But not in the way ecologists usually think of plant invasions! This is not about live plants spreading, but more about inert forms of these species that are increasingly being taken into cities — as material, as art, and as a way of telling a larger ecological story. For close to twenty years now, we have been working on creating value and livelihoods from Lantana. One of the most visible outcomes of this work has been the Lantana elephant sculptures through the high-profile

Addressing these priorities, we adopted a semi-mechanised approach involving a winch-pulling method, which has proven to be a balanced solution for both ecological and practical considerations. This method was particularly effective in areas with moderate to dense Lantana infestations. It has been successfully implemented in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary—three critical regions of the Western Ghats k

My name is Ramesh. I work in The Shola Trust as a wildlife conservationist. In this blog, I am writing about my conversation with my grandfather, Bomman thatha (grandfather), about the bonding between Adivasi people and the forest. Bomman thatha is from the Bettakurumba tribe. He lives in the village, Kanjikolly, along the edge of Mudmalai and, of course, has great knowledge about forest and honey collection, fishing, and collecting tubers and medicinal plants. Bomman thatha

It has been one year since I have been closely involved with the lantana furniture project of The Shola Trust. This past year TST continued to engage with the lantana furniture unit in Moyar and also helped the community set up a lantana furniture unit in thepakaadu village. Looking back at the year gone by, these were the key patterns that emerged from our engagement with this project. 1) Good response to the products – The positive that emerged was that there was a really

In the last 4 months, I have seen many more Kaavus (sacred groves). The Kaavus I have seen are all very different from each other. There are new Kaavus and old Kaavus. Some Kaavus have only one tree with a stone, which is the god. Then there are also some with many trees and many stones. Some Kaavus are in tea estates or arecanut plantations, and some are in vayal (wetland/swamp) or grassland. When I go to a Kaavu, I meet the Karnavar (traditional elder) and ask him some ques

Coexisting with elephants would seem unthinkable and impossible to most of us. Yet adivasis in Gudalur have done so for generations and continue to do so. They share their home, the forest, with elephants. Their kids take paths frequented by elephants while going to school. We wondered, what has been the basis of this coexistence? Is it their understanding of elephant behavior acquired over generations of sharing space with them? Is it cultural tolerance? Or is it faith? Whil

I have been visiting Kaavus (sacred groves) in the Gudalur valley to understand their status and biodiversity in them. Most of the Kaavus that I have seen so far are very small—sometimes just a single large tree. I had heard that a typical Kaavu consists of a water source and small and big trees but I hadn’t seen any such Kaavu. I know that my experience is too little, and therefore, I have taken keen interest in seeing more Kaavus. Every time I go to visit some Kaavus, I wis

Tarsh Thekaekara is a biodiversity conservation researcher working with The Shola Trust on human-elephant conflict.

Handicrafts have always been an integral part of Indian culture. The craft, or handicraft, sector is the largest decentralized and unorganized sector of the Indian economy. Craftspeople form the second largest employment sector in India, next only to agriculture. Mostly it uses existing skills and locally available materials. Given the sheer number of craftsmen in India, the traditional knowledge and skills of the community, and the easily available local materials, it is ama