“We – forest-dependent communities, supported by others – declare: The natural forests are a nurturing mother to us. Our very identities, cultures and world-views are closely linked to the forests that provide our primary needs. […] Our cultures discourage greed, the root of scarcity, harm and sorrow.” – An appeal for a new consciousness of empathy and wise governance to protect our rich natural heritage, culture, and harmonious collective future by Kavitha (“Forest Foods & Ecology” Festival, December 12 to 14, 2014 at Sri Aurobindo Society, New Delhi)
www.kisanswaraj.in/2014/12/31/forest-foods-and-ecology/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=16371
Around one billion people rely on wild harvested products for nutrition and income and the “invisible” trade in wild resources is estimated to generate $90 billion/annum. In India alone the livelihoods of around 6 million people are maintained by the harvest of forest products. In many rural locations, particularly areas that lack basic infrastructure and … Read more
In an atmosphere where every morning, our newspapers greet us with stories of girls being tormented, raped, killed or treated like a doormat in one way or another, trust India’s “village republics” to bring in some good news from time to time. One such village in southern Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district is quietly practicing its own, … Read more
‘Kanavu’ means ‘dream‘. It is exactly a dream, an initiative of the alternative educational vision of K. J. Baby and his like-minded friends. The inception of the idea can be traced back to Maveli Manatram (1991), Baby‘s novel that was honoured on many stages including the Kerala Sahithya Academi Award of 1994. ‘Mantram’ is ‘tribe‘; … Read more
Though Ningal Aranaye Kando has a bleak premise, filmmaker Sunanda Bhat injects it with the lightness of everyday occurrences, simple slice-of-life moments and hope for the future, finds Catherine Rhea Roy. […] It is a woman’s disquiet over the disappearance of medicinal plants from the forest, a farmer’s commitment to traditional methods of farming and … Read more
Dr. Boro Baski; translated from Bengali to English by Asha BaskiOriginally published in Anandabazar Patrika (India’s most widely read Bengali daily) I was born in a Santal village in Birbhun District. In my childhood I saw how my mother cleaned the courtyard every morning with cow-dung mixed with black charcoal and water, and how she … Read more