Sacred groves: Traditional practice and modern ecology

Sacred groves are maintained by many tribal communities across India like the Santals and tribal communities in the Nilgiri mountain range of Tamil Nadu, adjoining Wayanad District, and the Kaani community Kanyakumari region on both sides of the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Some of their ancestral forests, sacred streams and mountains are now … Read more

“A culture to learn a lot from”: Community based Eco-tourism initiatives – North East India

A small tribe in Arunachal Pradesh located in a small valley has been able to defeat modern technological advancements in terms of environment conservation. The Apatanis from Ziro have a unique lifestyle that focuses on living in harmony with nature. This post will take you to their homes and give you a glimpse into their lives that … Read more

Video | “The Vibrant Bhils”: Tradition and change in one of India’s most ancient tribal communities – Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan & Maharashtra

A film directed by Raj Bendre and sponsored by the Madhya Pradesh State Planning Commission | Published on Feb 14, 2014

“The North East Indian region has never been an isolated backwater” – Food production and animal domestication since the Neolithic Revolution

“Who lived here?”, “when did they live here?”, “what culture did they have?” and “how did their culture change?” are just some of the questions posed by Prehistory and Archaeology of Northeast India, a book that probes the origins of human settlement, culture and ecology in North East India. Written by archaeologist Manjil Hazarika, it … Read more

“Seats of rural knowledge”: Training centres for tribal youth in crafts design, agriculture and plantations (Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra & Gram Gyanpeeth) – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh & Chhattisgarh

Twenty years back, in June 1995, newly-wedded couple Sunil and Nirupama Deshpande picked up a remote village, Lavada in Melghat region as their home. “We wanted to live in a place where people needed us,” says Nirupama, a former MHADA employee and MSW from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The two wanted to work … Read more