On June 5th, World Environment Day, Friends of the Earth India launched its Know Our Earth programme. The inaugural season of Friends of the Earth India’s “Know our Earth” initiative centered around comprehending Natural Resources and Customary Rights concluded on June 7, 2023. The 3 days residential workshop took place at the Dynamic Centre in Thriuvalla, Kerala and saw the active participation of 28 young individuals from various corners of the country.
The participants were primarily from different traditional, marginalized communities and included those actively involved in addressing these community-related issues. The programme’s structure aimed to foster an environment conducive to sharing among participants, enabling them to discuss the challenges they are combating within their regions. The focus was on finding ways to collaborate in each other’s causes and campaigns while offering mutual support.
The filed visit had a profound impact on participants, as they observed the extensive degradation of the coastline due to black sand mining. They also interacted with communities striving to protect their land and livelihoods from the adverse effects of mining.
Facilitated by Jibin Robin (Coordinator, FoE India), Krishnakant Chouhan (Convener, FoE India), Alis Cherowa (Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee) and Sarath Cheloor (Dynamic Action, Kerala) the sessions included valuable insights from guest speakers who were community leaders, senior activists, former political leaders, researchers, lawyers and cultural activists. These speakers shared their experiences and engaged with participants, offering a diverse range of perspectives.
The programme also featured a screening of the documentary film “Ghar se Beghar” (From Home to Homeless), followed by a discussion involving the director and community representatives participating in the programme. Adding to the cultural aspect, an evening of cultural exchange unfolded, with active participation from everyone. Traditional songs, musical performances, and dances representative of various communities and states were showcased with enthusiasm.
Testimonials
“The participants were from different parts of the country, therefore, I got information about the environmental issues happening all over the country. Also, participants were from different backgrounds and were working on different environmental issues such as mining, pollution, forest rights, etc. so I got a clear picture of the issues of tribal, fish workers, and other coastal communities and learned how to protect the rights of marginalized communities“. Rizwan Mirza, Gujarat.
“The diversity when it comes to socio-economic,cultural backgrounds and intergenerationality ,enabled the people to learn and understand about different issues, how people are working on it etc. And the conversations happened between the people helped to build multidimensional perspectives. Sessions were truly informative. The exposure visit to Thottappilly and Kuttanad was an eye opener and I could see and learn the intersections between issues which was one of the major learnings. Cultural evening and how it was curated was appreciable”. Shanija Shamsudheen, Kerala.
“It gave us chance to explore, express and learn while meeting people with similar experiences from different parts of the country. The resource persons were influential to make us think and reflect. The field visits gave us first hand exposure to crucial realities and struggles”. Probin Pegu, Assam.
“Every person I met, from organizers to participants sincerely wanted to protect the marginal communities. It was the genuineness and the dedication which has stayed back with me. Best sessions: Maju from Centre for financial accountability, Sathyan, Varghese George, Alice, Cultural programme (special mention: Sharath), Ghar se Beghar, the film“. Nisha Matamp, Maharashtra.