Village Elder Programs
What is knowledge? Can knowledge exist outside the formal education system? Is traditional knowledge acknowledged in the current education model? These are some questions to ponder upon… Yes, school is important for children socially, culturally and economically- but at the same time, certain aspects of the child’s life and culture is not represented in the […]
Covid challenge: Learning about biodiversity at home
How does one learn about biodiversity when forced to be indoors? Like many aspects of life, Covid has also changes the way we engage with children. Initially, with our reach was restricted to children of the staff of Keystone Foundation, Last Forest Enterprise and Aadhimalai, we experimented with biodiversity education during covid times. At first, […]
My experience with Businesses that care at Keystone Foundation
My work at Keystone was to write a case study report for Aadhimalai, a tribal producer company. In this report my focus was to look at the functioning of the company through the lens of co-creation, co-production and sustainable markets. These concepts are interconnected and always work together to achieve sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. […]
Being a new-normal intern
It was indeed a great opportunity for us, a team of 5 students, to intern with Keystone Foundation for about one and half months as a part of the summer internship, which forms a part of Azim Premji University curriculum. What interested us most was the distinct working nature of the foundation along with the […]
Study on Food Security among indigenous populations: An Experiment in online Ecological literacy
The format of the internship Ecological literacy and development of ecological consciousness is always understood as an experiential process. Also as students of the social sciences, the field has been described to us as a tangible entity. But within these unusual circumstances these ideas had to be recalibrated. This involved trying to understand the field […]
Nature stewardship in a place of worship
Recently the community stewards from Kotagiri- Bharati, Ponamma, Shailaja and David, along with Chandrasekar and Kaveri from Keystone- restored about 12 cents of the Redemptorist Novitiate near Longwood Shola. The area under the church’s ownership includes tea fields, kitchen gardens, flower gardens and some infrastructural facilities that supports and runs priesthood training programs. The institution […]
Sanctuary Asia Feature
While in field, Chandrasekar- a staff from Keystone- had a rare encounter with an unusual cat family. Here is his story about Leopards in Kotagiri which also got featured in the Sanctuary Asia June 2020 Edition. As part of my work with Keystone Foundation’sBiodiversity Management and Restoration programme,I routinely monitor two gaur herds in the […]
Cleaning the natural way in Kotagiri
While it is important to improve access for humans and wildlife by creating separate access points and providing necessary infrastructure to mitigate negative interactions, it is also our responsibility as humans to ensure that we do not pollute water sources for wildlife as well as our future generations. To bring about such awareness and behavior […]
The grasslands of Bikkapathymund
Nestled in the higher elevation of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve is the the Toda hamlet-Bikkapathymund. Surrounded by grasslands, shola forests and plantations, Bikkapathymund is home to the Toda community who are traditionally patoralists also practicing agriculture, currently. Photo taken by Nayantara Photo taken by Nayantara At the center of their identity, is the Toda buffaloes, […]
The Changing Climate And Monsoons Of Fear In Nilambur
In 2018 and 2019, Kerala experienced extreme rainfall which resulted in floods and landslides. Apart from loss of lives, there was significant amount of infrastructural damage caused in Nilambur. Overflowing rivers washed away some Adivasi villages displacing many families. With these memories fresh in their mind, the people await another dreaded monsoon. Satellite image showing […]
