Life has been tough for the millions of small farmers across the country…
Sir Malcolm Darling, a famous British researcher and writer once wrote “the Indian farmers were born in debt lived in debt and died in debt”.
As I travel through the length and breadth of my state, Kerala, I could experience the hard ‘Life’s Journey’ followed by the local communities, especially farmers…
Climate change has made things even worse for them.
Amidst all these, their life goes on and we are amazed by their resilience…
Akhrotghetta Campsite on Kuari Pass Trekking Trail…
It was my first trekking expedition with outdoor camping, the Kuari Pass Trail in the Himalayas. On the first day of trek, after 3-4 kms of hiking we reached our first campsite and there stood a giant Walnut Tree (Akhrot stands for Walnut in Hindi language) as a symbol of care and comfort.
In India, you can find many places named after trees and throughout our trek, the local guides shared many stories connecting trees and the life of villagers.
It was my second trip to the Himalayas and after just three months, I have started planning my next trek. Himalayas is like a magnet, once you experienced it, it’s a lifelong connection.
‘Zero waste is not a concept but a reality’, when a traditional bronze sculpturer from my neighborhood village shared this, I was pretty surprised.
Even when we talk highly about sustainable and zero waste production in our training sessions, we were not completely convinced about these. It was one of those interactions and a visit to their bell metal unit that helped me learn about this traditional livelihood option and experience how sustainable it is.
‘We don’t have to invent anything new but just recollect how we lived our lives 30-35 years back?’ This was another interesting comment from him. I would say, it’s almost true. Apart from the new gadgets we use, it’s not that hard to roll back our lives and have a close to sustainable life in the villages still.
Bell metal or Bronze is one of the oldest alloys human beings created and made a quantum jump in their revolutionary progress as a race. Though, most of its traditional usages are substituted by cheaper materials, bronze is still used for making cooking ware, sculptures etc;
The most striking thing about the whole process is reusability. Old metal is melted and remolded to new forms taking the shape of the mold made of clay and wax, the same clay and wax is reused for making another mold. Even the fire is made of burning locally available coconut shells. The craftsmen buy back old utensils, lamps, and sculptures and make new ones and the cycle goes on.
I believe the catch is in waste segregation and recycling. In most of the developing world, especially in India, this is not happening and they are just getting dumped in landfills.
Stories like these helps us in understanding the importance of waste management, recycling and most importantly our journey to a sustainable future.
As I travel across Kerala, I get to meet and interact with many communities following their traditional livelihood options. When they share their stories, one common element is the challenges they face and how hard it is to make a decent living, following their traditional art, craft, weaving etc;
I think the consumer hardly ever gets a chance to experience how these products are made? the effort behind each one of them and why they are priced a little higher than the machine made ones?
A day with these traditional weavers in central Kerala was one such opportunity for me and thanks to my work in community based experiential tourism!
Sacred groves of northern kerala have woken up from the monsoon hibernation and it’s sleepless nights for the villagers from now on.
Dancing to the drum beats and fighting with fire, gods have descended to bless the land and drive away the demons from the villages and from our minds.
It’s Theyyam time, one of the most intense the ritualistic art form of Kerala.
In the image, a Theyyam group is crossing the river from one sacred grove to another marking the beginning of the season.
It is monsoon time here in Kerala, the land, blessed with stunning natural beauty. Where ever you look at, you can see thousands shades of green.
One more monsoon in the age of Covid, restricted movements and limited options to liberate yourselves.
When I got an opportunity to travel last week, I didn’t think twice and it was a much needed break indeed. Out in the wilderness, the feel was in-explainable, even with two layers of masking.
Let me share a mix of images and have a great weekend (or a week ahead) 🙂
Santiago the Shepherd 