Interview on the award winning documentary “Have You Seen The Arana?”: A sojourn that takes you through the crests, troughs and flats of Wayanad – Kerala

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

“Historical experiences of land encroachment, acquisition of forest land by the Government and tribal displacement”: Group inequality, development status & the position of women – Kerala

In the matter of poverty, group inequality is still a matter of concern for Kerala as we see in the following chapter: Absolute deprivation continues to be largely concentrated among the marginalised communities, such as the tribals (adivasi) and fishing community […] and the hiatus between the Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Castes is a distressing … Read more

From celebrating “creative communing” to “One World university”: Kanavu, an alternative school for tribal children in Wayand – Kerala

Guda is the celebration of creative communing, in theme as well as in the process. Persons from Paniya, Kattu Nayka and other tribal communities of Wayanad in the Indian state of Kerala got together at the commune «Kanavu» and took part in this film making, guided by the author and activist K.J. Baby and his … Read more

Alcohol and drug-awareness group, political leaders and women activists worried: Increased alcoholism in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

What’s the price of the ‘right’ to alcohol? By Mari Marcel Thekaekara, New Internationalist, March 8, 2013 While successive governments have patted themselves on their backs, each claiming credit for our galloping economy, India refuses to talk about the enormous social costs to our communities. Alcoholism and drug abuse are at their peak. In the past, many of … Read more

Video | “Kanavu: A School with A Difference” (Wayanad) for and by tribal communities in tune with their environment – Kerala

Once they were the owners of these lands, All these vast expanses of forests, mountains and valleys belonged to them, and they lived of the fruits of nature without disturbing its harmony. Their rhythm of life was in tandem with the tunes of their environment. A rhythm that echoes in their music. Their music and … Read more