Promoting Forest Gardens in Fallows
Traditionally, the Paharia community leave their land fallow after 2-3 years of cultivation. ideally, the minimum optimal fallow period should be 10 years, which has gradually declined over the years and brought in invasive species. In order to extend the fallow period, Pahariya families have been encouraged to develop Forest Gardens through the cultivation of shade-tolerant crops aimed at generating additional livelihoods and sources of food.
Visitors from the wild ( A book review)
The life of the villagers of Kookalthorai in the Nilgiris district is very different from what life is for a majority of people.The region is connected to contiguous forests of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve through the Moyar Valley which is an important elephant corridor. This makes interactions with wildlife an everyday occurrence in this village. […]
A visit to Mukurthi National Park
The Habitats Trust (THT) team was back this year again, in the third week of September, for their field verification for Keystone Foundation’s proposed project to study ecology, habitat use and distribution of the Nilgiri Marten. This year we had included the Mukurthi National Park as an area of study. Therefore, as part of the field […]
Introduction to Climate Change Concepts
A three-day workshop on Climate Change introductory concepts took place between 9-11th June 2021, for the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) partner networks alliance. On the second day, participants got to learn more about the scenario in our country – both for Climate Change impact and also got to hear examples of collective community action. The […]
Team meeting at the Field Ecology Centre
Last year, the COVID 19 pandemic has helped establish a new normal in terms of work methods, meetings and exchanges within a professional space. Like most responsible individuals and organizations, virtual meetings and interactions have become the norm around which we organize our work. A distinct downside has been the impact of increased screen time […]
Barefoot Ecologists from Nilmabur are making a video of their conservation efforts
For Rajesh and Sumitra, the camera is an essential thing to be carried while they head out to the forest; whether they go to the forest to collect NTFPs or just on leisure walks. Jalaja and Krishnan have become wedding photographers at their family occasions. Babu likes to cover the various events happening in his […]
Western Ghats Plant Specialists Group – A meeting to formalize assessment of native flora
Core members of the Western Ghats Plant Specialists Group (WGPSG) – Dr. Aparna Watve (Red List Assessment Coordinator) and Anita Varghese (Chair of the group; Director-Keystone) recently met at Keystone Foundation. The WGPSG group was formed with the objective to assess the present restraints concerning endemic plant species in the Western Ghats region. Along with the Biodiversity & Restoration team […]
A Virtual Field Course
Since the pandemic lockdowns there have been requests to conduct field courses ‘virtually’, and for us – virtual field courses became a reality! 2nd years PGDFM students (20) of the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal who opted for the ecology and society internship with Keystone were engaged in a 10-day program. The course that […]
Intertwined relationship between biodiversity, bees, people, food and markets
“Our lives and culture are always intertwined with these bees.”- quote by Mudhan – a honey hunter from the Irula community in Masinagudi – in a scroll article published in March 2020. Photo by Chadrasekar Das The article was published on grass-root organizations that are working with locals to help preserve traditional practices. Justin Raj- […]
Rejuvenating the Massakal stream through community participation
As part of one of the ways to reduce negative interactions between humans and wildlife, the Massakal stream was cleaned of invasive plants. Overgrown invasive plants serve as ideal resting spots for wildlife like sloth bears, wild boar and gaur. Moreover, these areas have become informal dumping areas for garbage-serving the purpose of out of […]