After travelling dozens of hours and thousands of miles we arrived in Bangalore to the hustle and bustle of early morning rush hour; we witnessed families starting their days as Sabhir, our driver, weaved in and out of traffic on our way to Wayanad. The next day, the four of us stepped foot in Prashanthagiri, and the beautiful rural community seemed like a world away from the busy city. We were eager to learn about
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In the development world, there are tons of metrics by which to assess growth – ways to quantify a program’s progress in promoting health and wellness in a community. And who doesn’t love to see these numbers? Numbers that can easily be translated into pie charts, or info graphics about our work, are neat and easy to understand at a glance. But for those of us working with a young and growing non-profit like Profugo,
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The month of January here in Prashanthagiri started off not only in celebration of the new year, but also in celebration of the completion of Phase I of the Profugo Biogas Program, resulting in the construction of 3 digesters for three families. Through the Profugo Biogas Program we are implementing household biogas digesters for the most disadvantaged families in the village. Thanks to a donation by Dr. Leif and Dr. Lena Oxelmark from the University
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Like the beginning of a summer rainstorm, images of endangered plants and animals would trickle into my mind when I heard the word conservation. Yet after conducting research on the tensions between farmers and environmental conservationists in Wayanad, I realized my definition of conservation was misguided. True conservation is inclusive in that it centers on people, animal, and plant preservation and growth. Many in Wayanad, however, are unaware of conservation’s holistic attributes because conservationists and
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An existing problem with Wayanad’s farming community is not a lack of crop success; rather there is success…of the same crops! Cash crops such as rubber, black pepper, and coffee are three of Wayanad’s principle crops. These usually yield economic growth for the developing farmer; however, Wayanad’s farmers favor these crops to such an extent that the market is saturated; thus leading to reduced profits. In other words, too many farmers are growing coffee, rubber,
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