This Kochi-based startup brings together women who are beginners in sports

Do Culture empowers women in Kochi by providing a supportive space for beginners to explore sports and outdoor activities.

Kochi-based business strategist and consultant Haripriya P Raju developed a habit of working out a few years ago. However, around a year ago, Haripriya felt the need to diversify into other types of physical activities, such as sports. She soon set out to find a space for adult beginners, but could only find academies for children and serious athletes. “I couldn’t find a space with women my age, whom I felt comfortable with,” she says.

This thought evolved into a startup founded by Haripriya and her friend Sanna Stephen called Do Culture — “a women’s only sports and adventure community, created to give women a safe, beginner-friendly space to try movement and outdoor activities without judgment, pressure, or intimidation.”

Haripriya P Raju and Sanna Stephen | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The 26-year-old entrepreneur says she grew up seeing women who were accustomed to watching sports, yet when it came to playing, the spaces were dominated by men. Haripriya further points out that women were often reduced to spectators or they completely stayed away from these events.

Participants at Do Culture's session in Kochi | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Do Culture has already organised three beginner-friendly football sessions. “Most of the participants were playing football for the first time. It was not based on skill or fitness but a space where they could move, play and have fun. We instructed them on how to play and what to do. It is not based on a competition but is about giving women a starting point,” says Haripriya.