These weeks of April witness the bloom of flowers. Konna (Cassia fistula) hangs like golden chandeliers across Kerala for Vishu, palash sets central India ablaze as the “flame of the forest”, and mahua begins its quiet predawn shower of flowers that tribes gather for food, drink, and income. In our ecosystem of partners, April has […]
In 2023, a group of partners came together and took a collaborative approach to build a sandbox. The idea was to test and create a place-based, ecosystem-led model that can build climate resilience and community stewardship. What is a place, though? It is more than the sum of its parts, the geography, the people and […]
Early September, Sameer, Vikas and Akshatha from the Rainmatter team spent four days in Indore and surrounding rural areas where Rainmatter’s partner organizations are working actively in the climate space. The experience was both, inspiring and important for our work. Some notes from the field trip in the words of Akshatha Narayana… It was incredible […]
As soon as Nandini suggests meeting at the mangroves, my first thought is to cycle down. The morning I set out though, Goa is 14°; which for Goa, is COLD. I’m pedalling through ear-numbing winds on a foggy morning, but the ride to the mangroves close to Mapusa is surreal nonetheless. The sun is just […]
Community knowledge, connection and stewardship of a place go hand-in-hand. Listening and building connection is critical not just for the place but also for a sustainable planet I had never heard of a fasal chakra. Nor a village engineer. Neither about halma, swaraj shala and gram swabhiman diwar. And the most counter-intuitive and rational-defying thing […]
Rainmatter partner Civis recently launched the Climate Voices handbook. The foundation had supported Civis to create, publish and disseminate the handbook, that would be a how-to guide on environmental public consultation. Here is Civis’ story, their endeavour to make the voices of common people heard in environmental regulation through pre-legislative public consultation, and the relevance of […]
Imagine yourself walking in nature on a beautiful morning – the bright golden sun peeking through the mountains, a river dancing to its tune, a meandering road leading to a house surrounded by lush green trees. What does this remind you of? It’s one of the first artworks we learnt to draw as children – […]
When the landscape of a city changes over time, when there is more demanded of it every day than it can provide, we risk reducing our natural environment to a mere reserve. How much of a thought can we spare it then? What happens to something that no longer holds our attention? We stop noticing […]