REVIVING INDIA’S TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM.

BY ANNADHANA BOOK PROJECT

Giving voice to the wisdom ofIndia’s traditional people byencouraging their children towrite and publish their ownenvironmental stories.

India is the last big repository of Traditional Knowledge Systems with skills and expertise in the fields of health and ethno-botany, water harvesting, forest management, agriculture, animal care, textile, architecture...

To preserve Traditional

Knowledge, it is therefore of

utmost importance to make

children aware of the significance

and relevance of indigenous

practices and skills and thereby,

instill a sense of pride and

confidence about it.

The all-important traditional ecological knowledge developed by India’s traditional people over many hundreds of years of intimate interaction with the natural world is today on the verge of getting lost for ever.

Annadhana Book Project aims at:

Giving to rural children an opportunity to share

with the world through the medium of story writing

their adventures and learning while…

grazing cattle

roaming jungles in search of wild

fruits

fishing and catching crabs at the river

hunting birds

helping parents with the harvest…

The project will also be an opportunity to:

1. Discover and document India’s Ecological Traditions.

2. Enhance respect for local culture, its wisdom and its environmental ethics.

3. Encourage pupils to learn from elders and respect their knowledge.

4. Create awareness about the importance and relevance of indigenous practices.

5. Reconnect native youth with the land and its culture emphasizing ancient connections to the natural world.

6. Explore ancient traditions and build a modern life that "re-discovers" a natural harmony and balance with nature.

PROGRAM

Annadhana Book Project will organize Creative Writing Workshops in SCHOOLS and NGOs working with children of indigenous communities set in remote rural areas. To capture India’s cultural as well as ecological diversity, Annadhana is planning to hold its program in about 50 rural schools around the country.

During the workshop, the students will be introduced to

the art of story writing, and illustration.

The 5 days workshop is addressed to children aged 10

to 15 years old.

The best stories will get published by a leading

publisher of children’s books. Others will be made

available online in downloadable ebook format.

Part of the program will also be:

- the organization of a trip to nearby villages where students will help with the documentation of local practices in the field of agriculture, health traditions, biodiversity, water harvesting, forest management, vernacular architecture, textiles, crafts…

- the setting-up at the school level of a Traditional Knowledge Exhibition where students will display local tools, baskets, crafts…

The entire program will be documented in print as well as audio-visual media.

You run a school in a forgotten corner of India

and would like to participate to Annadhana Book

Project to Revive India’s Traditional Knowledge

and Wisdom.

Contact Muriel Kakani at

annadhanaproject@gmail.com

Suggestions welcome.