with restorative or transformative justice approaches

Some familiarity with these ideas is needed, and the space is best suited for people who can commit to being present throughout the year.

If you are completely new to restorative or transformative justice, this space may not be the right starting point - but we’re happy to share resources that might support your learning.

Practical Details

Location: Bengaluru (in-person gatherings) + online sessions

Time commitment: One in-person gathering each month (10:30am – 4:00pm)
One 1.5 hour online conversation each month

Group size: 15 people

Contribution (sliding scale): ₹6,000, ₹9,500, ₹12,500

Five full-scholarship spots are available.

Dates

The community of practice will meet on the first Sunday of every month, with two additional two-day gatherings at the beginning and end of the year.

• Opening gathering: May 2 & 3, 2026 (Bengaluru)

• Monthly gatherings: First Sunday of each month in Bengaluru (June 2026 - March 2027) (exception - October gathering will take place on Saturday, October 31, 2026)

• Monthly online skill-shares: Dates will be shared with the group in advance, and sessions will be recorded so people can return to them later if needed.

• Closing gathering: April 3–4, 2027 (Bengaluru)

All in-person gatherings will run from 10:30am – 4:00pm.

Who We Are

Alternative Justice

Alternative Justice is a transnational collective of practitioners supporting people, organisations & movements in the work of conflict, harm and repair.

Dee

Dee (they/them) is a facilitator and practitioner of restorative and transformative justice based in India. They support individuals, communities, organisations, and movement spaces to navigate conflict, address harm, and build relationships rooted in care and accountability. Dee initiated Alternative Justice in 2020. Their practice has included facilitating restorative circles and reintegration processes with young people involved in the juvenile justice system in Bengaluru, supporting community responses to intimate partner harm and gender-based violence, and building infrastructures for conflict transformation and collective care within feminist organisations and movement networks in India and beyond.

Aki

Aki Krishnamurthy is an empowerment space holder, mover/dancer, experienced group facilitator, who centers an embodied approach to collective transformation towards social justice. She uses approaches like theatre of the oppressed, dance/movement and somatics to reflect on racism, gender relations, decolonization and transformative justice in various contexts (Germany, Colombia, Argentina, India). She is convinced that personal, social, and political change must be conceived by and with the body.

Ameya

Ameya (he/they) is a researcher based in Bengaluru working on policing, prisons and the justice system from an abolitionist and a transformative justice lens. He tries to engage with questions of power, violence and conflicts in progressive workspaces, within people's movements and in academia. He is also interested in working on the idea of chosen families, friendships and communities that challenge the hegemony of existing normative units (marriage, family, caste, other parochial and supremacist groupings) that the society and the state is built on and thinking of ways to create alternatives to this.