Traveller's Forest logo

New logo for Traveller's Forest!
Bangalore © GP 2008

Travellers Forest

Pic: These Dutch students were the first to plant saplings at the Travellers Forest
International flight companies and tour operators are now accepting their contribution to the carbon emission and atmospheric pollution. They also want to play a proactive role in offsetting the adverse affects of carbon emission. Though there are many alternatives that are being talked about on carbon-offset, investment in sustainable energy, greening the globe by planting trees etc come as some of the solutions for carbon offset. We have heard about million dollar projects (much before the global warming) run by several international and national agencies and Government departments that disappeared in no time and planting of exotic trees that killed the local flora and fauna and even created water crisis. Other than eating up tax-payers money, none of this actually did anything positive to the environment, mostly because of lack of local consultation and community participation.

More and more green cover is being lost in even places like Kerala which even until recently had approximately 30% of forest coverage. In today’s value frame work, which promotes and accepts exploitation of natural resources for private material gains, its becoming more and more difficult to motivate local communities with the arguments of global eco-restoration.

Any greening project as part of the eco-restoration will not be successful if the local communities are not the main stake holders. Our small initiative of setting up Travellers forest in association with travelling communities and local communities is actually a small step to bring back the lost green cover that could influence the global weather restoration process, which in turn will also restore the natural hydrological cycle.

Pic: Travellers becoming part of a green movement in Nila!
The value of land (in the context of Kerala) is shooting up exponentially, community lands and even the Government / Panchayat lands are considered too precious to be “wasted” by planting trees. It is in this context that we are looking at bringing in private partnerships to be flag-bearers of greening movement. We realize the fact that eco-restoration is much easily said than done. It is in this context that Nila Foundation in association with Kodeeri Nature Camp and The Blue Yonder decided to come up with Traveller’s Forest.

First such travellers Forest was inaugurated yesterday in Naduvatton village.

Munich © GP 2008

The entry point

© pj nair

Last weekend, twelve of us gathered together at Kodeeri Mana in Naduvattom to discuss the following:

1. Background of the formation of Nila Foundation.
2. How different entities like The Blue Yonder, Vayali, Madhava Vidyalayam and Kodeeri Nature Camp became partners and came on a common platform.
3. Need for action and focusing more on DO’s and less on DON’Ts .
4. Need to institutionalise Nila Foundation while still maintaining the holistic approach.
5. How to move from the scope of ‘Preaching to the converts’ to "the common people"
6. What should be the entry point to achieve this?
7. Who could be the potential partners?
8. What should be criteria for taking more partners?
9. Revisit the objectives of the foundation.
10. Status of 'Puzha Malayalam'.
11. Tangible action plans for the immediate future

© pj nair

Most of the 'get-togethers' are because people think alike and they want to make a difference. This is of no difference to our get together also. We were there because we were concerned about the devastating changes that are happening, but strongly believe that we can actually make positive changes rather than just sit and watch the world go by. It was in this context that Nambu raised the point of 'preaching to the converts' (point 5) in one of our informal get together.

Whats the point in discussing things between us when we are convinced that there is a need for change? We had a small debate on what should be the entry point to reach common people to explore the options of a sustainable lifestyle. Some of us strongly believed that the river itself is the entry point or the medium to reach people. But some of us were not really convinced if the river was actually so much a part of people's social psyche as we claim!


© pj nair

After a week from that discussion, I just received this note from a person called PJ Nair from Dubai along with the above pictures :

"I just surfed by into your website; I was fascinated and by your singular passion for the Nila, and I’ve, too, felt a similar, unknown fascination with this enigmatic river and the rich culture of the people who abide along its banks. All along, since childhood, I’ve tried to express my love for the river in words dredged from my memories, but alas! I’m not cut out to be a writer. But of late, I take pics of the river whenever possible- though I prefer to go upriver, near Lekkidi and Tiruvilwamala, where it’s more open, less populated and the views are exquisite. Here are a few panoramic pics off the bridge at Lekkidi. My best wishes towards the success of your book."

For some people the river is still a connection!

Bangalore © GP 2008

Foundation logo

The Foundation didn't have a logo at all for quite some time. It was only last year that we started thinking about a logo that represents our thoughts and objectives of the foundation. Instead of approaching a professional graphic designer, we decided to crack it one day while we were in our office in Bangalore. In twenty minutes flat, the scrap book was full of sketches, and we decided to go for the one that we are using now. The idea was to show case the relation of the river with the local language (Malayalam). Considered to be the father of Malayalam literature and author of Ramayanam in Malayalam, Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was born on the banks of the river in Tirur.

Many classics came from those writers who were born and brought up here. Many of us literally grew up on classics written by MT Vasudevan Nair and O.V Vijayan. Some of the other luminaries were G Sankara Kurup, Vyloppilli, P Kunhiraman Nair, Olappamanna, Edassery, Balamani Amma and master of sketches "Artist Namboodiri". We decided to show the connection of the river with the language by using calligraphy in Malayalam.

Then we wanted to show case the present status of the river as well as how we dream about it. So we thought of using the three letters to represent the river as if these were islands with no connection to the river it used to be. Without supported by the rich tributaries, our river is no longer showing any sign of a full fledged water source. By extending the river with waves in a single line, we thought this could be our dream. The river that flows as one source which basically came together from its rich tributaries.

By adding a small thoni(country boat) to it, the logo became more lively. For a river that weaves together traditions, culture and people, we couldn't think about any image better than our "thoni".The way we spread the lines and did the calligraphy, it reminded us of the romance that the river was always to us.

Couple of days later, when Anita saw my scrap book in office, she said,"Very simple and full of stories. Like our "puzha" and "thoni", Alley?" ("Isn't it" in Malayalam)

She added the last bit of orange colour to our thoni and it became our logo!

Bangalore © GP 2007

Puzha Malayalam

Like many other review meetings of the foundation, today's was not any different. Full of intensity!!Sujith and Jamal came from Thrissur to our village quite early in the day. Even though he had spent most of the night reading the proof for his magazine "Hygiene", Arun also came home by 8 to start the work. (BTW, Arun is also the Chief Editor of the widely circulated "inland" magazine. I guess, probably this magazine is the one of the few that reaches every nook and corner of Kerala through all the post offices)

Since our publication of "Puzha Malayalam" got delayed beyond its revised target date of 22nd of March 2007, we are working hard to concentrate only on the book and nothing else. ("Puzha (meaning river) Malayalam" is a publication on the status of rivers in Kerala which was commissioned by Nila Foundation three years before).

Solely supported by The Blue Yonder, this research work has given a lot of insights into our own backyard which we wouldn't have noticed otherwise. From unique farming traditions to legends and folklore related to the rivers of Kerala, the amount of material the small team has collected in the last three years is simply mind boggling and exciting. No wonder we are all impatient to see the final proof from Sujith and Uma (who are the main researchers).

The half day meeting was well focused on our work and the resources that is needed to take the movement forward in a way that makes this as participatory as it is possible.

Tirur © GP 2007