DIA recently completed a large-scale study evaluating the impact of a theatre-based learning curriculum on adolescents’ socio-emotional development, conducted across government schools in Champawat district — a remote, predominantly rural region in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. The fieldwork involved a full baseline and endline survey round, each taking around two months to complete, carried out entirely on school premises with permission and support from local education authorities. Champawat’s geography and infrastructure posed significant challenges: more than half the sampled schools were not connected by all-weather roads, and students had an average commute of over 30 minutes, often on foot.