The fire-fighting children of the Khasi Hills and the decline of traditional farming in north-east India

In North-east India, children of the Khasi Hills (Meghalaya) learn slash and burn cultivation, an intergenerational yet controversial indigenous …

Rice for kings

Black rice is indigenous to the Northeast, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. In Manipur, it is considered food as well as part of traditional …

Natural embrace

Are we ecological serial killers or benevolent conservationists? Muriel Kakani narrates some refreshing perspectives of camel herders in Rajasthan

Without a trace

Medicinal plant biodiversity is rapidly vanishing in India and the government has still to come up with a plan of action

Blind to rain

Hunters turn protectors

Traditional hunters Phase Pardhis are part of an initiative to save critically endangered lesser floricans

Green buildings: it’s common sense

Frenzied growth in real estate and changing lifestyle in Indian cities are inciting resource guzzling. Architects have innovative ideas to build …

Bamboo flowering

People in northeast India fear bamboo flowering. According to an ancient belief when bamboos flower, there is death and destruction.

Aaj Ka Roadshow

Liberalisation in India has not only affected humdrum life, but also popular cultural forms. This is palpable in the changing dynamics of the big …

The Kani learning

How benefit-sharing between a research institute and the Kani tribe went awry

The loss of our breeds

Buy an Indian breed from Australia

Born Again

A rural organisation breathes life into the listless people of Melaghar village

Above All Differences

A caste-ridden society transforms the depleted forests into a green haven

Working women

In Guraiya village , it's women empowerment all the way

NEEDED: A WAKE-UP CALL

Foresters need to throw away their blinkers. Scientists need to prioritise areas of research

The secret garden

Want to know about a lost variety of rice or a cure to asthma? Answers lie in the notebooks of schoolchildren and women of the Sundarbans and …

Solo Performances

Besides the communities who have done exemplary work in the field of environment, several individuals are making a difference in the lives of …

Hamlets reborn

Although Bhaonta-Kolyala village walked away with the Down To Earth-Joseph C John Award, the judges came across several such communities worthy …

Awarded : Bhaonta-Kolyala

... for reviving the Arvari river, for showing that a healthy ecology and good water management mean prosperity, for proving that drought is a myth

TRAMPLED DESTINIES

What happens if conservation is based on half-baked knowledge? Ask a person rendered homeless by wildlife managers "No conservation strategy …

WORKING IN ISOLATION

A mutual lack of trust and understanding between forest officials and wildlife scientists may be responsible for the mismanagement of India's …

CONSERVATION TO DEATH

Misguided conservation efforts are leading to depletion of biodiversity and exploitation of poor people

Not-so-organic fests

Literature fests have spread all over the subcontinent, like an epidemic

We must explore India’s forgotten recipes, switch to good food culture: experts

In an era of convenience food and TV dinner, it’s a challenge to rediscover our traditional foods

Drugged by chicken

Antibiotics in meat make disease-causing bacteria resistant to cures