Training Kota, Irula, Toda and Kurumba women of the Nilgiris: Earth Trust preserves ancestral knowledge for health care, education and income generation – Tamil Nadu

Esther Elias, The Hindu, Sunday Magazine, October 20, 2012Read the full article and view more photos here >>  Vanya Orr walks the villages and forests of the Nilgiris to create self-sufficient communities, says Esther Elias. Shola forests arch over a road winding up the Nilgiris to Kollimalai village, 10 km from Udhagamandalam. In a terraced … Read more

Endangered languages identified by Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) – Karnataka

Siddi and Hakki Pikki ‘critically endangered’ Of the 50 languages that are spoken in Karnataka, eight are potentially endangered and two critical endangered, according to a survey conducted by the Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI), an organisation that is conducting a nation-wide survey of Indian languages. Languages spoken by the tribal communities of Koraga, … Read more

“Irulas are very knowledgeable about medicinal plants”: Interview with Zai Whitaker, Director of the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society – Tamil Nadu

The ITWWS is a women’s community-based development organization established in 1986. It was founded with the aim of protecting natural resources, empowering Irula women and using the Irula tribal knowledge of forest resources for economic prosperity. The organization started with five villages and now covers an area of over 100 villages in 4 districts. Because … Read more

Irula snake catchers’ role in pest control and producing anti-venom serum – Tamil Nadu

Armed with a crowbar, a sabre and a cotton bag, the group sets out at 5.30 a.m. from Vadanemmeli on East Coast Road. Taking the first bus to Mambakkam village on the Kelambakkam – Vandalur Road, the five-member team goes to a paddy field in the nearby Kolathur village. This is the daily routine of … Read more

Benefitting from a tribal community’s symbiotic relationship with nature: The healing system practiced by Irula women – Tamil Nadu

INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK | Mar 29, 2005 | To read the full article, click here >> The Irulas’ Natural Products Corporation is a partnership firm located in the ITWWS campus, which produces, promotes and markets Irula health-care products. It provides employment to several hundred Irula women.  […] The term Irula means being capable of finding one’s … Read more