Later, Desai decided to focus on his native district of Uttara Kannada, where he began an "agitation against the landlords", which finally culminated in the law granting the land ownership to the person who tills the land. He later created the Kanara Welfare Trust in 1953. Under the aegis of this trust, various schools and colleges were founded in this district. He also started a Kannada language weekly "Jansevaka" in Ankola to create social and political awareness. One regular contributor was Gourish Kaikini.