Strengthening the sovereignty of Adivasis in their eco-systems and recognising the role of Barefoot Ecologists is an aim with which Keystone Foundation and Dhaatri came together for a workshop on Biodiversity Mapping and Water Monitoring. Barefoot ecologists from Adivasi communities participated in the four-day-long workshop conducted in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district.
The aim of the workshop was to enable communities to create detailed registers of their biodiversity and monitor their forest resources with the help of their own barefoot ecologists.
Over the first two days of the workshop, the participants exchanged methodologies in documenting flora and fauna in their surroundings to help them track changes in their environment and monitor the overall health of their ecosystem.
The second half of the workshop focused on water, with the participants receiving training in monitoring water quality. On a field visit, they tested samples from multiple water sources of a village for their pH value, turbidity, oxygen levels, etc.
Further, participants also held discussions on the gendered effects of climate change, and the relationship between community and nature.
Some more pictures from the workshop:
