Shepherding sheep and goats is one of the oldest and most resilient forms of livelihood to date. This is not just an occupation but very much part of the cultural fabrication of shepherd communities across the world. With this traditional livelihood, comes years of knowledge and experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. It is…Read More

dsadasdas

Here is the story of Ms Nakalla Mallamma (Aged 42 Years) D/o of Shri Kadiriappa a resident of Nakkalavarikota Village, Gurrmavandlapalle Panchayat, Peddamanyam Mandal, Annamaya District, AP. A courageous single women living on her terms works as NTPF collector and Agriculture Labour…

Story

It’s her story and of her community members who are act…Read More

Such stories can be found across India. There are new collaborative networks who are working with local communities to enable this. A lot of them have realised how crucial the buy-in from the local community is.

https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/building-community-networks-to-save-a-rare-turtle-from-extinction/

Something similar happens in Odisha as well, where fishing communities protect the nesting sites of turtles, especially Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/fishing-communities-in-india-help-save-endangered-sea-turtles/

The local fishing community of Kasarkod, Tonka in Honnavar has made enclosures for turtles to lay their eggs during nesting season (photo attached). Many turtles including the critically endangered Asian Giant Soft Shell turtle have been spotted by the community. According to a recent newspaper article in February this year, at least 7 female…Read More

That’s interesting

What you say is true in a general sense. There are however excellent exceptions. It would be good to know more about them.

Do we have any information on how local fisher communities are responding to this or even what the think about the impact of these changes?

Is there any documentation of policy change in the way governments look at fire. There would be colonial records that indicate the views shaping policy. I am sure there are statements that can be culled from forest dept proceedings or other departments of government which reveal the basis and orientation behind policy on fire. We have some idea of…Read More

Dumping is also a matter of scale. In my experience the very large scale dumping gets a lot of attention for obvious reasons. It is also necessary to document and think about ways of coping with small scale dumping. This largely goes unnoticed but is so pervasive that it surely has a collective impact. In rural areas in particularly I have noticed…Read More

It would be useful to have examples from peoples experiences that validate or question the observation made by Aryan, from Karnataka or elsewhere. People engaged in field research and engagement will not doubt have rich information in this regard. Perhaps the OP can provide examples from his own field experience by way of illustration.

There is some evidence of tendencies of this sort in the case of Orans in western Rajasthan. I mean the process of enclosure that seemingly accompanies the building of larger temple structures. Our assumption frequently is that the presence of a sacred character lends itself automatically to a sense or culture of commoning. This is true in many…Read More

As the third part in my saga of posts on “Andhra Pradesh-Culture and Commons”, I am going to speak about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) in this post. As a part of my internship, I joined the Foundation of Ecological Security (FES) in the GBBC program. To summarize, the Great Backyard Bird Count is a four day long global event that takes…Read More

photo

Here is the story of Shri J Venkat Subbaiah Garu (Aged 56 years) s/o Venkatappa a resident of Kotakadapalle Village Peddamanyam Mandal, Annamaya District, AP. A farmer and Community resource person is associated with local village institution since early 1990’s taking keen interest in village development activities and in development of common l…Read More

That a fire, which destroys plant life and puts animals in risk inside an environment, may improve ecological health may seem contradictory. Nonetheless, as fire is a natural occurrence, nature has changed as a result of it. Periodic fires are beneficial to many ecosystems because they sweep out decaying organic matter; some plant and animal…Read More

Fires in the commons have been a pervasive problem in rural Andhra Pradesh. This post explains how and what is being done to face the problem.

In many respects, common land and culture are intrinsically tied. Common land is often characterized as land owned or controlled by a community as opposed to individuals or organizations. Whereas, culture refers to common ideas, habits, rituals, and traditions of a particular group of people. Several elements like economics, history and geography…Read More

One of our interns’ go-to for respite has been to head out every evening to play in the vast tracts of common land in the village of Peddamandyam where we reside. In these trips, I have observed that kids and young adults gather and play sports ranging from a competitive game of volleyball to a game of marbles and flying kites in these common l…Read More

A vast range of social, economic, and ecological elements are all involved in the intricate and varied interaction between commons and fire, which spans millennia of human history. This relationship’s fundamental characteristics include the manner in which usage and management of communal resources, including forests, grasslands, rivers, and…Read More

In this blog, I would like to point out a very interesting tradition or custom followed by the villagers of Enamaravaripalle in relation to commons and diseases. Enamaravaripalle is located in Nallamada Mandal in Sri Sathya Sai District within the state of Andhra Pradesh
The people of Enamaravaripalle have this unique practice of isolating…Read More

The idea of the commons or shared resources can take on different meanings and applications in various cultures. The use, management, and protection of common resources within a given
community are all influenced by cultural values, beliefs, and practices. This is known as the
“cultural dependence on commons.” For instance, the commons may be…Read More

In many parts of the world, women have historically been excluded from decision-making, particularly in rural areas. As a result, there have been growing efforts to include women in village institutions such as local councils, development committees, and other community-based organizations. While this is a positive step towards gender equality,…Read More

On the relationship between the village community, the common lands, and the restoration project on those lands.

Recently we went on field visits to different villages to understand their relationship with commons. It is a relationship with social, economical and cultural dimensions, and the nature of this relationship affects the kind of…Read More

In continuation of my previous post, “Andhra Pradesh-Culture and Commons: The Sacred Grove of Thimmamma Marrimanu”, in this post I am going to brief on a cultural landmark that is in the Commons. The temple in question is in cheekurpalli panchayat, Bangarupalyam mandalam, Chittoor. It is the temple of Siddeshwara Swami located in Sri Sid…Read More

@Purnendu Kavoori Sir,
I gathered the information for my post during a brief interaction with one of the villagers. I shall gather more information and insights and revert to the same.
Thank you.

Very thought-provoking piece! Looking forward to more of your work on the forum.

A very interesting piece, thanks Malavika.

Hello Vishnu, this is a very interesting post. It would be useful if you can provide some information on the particular yatra you had seen or participated in. I am told that such jathres are a widespread feature of Karnataka and Andhra. Each has a name and is associated with a locality. It would be wonderful if we could map some of these yatras…Read More