Absence of a dowry-system, divorce by mutual consent, and widow-re-marriage: On the high status of women in Badaga communities (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

The Badagas are a unique community living mainly in the Nilgiris District in Tamil nadu in South India. They are also the single largest community of the Nilgiris. Though classified backward, a significant factor is the high status of their women says Indu K Malla, a Badaga writer of distinction, in her article ” The myth … Read more

“Project Equals”: Committed to spreading knowledge of India’s tribal and breaking the shackles that have held back tribal folk music: Anahad Foundation – New Delhi

Folk music is an indelible part of India’s storied oral tradition. Songs emanating from the tribal folk tradition are critical fragments of this country’s vast cultural diversity. Based on simple instruments and arrangements, articulated by voices of the soil, and set across different geographical locations and cultural contexts, these songs are a celebration of nature … Read more

The Shola Trust Gudalur – Tamil Nadu

NGO Profile – Sanctuary Asiamagazine February 2011: In Gudalar, at the edge of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, a small committed group of volunteers work to protect India’s shola forests – a mosaic of montane evergreen forests and grasslands found only at high altitude (more than 1,500 m. above mean sea level) regions within the tropics.In India, shola forests … Read more

“Gardening their way to Good Health”: Reversing tribal communities’ dependence on exploiters sustenance needs – Tamil Nadu

Adivasi communities traditionally depended on the forest for all their nutritional needs. They subsisted mainly on fruits, vegetables, tubers, fish, small game as well as the occasional crop they grew, predominantly coarse grains. However, as time passed and the nature of, as well as their access to, forests changed, their diet started becoming deficient. Certain … Read more