As the percussion ensemble of Pancharimelam evoked the spirit of temple festivals of Kerala, an elderly man, fondly called Vittachhan (Seed Father), clad in his trademark saffron sarong and white…
Twelve days on, smoke is still billowing. On March 2, 25-ft-high ‘hills’ of garbage, extending over 40 acres at the Brahmapuram waste plant in Kochi caught fire, blanketing Kerala’s commercial…
“It is like slow poisoning. We know that we will not be ousted today or tomorrow. But it will happen. The judiciary and authorities will drag the case for some…
The year 2022 saw a lot of frenzy around soil in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) and the World Soil Day. The Coalition of…
Davidson Anthony Adima started fishing as a 12-year-old, in the coastal waters of southwestern India, on a traditional log raft called kattumaram, propelled by sails and oars. Three decades later,…
Coconut-based integrated farming, which allows for other agricultural crops to grow under the canopy, not only offers scope for improving crop biodiversity and farm productivity, but also a means to…
Pokkali rice is a saline-tolerant, indigenous rice variety grown in the Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. In Malayalam, Pokkam means height and Aali means plant. This lesser-known rice variety…
In the months of June, July and August 2018, Kerala experienced the worst floods in its history since 1924. During this time, the state received rainfall that was 42 percent…
“Every time, the story is one-sided. Politicians often use ‘climate change’ as an excuse (in disasters),” climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll said to a clique of legislators in the coastal…
A month ago, 43-year-old industrial worker V Nagaraj from Coimbatore’s Thiruvalluvar Nagar in Tamil Nadu died after he hit a wild boar, while on his motorcycle. An official suspects the…
Every year, around the first week of June, a vast expanse of roiling grey clouds advances from the Arabian sea and makes landfall in Kerala to the tune of rumbling…
At 5 p.m. on February 10, at least 30 residents of Chellanam, a coastal village near Kochi in central Kerala, gathered on the side of the village road. The group…
“Vizhinjam was once known as the harbour of pro-creation,” Father Michael, parish priest of Lady of Good Voyage Church in Vizhinjam, Kerala, told Mongabay-India. But today, the reality is different.…
Now in her early eighties, retired veterinary professor and celebrated animal conservationist Sosamma Iype still remembers an incident from over four decades ago. It was after midnight when her student…
In the mountainous district of Wayanad in Kerala, the Meenangadi grama panchayat has launched a process for turning their area carbon neutral. The measures, planned and implemented by the local…
Though located geographically in Kerala, the 126-year-old Mullaperiyar Dam is owned, operated, and maintained by the Tamil Nadu government and has been a point of dispute between the two neighbouring…
Renowed Kerala-based environmental activist M. K. Prasad, breathed his last on 17 January 2022, following Covid-19 complications. He was 89. Most known for his crusade against the Silent Valley project,…
The Marayoor sandalwood reserve in Kerala, spread over 1,460.77 hectares, close to one-sixth the size of Kochi, is currently one of the very few forests with high-quality sandalwood in India.…
Kerala was the first Indian state to launch large-scale oil palm cultivation in 1971. The south Indian state is now planning to boost its palm oil plantation and production. India…
Biodiversity, the variety of life across genes, species and populations, plays an integral role in ensuring food security, ecosystem function, and human well-being. Amid alarming reports of skyrocketing species extinction…
