Cultural and communicative pathways in grassroots science and innovation: field research learnings from under-resourced rural India

This article examines grassroots innovation in under-resourced regions of rural India, where science communication emerges through culturally resonant and locally grounded practices in informal settings. Drawing on fieldwork with youth and students in underserved communities, the study foregrounds human ingenuity and participatory engagement that organically co-create context-specific solutions. Challenging linear, expert-driven paradigms, it advances a community-centered framework and highlights the potential of informal contexts — marked by linguistic diversity, trust deficits, and infrastructural limitations — to foster alternative modes of science communication. Informed by Indigenous methodologies and decolonial insights, the research critiques top-down models of knowledge transfer and advocates for inclusive, dialogic, and place-based approaches. Integrating insights from communication, cultural, and design studies, the article positions science communication as an equitable and co-creative process. By centering marginalized voices and alternative epistemologies, it reimagines science engagement as a transformative and empowering practice that connects scientific inquiry to lived experience in unexpected yet vital ways.