Kudumbam, India

 

Kudumbam

Vision

Our vision is to strengthen vulnerable people and villages by building a partnership for the conservation and reconstruction of traditional flora and fauna to ensure sustainable livelihoods.

Organic cultivation and sustainable development

Our main focus is to strengthen small farmers and landless agricultural workers as well as strengthen the rights of widows, single women and orphans.

We are located in Tamil Nadu, southern India, and our head office is in Tiruchirapalli (Trichy). We work with organic farmers in Pudukottai and Nagapattinam districts, and run the farm “Kolunji Ecological Farm”, a little south of Trichy. Where, among other things, we hold courses for farmers to convert to organic production or have courses in ecological principles for university students. In many of the villages around Kolunji, we have started nurseries so that farmers can have access to various tree species that prevent soil erosion, retain moisture in the soil and help with shade. We also help farmers with techniques to collect and reduce the speed of the rainwater that otherwise advances during the rainy season. At Kolunji Ecological Farm there is also Vidivelli Children’s home, an orphanage where children from local villages have the opportunity to finish their schooling. Kudumbam is also active at international level as a member of various networks, including the LEISA network, which is known for its efforts in sustainable agriculture.

Background

Mr. Oswald Quintal, Dr. Nammalvar and Mr. Perianayagasamy joined forces and founded Kudumbam in 1982. Currently, the Tamil Nadu countryside is experiencing an agricultural crisis. The green revolution of the 1960s led to a change in land use; from many different crops adapted to the dry climate, to monocultures with heavy use of chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Heavy irrigation has slowly led to depletion of groundwater, which has resulted in small-scale farmers becoming more vulnerable. We at Kudumbam then began to inform farmers and villagers about their rights to waterways and the benefits of customized traditional crops. Today we continue this work, but we have also moved on and now also focus on “empowering” women in rural areas, as female farmers are often neglected in India.

Mission

To ensure the participation of the community in creating increased biodiversity at the agricultural and village level and to give villages the right to traditional seeds and resources enriched agriculture.
To strengthen participants in forums that strive to strengthen organic agricultural policy and to oppose the mono-cultures of large-scale agriculture.

Contact Kudumbam
Email: info@kudumbam.in
Website: http://kudumbam.in/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kudumbamngo/
Instagram: kudumbamngo

 

Kudumbam works in the villages around the courtyard Kolunji, located a little south of Trichy, below you can see a movie about the farm.