Overview
The Irula tribe is one of the six most ancient hunter gatherer tribes in India. They are mostly located in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Traditionally they have been known as snake hunters and for a long period of time their sustenance came from catching snakes and selling them for their skin. This activity came under growing threat after the government of India banned the use of snake skin for bags, belts and other accessories in the 1970s.
The ITWWS was set up in 1986 on 15 acres of land in Thandarai. Its goal was to provide the Irula women with a livelihood, to document the traditional medicinal knowledge that they possessed, to create a seed bank to preserve and proliferate many vanishing species of trees and plants and to make and market herbal medicine. Among the other goals of the organization are literacy and spread of rights' awareness. The organization is led by Mr Krishnan, a dynamic man who is also a specialist in seeds, and has written a book about them. There are about 20 full time employees who include researchers, nursery managers, those in charge of tree plantations, manufacture of herbal medicines, packaging and marketing them and other areas. The tribal women work on the campus the whole day and help in many of the above activities.
Details
Min/Max # of Volunteers: ( )
Length of Project: Volunteers could start work on the project at any time of the year since it is a continuous project. It would be meaningful if volunteers worked here for at least three months and the project has an ability to abrob up to two volunteers for a priod of one year.
Project: Volunteers could be involved in many of the above activities. In the nursery the work involves preparing soil mixed with manure and packing it in hundreds of plastic bags to sow seeds in them. Maintaining the saplings that spring from these involves weeding and replanting of saplings in damaged bags. In the next stage these saplings are either sold or planted in the surrounding areas. Moving of earth, manure, digging, watering, keeping a count, etc are an integral part of this activity. Working with herbal medicines has several facets to it, starting with planting and maintaining of trees and plants that are medicinal. The herbal medicine nursery is a separate section of the organization. The manufacture of herbal medicines is done in several stages, the first one of which is the gathering of the ingredients from forests or from the trees grown in the campus. These are then dried and powdered in a separate section. Precise quantities and combinations are managed by the Irula women who have knowledge about the uses of these herbs. The powders are then measured out in saleable quantities and packed in boxes, which are then labeled and readied for sale. The campus also has a workshop, which manufactures wooden boxes to make the packaging attractive. Volunteers could also be involved in correspondence with the aid agencies which sustain these activities as well as in producing booklets, posters and pamphlets for publicity. The ITWWS has a web site which could use the services of someone who is familiar with managing of these.
Location: The ITWWS is located about 50 km souith of Chennai, in a village called Thandarai. The nearest city is Chengalupet, which is 15 Km away. The setting is very typically Indian rural. Which means the larger landscape is dotted with a few villages and farms.
The historic and extremely scenic tourist destination of Mahabalipuram is half an hour's auto (three wheeler taxi similar to the "Tuk Tuk in Thailand) ride from Thandarai and the beaches here could be a good place to spend some week-ends on.
Room and board: Since the nearest town/city is not near enough for a daily commute, stay on campus will be required. Clean, fairly modern accommodation with all meals will be provided by the ITWWS for up to Rs 6000 per month (current rate of exchange for the pound, euro and dollar to rupees is 87, 52 and 45 respectively as on 30th November, 2006). The meals are very clean and wholesome south Indian vegetarian and include Indian wheat bread, rice, a variety of vegetables, lentils and salads.
Financial requirements for the volunteer: In addition to accommodation your expenses will include transportation and pocket money. Chennai is connected to all the major cities of the world by air and private transport from Chennai to Thandarai could cost up to Rs 1500. Public transport is much cheaper but will involve a couple of changes.
Specific requirements: The language spoken by the Irula women is Tamil, however, knowledge of the language is not essential given the nautre of the work. It is assumed that the volunteers will pick up a few useful phrases in the first few days. The project has the ability to absorb volunteers with a variety of skills and the staff is extremely helpful about settling people in.
Website: itwwsindia.org
E-mail: irulatribe@vsnl.net
UWC.org