Traditional knowledge News

RSS
37 stories
Velli, a Paniyan elder collects Kurunthotti in Meppady, Wayanad. Image by Sujith M.M.

Adivasi medicinal plant collection faces uncertain economics [Commentary]

Vipindas P., Thippi Thazhassery, Sujith M.M., Abhi Augustine 2 Apr 2026
Farmers collect foliage from a betta land. Image by Sharmila Vaidyanathan.

Betta lands await revival as areca nut cultivation undergoes change

Sharmila Vaidyanathan 20 Mar 2026
The main building of the Varanasi MMT. Image by Rahul Singh.

Traditional boatmen washed out by waterways infrastructure and tourism

Rahul Singh 17 Mar 2026
An Adivasi woman collects and ties kuda (Holarrhena pubescens) leaves from her friend's private forest in Jambhulwadi. Image by Nayantara Siruguri.

Adivasi women protect private forests as land conversions threaten livelihoods and culture [Commentary]

Nayantara Siruguri, Yamini Khedkar 5 Mar 2026
A sacred grove in Sikkim. Image by Amitabha Gupta via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Sacred groves anchor traditional healing: study

Shradha Triveni 3 Mar 2026
Bamboo crafts in the works in village courtyards. Image by Kulesh Bhandari.

Climate stress, market gap weaken traditional bamboo craft [Commentary]

Kulesh Bhandari 26 Feb 2026
A Malabar spiny dormouse. Small rodents have shared spaces with human civilisation for centuries, and find mentions in folklore and stories. Image by Davidvraju via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Living with small mammals [Commentary]

Krishnamurthy K.V. 17 Feb 2026
A grassland in Dhule district, Maharashtra. Image by Yuvraj Shingate via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

What traditional Marathi literature reveals about savannahs

Sharmila Vaidyanathan 4 Feb 2026
New shoots emerging from pruned alder trees. Image by Tarini Manchanda.

A combined agroforestry model shows sustainable ways to mitigate climate change

Tarini Manchanda 29 Jan 2026
Gadgil visits Yashawantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara, Maharashtra, in 2017. Image by Subodh Kulkarni via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Madhav Gadgil – a scientist, mentor and an institution builder [Obituary]

S. Gopikrishna Warrier 8 Jan 2026
A farmer carries her radish harvest in Sikkim. Image by Srijana Sharma.

Market gaps reshape farming and economy in the mountains [Commentary]

Srijana Sharma 8 Jan 2026

Concerted efforts save an Indigenous donkey from oblivion

Azera Parveen Rahman 25 Dec 2025
One of the nine camera traps (seven of which were placed on the advise of Adi community members) yielded this image of a Chinese pangolin digging a burrow. Image by Chiging Pilia/NCF.

Indigenous knowledge to track and save the Chinese pangolin

Nikhil Sreekandan 17 Dec 2025

Whale shark rescues gain momentum along India’s west coast

K.A. Shaji 28 Nov 2025
A Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor). Representative image from a zoo by Hans de Bisschop via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

The elusive Mishmi takin faces new challenges in its changing habitat

Bikash Kumar Bhattacharya 28 Nov 2025
The single forest road that connects Cholanaikkans with the outside world. Image by Unnnikrishnan Avala.

Asia’s last cave dwellers vanishing in the shadows of change

K.A. Shaji 25 Nov 2025
The team at Delícias Quilombolas, a family-run food stall that drew some of the longest queues in the COP30 Blue Zone in Belém. Image by Manish Chandra Mishra.

Local Brazilian producers shape the menu at COP30

Manish Chandra Mishra 19 Nov 2025
The People’s Summit brought together more than 1,100 civil society organisations and highlighted themes such as food sovereignty, environmental justice and just transition. Image by André Ferreira/Mighty Earth.

Belém’s streets turn red, black and green as people march for climate justice

Manish Chandra Mishra 18 Nov 2025
Tubers on display at the Nilgiris Earth Festival. Image by Anokha Venugopal/Keystone Foundation.

Tubers and tribals face the climate test

Jeyanthi R. 13 Aug 2025
Women of the Bishnoi community have been associated with environment protection since as far back as 1604, when two women gave their lives to protect trees. Image by Harsh Vardhan.

How the Bishnoi made environmental protection central to their identity [Book Review]

Vandana K. 6 Aug 2025