Conservation - INDIA
Project Information for Conservation in India

Our Conservation Project in India

With sustainable development becoming an increasingly important political theme on global agendas, this placement offers volunteers hands on experience.

Based in a small village in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, volunteers have the opportunity to work alongside local people, promoting organic agriculture, learning about traditional medicinal plants, and teaching environmental awareness to women and children.

The Need for Sustainable Development

Home to over a billion people and with a landmass of 3 million square kilometres, India is a country of contrasts. As cities develop rapidly, bringing new prosperity to thousands, rural life remains simple and traditional. With a tropical monsoon climate in the South, a temperate climate in the North, the Ghat Mountains transcending the Western side of the country and the dizzy heights of the Himalayas in the North, India is extremely diverse. As both climate and lifestyles change, a careful balancing act needs to be reached and sustainable development practices followed.

Projects Abroad India is based in the town of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. This state has a large rural population, and many thousands of people live in small villages. Life here is basic; there is electricity, but few houses have running water and sanitation standards are low. The majority of the population is employed in agriculture.

As the population of India rises and overall prosperity increases, greater demand is being placed upon natural resources. More food is required, so the usage of chemical pesticides and fertilisers has increased, in order to produce greater yields. Traditional practices, such as herbal therapies are being lost, as global companies promote 'new' medicines, and land where medicinal plants once grew is cleared for development. In order for India to continue to develop sustainably, it is vital that local populations are educated in environmental awareness and have access to sustainable technologies.

An Eco-Development Project

It all began in 2001, when Projects Abroad founded a tree-planting programme in a small village in Southern India. Since then, the project has grown vastly and in 2004, a 0.7 acre Model Farm was established in the village of Ullar, Tamil Nadu. Funded completely by Projects Abroad, the Model Farm is run by Conservation volunteers and members of the local community who are employed to work on the farm.

The aim of the project is to provide a model to the local community as to how to farm sustainably. The farm produces all of its own organic compost and fertilisers, and these are available to local villagers.

Tamil Nadu has had a long history of traditional medicine, but gradually indigenous knowledge is being lost and the plants' natural habitats destroyed. The Projects Abroad Model Farm is cultivating over 50 species of medicinal plants, in addition to banana and papaya trees, traditional herbs and spices, and a small kitchen garden growing vegetables.

The Role of the Volunteer

Volunteers spend the majority of their time at the Model Farm, a sustainable, organic farm which is run and maintained entirely by Projects Abroad staff and volunteers. Working hours are from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 17:00. At the start of their placement, each volunteer is trained by the placement supervisor Ponraj in the different work and techniques involved.

Once trained, volunteer tasks include:

cultivating a large medicinal nursery - planting medicinal herbs that can be used to treat a wide variety of common ailments
producing 'vermin-compost' - a natural fertilizer produced from domestic and farm waste using earthworms
visiting the nearby town of Rajapalayam once a week to sell low-priced vermin-compost at the local market, aimed at achieving awareness more than making a profit
tending to the plants, planting more of them and introducing endangered plant species to the farm
sharing knowledge with the local community on sustainable farming through demonstrating the techniques and technologies employed on the Model Farm
assisting in implementing these new ideas that often prove beneficial to local farmers and community members
planting and looking after trees - we are replanting species that have suffered deforestation in the past; the species chosen are those which are beneficial to the local communities

We have our own staff working full-time on the project, but also recognize the need for expert assistance from outside. Volunteers working on parts of the project that require specialist knowledge will spend some of their time at other centres in southern India, learning the necessary skills to bring back to the farm. This also comes as a welcome break from the physical labour at the farm.

LEIF in India

LEIF - Low External Input Farming - is the founding philosophy of the Model Farm. Projects Abroad promotes LEIF in order to reach out and educate local farmers. You plant the seeds of knowledge in the community by bringing school children to visit the farm and explaining the different methods of farming that are more environmentally safe and financially practical.

LEIF was established due to the worrying effects of artificial pesticides and fertilizers used by local farmers. These artificial chemicals create health problems for consumers and are an economic strain on those who use them.
Local farmers employ these means for three primary reasons:

they have been the uncontested norm for over 30 years
there is a lack of information and disinformation about production companies
artificial materials require less manual labor and little foresight

The focus of the Model Farm is to show the value of Low External Input Farming. This stresses alternative methods in soil fertility/erosion control and pest/disease management. The model farm helps farmers see the positive results and build up the courage to change their methods.