Monsoon season in Wayanad is quickly approaching but even though the torrential rains will bring large volumes of much needed moisture, Wayanad and the entire state of Kerala continue to endure severe drought outside of the rainy months. The lush greenery of the Wayanad…
Ours is a consumer-driven market. What does that mean? It means that the only people who truly decide the products we see in stores, the options we are offered, are we, the consumers. Take it from a budding economist that our money and spending…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
By 10 am on February 18th, the Profugo house was filled with people from nearby areas. Some of them came walking a long distance. Our first public program on agriculture, a farmer’s training in collaboration with Kerala state agriculture department was being held. At…
The grass does not shine as bright green on our surrounding hills anymore. While some cold towns in the U.S. are buried by mountains of heavy white snow, here, in Prashanthagiri, a powerful hot sun hovers over the fields. Those dark green and brown…
It started to rain heavily. Nevertheless, the children came. Big, grey clouds hovered over the beautiful lime green hills overlooking our yard. Despite the rain, the community’s children came happy. They walked up to Profugo’s Center of Development (COD) with big smiles unbothered by…