Kathayanam / What We Do
What We Do

Story, strategy, and the work behind it.

Five ways we work with you, the range of work that has come out of it, and who we usually work with. Start with one, or move through all five as your work grows.

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In detail

Five ways we work with you.

Some partners need one of these. Many need all five, in sequence.

01

Strategy & Narrative

Before a single frame is shot or a post goes out, we help you work out what story you are telling, who it is for, and why it matters. This is where messaging, positioning, and stakeholder engagement get mapped out, usually over a few working sessions, ending in a clear, written plan.

› Communications strategy
› Narrative development
› Stakeholder engagement design
› Brand & campaign planning
02

Craft & Production

Documentaries, short films, branded digital series, and campaign creative, made with real production quality. This is the layer most partners cannot do in-house: the difference between a report nobody reads and a story people pass on.

› Documentary & short film
› Branded digital series
› Campaign creative & toolkits
03

Ongoing Storytelling

A steady hand on your social media and content, month after month, plus full lifecycle documentation of your own projects, from kickoff to closing story. Built for organisations that need consistency, not a one-off campaign.

› Social media management
› Project-lifecycle documentation
› Newsletters & stakeholder updates
04

Immersions & Experiences

We design and deliver immersions, community-oriented experiences, and impact-focused programmes, for NGOs, schools, colleges, universities, government agencies, multilateral organisations, and corporates. Our team has real experience delivering successful, impactful immersions, grounded in genuine community relationships rather than a one-off engagement day.

› Leadership & team retreats
› Employee engagement programmes
› Co-curricular & campus immersions
› Community-oriented experience design
05

Projects on the Ground

Field research, training-needs assessments, curriculum design, and policy documentation for partners who need real work delivered, backed by fieldwork experience across India and internationally.

› Field studies & audits
› Policy documentation
› Curriculum design
How to work with us

However you want to get started.

We offer every tier of support, and a range of ways to onboard us, whatever stage you are at. Every engagement starts with a conversation, not a fixed menu.

Project-based

A single piece of work

One campaign, film, or immersion, scoped around a clear brief and a clear outcome.

Ongoing retainer

Built for the long run

Continuous storytelling, social media, and communications support, month after month.

Embedded delivery

From the ground up

A full project, delivered and communicated together, from design through to the closing story.

Custom

Whatever you actually need

Most of our best work has started as a conversation about a problem, not a request for a fixed package.

Our work

Real people. Real places. Real impact, told well.

A selection of the storytelling, campaigns, and projects that showcase the creative team behind Kathayanam's experience.

Documentary series

Theeram

Three coastal Kerala episodes, Thiruvananthapuram, Chellanam, and Alappuzha, on the lives artificial construction and climate change reshape.

16,000+ viewers
Short film

Avocado

A climate-storytelling love story from Kottayam, of two lives connecting despite everything working against them.

530,000+ digital views
Urban infrastructure

The Toilet Repair Café

A mobile sanitation-repair unit turned public engagement project, designed and delivered end to end in Chennai.

Project design & management
Art & psychosocial support

Njalidam Art Exhibition

50+ art pieces from mental-health art-therapy workshops run as part of Wayanad landslide relief efforts.

Creative intervention, 2024
Youth campaign & consortium

National Youth Climate Consortium

A youth-led grassroots movement and digital channel, built to give young climate voices from across India a shared platform.

8,000+ subscribers and growing
Policy & local governance

Panchayat Climate Parliament

Region-specific, locally-driven climate project proposals developed directly with Local Self-Government Institutions.

Policy documentation & advocacy
Who it is for

Wherever the story needs to travel.

What we offer looks a little different depending on who you are.

01

Corporates & CSR teams

We turn CSR spend into stories worth publishing, across every theme you fund. That means embedded documentation on field projects, employee engagement journeys for leadership and staff, and ongoing content support for your CSR and sustainability communications.

02

Foundations & funders

We offer a credible in-country delivery and storytelling partner wherever your programme works, with narrative strategy, ongoing documentation, and curated immersion experiences for your board or donor network.

03

Government & agencies

We help communicate genuinely good local programmes to the public and to funders, through policy documentation, field studies, and structured immersion visits for stakeholders and partners.

04

NGOs, schools, colleges & universities

We offer accessible storytelling and social media support built by a team that has done real fieldwork, plus co-curricular and campus immersion programmes designed around your students or community.

Not sure what fits? Need more information? Get in touch with us.

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