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, […]
Exploring alternatives – a biodegradable Sanitary pad
Over the past few months, we decided to do a small study in our working areas to understand the condition of MHM in these places. Simultaneously, we started working on a design which is – a 100% environment-friendly disposable sanitary napkins. This is currently in it’s testing phase. We are tentatively planning to launch it […]
Self-sustenance through seed selection
A sequence of seed selection workshops has been conducted in Aracode and including one in Semmanarai . The aim of these workshops is to equip the community to select good-quality seeds from the farmland. Seed selection techniques are used to get a good yield by choosing the best speed to ensure survival. Usually, seeds are […]
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 […]
Farmers are bearing the brunt during Covid
The COVID-19 has taken the world by surprise and it is creating a lot of issues in everyone’s day to day life. None were prepared for a pandemic of this stature. Many media outlets and experts believe that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the Indian Agriculture sector. The corona virus impact on […]
Nilambur and the Teak
Nilambur railway station. Photo by- Vighnesh K The tree ‘Teak’ comes to the mind of any Keralite when they hear the name ‘Nilambur’! Nilambur teak is the first forest species to receive Geographical Indication (GI) status. Geographical indication is a tag which helps to identify the place of origin, quality, reputation or other characteristics of […]
Landscaping the Native way
Shalini, a resident in Anna Nagar-a settlement in Kookalthorai- identified a plot in front of her village for restoration. She has been working with Keystone Foundation as a steward for over a year. When she is not involved in restoration efforts, she works with other stewards from the area to identify and support farmers to […]
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 […]
