Building Changemakers with Youth in Nilambur
Syamjith, Faisal Rehman & Mira Kudva Driskell, People and Nature Collectives Earlier this year, the PNC team in Nilambur initiated a new project to engage and support a new generation of Adivasi-Indigenous leaders, with generous support from the Azim Premji Foundation. Over the past few months, the team has been consulting with experts and developing […]
Samvaad 2025: A Journey of Learning, Connection, and Courage
By Josmi M J, People and Nature Collectives & Translated by Bijishna T K – Community Well-Being From 16th to 19th November 2025, five members from Keystone—Josmi, Shyamjith, Sumithra, Amal, and Vasantha—had the opportunity to attend the Samvaad programme at Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, Jharkand. The programme proved to be a deeply transformative experience. For me, […]
Stories of Leaves: Hidden Greens and Their Tales
By Kavya Anjali, People and Nature Collectives Learning to See Food that Grows Beyond the Field When we think of food, our imagination travels to farms, markets, and kitchens. But food also grows beyond fences, without ploughing, sowing, or selling. Hidden on the edges of footpaths, under trees, near moist stones, or along the walls […]
Kwol Radio: How a Media Network Connects a Community
By Kannan R, Manickam A, Daniel Samraj and Ranjani Prasad, People and Nature Collectives Aracode, Nilgiris – October 2025 Kwol Radio is a community-based wi-fi mesh network that is helping revitalise cultural identity and traditional knowledge of tribal communities in Aracode region, Nilgiris district. This hyper-local platform was established in 2020 and built using low-cost tools […]
Participating in the Community Interaction Camp and Kerala Tribal Conference 2025
By Aswathy G V, People and Nature Collectives This report summarizes two major participatory programmes that emphasized community knowledge sharing and tribal cultural representation — the Community Interaction Camp organized by the Ideal Arts and Science College, Cherupulasheri, and the Kerala Tribal Conference 2025 titled “Thauthara (Conversation)”, held at Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Tirur. 1. […]
A Collaborative Model for Community Lead Institutions
Sumithra K- People and Nature Collectives Gadhika is a tribal heritage art festival jointly organized every year by the Government of Kerala and KIRTADS (Kerala Institute for Research, Training, and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). For the 2025 edition of Gadhika, held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ernakulam district, the Gothra Community […]
My Summer Internship Experience at Keystone Foundation
By Aadi Mullan, Intern This summer, I worked at the Keystone Foundation as an inaugural student for the Youth Internship Program. Being passionate about environmental sciences and conservation, I was extremely excited as I settled into my room at Keystone’s campus in Kotagiri. Not only was I blown away by the incredible experiences I went […]
Celebrating Indigenous Knowledge, Community Resilience, and Sustainable Development
By Kavya-People & Nature Collective, Fazeela –Community willbeing In the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, where nature, culture, and community are deeply intertwined, Keystone Foundation continues to champion initiatives that strengthen cultural pride, ecological resilience, and community well-being. Two powerful events exemplify this effort: the Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration, “Nanka Maath, Nanka Theeni,” and the Disaster Management Training combined […]
Indigenous Peoples Language Workshop at Nilambur
By Syamjith and Faisal Rehman, People & Nature Collective After the previous versions of the Barefoot Linguist Programme and Language Technologies workshop held with Irula community members, the People and Nature Collectives (PNC) conducted its second iteration of the Barefoot Linguists programme workshop in collaboration with Karthick Narayanan and Ktien Hima, at Nilambur Keystone Foundation […]
Experimenting with Language Technology to Preserve the Irula Language
By Jeyanthi–People & Nature Collective Introduction to Language Documentation Efforts In the last few years, the Community Researchers and Foundations at our programme have forayed into the documentation of their languages and cultural traditions. With support from the ILED and GAGGA network, we held our first Barefoot Linguist Programme last August with Irula speakers to […]