Evolving Ideas with the Coimbatore Collector and Officials
September 23, 2022 By Vinitha Murukesan and Bagavanidhi M.Project Coordinator – Community Well-being (Coimbatore)Technical Coordinator – Governance We’ve been working with the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) for seven years now, with our projects largely based in the hills. With the two projects that were active in the plains (Periyanaickenpalayam and Narasimhanaickenpalayam) coming […]
Community Well-being at the HDCA Conference 2022 in Belgium
September 22, 2022 By Kanmani PalanisamyCommunity Well-being Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum theorized the ‘Capability Approach’ framework in the 1980s as a unique perspective on welfare economics. He proposed that a person or a community’s true capability (considering real world obstacles) to achieve a life that aligns with their values must be assessed rather than […]
Class of 2017 Graduates
30 April 2017, Kotagiri: All 16 students of the 3rd batch of Nilgiri Field Learning Centre received their certificates of completion yesterday. After their spring break in March, the students had dived into their research projects on eight different topics related to Community Wellness, Health and Nutrition, Water and Waste, Gaur Monitoring, Forest Rights Act […]
Week 7_A prep for the upcoming research phase
Exposure to different analytical methods Week-7 began with a quick recap on various research methods learned in the six weeks of NFLC classroom sessions. Neema emphasised the use of mixed methods such as observation, reflective field-notes, interviews, inventory mapping, survey, etc. to enrich the quality of research work. The gathered information could be qualitative or […]
Week 4_Healthier the mother, healthier her baby!
“We welcome a new-born to the world by feeding it a drop of honey or sugar-syrup. Our village elders believe that honey should be given first to a new-born, for the baby’s life to be as sweet as the honey,” said by Keystone students. But this week’s lectures on Health and Nutrition brought to light […]
Week 3_People, Culture & Gender
Anyone can pick-up “the spy glass of anthropology” to study humans, society and culture! The week started at a slow pace with students learning about new terminologies like ethnography, thick description i.e. interpreting pattern of meanings. As part of cross-boundary exercises, students in a groups of two had to describe a process each, to make […]
Week 2_ Ecology and the NBR bus tour
What can one expect when field trips are sandwiched in between regular classes? Learning is fun! Week 2 of NFLC was on Ecology where students were introduced to some basic concepts in the field of ecology like biosphere, ecosphere, specialists and generalists, K-strategy, R-strategy, keystone species that would bring a set of positive changes to […]
Week 1_The class of 2017
The Nilgiri Field Learning Centre 2017 started with a delightful surprise put forth by the Cornellians when they introduced themselves by writing their names in Tamil. It set a motivating tone for a new adventure as both Keystone and Cornell students are learning languages that embody tradition, culture and so many rich contexts. The Crossing […]
