Keystone Foundation Archives

30 years of Adventure: Past, Present & the Future 

Philosophy 

The concept of `keystone’ emerges from the nest-building behaviour of some birds in nature. These permanent nest structures serve as habitat for several life forms. Such `keystone’ species become crucial in providing opportunities for other associated beings to grow and evolve.  Thus, the Keystone group is born out of a simple ecological principle of the interdependence of natural systems.

Keystone Foundation has completed 25 years in the Nilgiris, working with indigenous communities on eco-development initiatives. The Foundation’s work has been concentrated in the areas of natural resource based livelihoods like apiculture, micro-enterprise development, non-timber forest produce, land and water management, revival of traditional agriculture, and other issues concerning indigenous communities. A strong emphasis on community based conservation and traditional knowledge has been there from the beginning.

After an external impact assessment and a participatory process amongst staff this document is born. It encompasses newly established organisational direction and individual dreams. It seeks to enhance our strengths with appropriate restructuring and added capacities.

Vision

Mission

The Beginning : Origins of Creative Action to an Organisation - 1993 - 2003 "Free, Spirited and Boundless"

Key moments recall:

• Dhaka – Thanapara – Swallows Evaluation – Thoughts about what are we going to do now – sunsets by the river Padma – a sunset of our lives and the new sunrise of tomorrow
• Keystone – A Group for Eco-Development Initiatives formed – as a Trust – the Keystone Foundation and as a partnership Keystone – both work in cohesion one complimenting the other – this was the idea. Keystone the partnership was abandoned later – as the Business was integrated into the Trust thereby making it more holistic and complimentary.
• From Delhi / North India to South-bound – Development Alternatives – Himachal Pradesh survey of Natural Resources (1993) – Bangladesh then on to Tamil Nadu with a base in Pondicherry
• Why honey collectors? Palni Hills Project (1990-92) Project “the Sustainable Development Programme” opened an eye and a whole new life about forest-collectors and traditional tribal beekeeping and honey gathering. This was a window to follow.
• Own resources little support from Swallows (small Swedish NGO based in Lund) conceived of a survey in 4 Southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala & Tamil Nadu. To look at honey hunters and beekeepers – where are they? What do they do? How do they live? What is the link and importance of honey to their lives? Livelihoods? Trade? Markets? Culture?
• 1994 – one year survey started. Fascinating experiences. Trekking and back packing 11 hill ranges and 15 distinct tribal communities. One state was enough. Lets’ start the work. Based in Kotagiri from early 1995 started work on bees, building a base and marketing their honey produce.
• Team grew. Rapport established and strengthened with communities. Donors started showing interest. First evaluation of 1996 – threw up new issues of Land, Food Security, Health and Local Capacity Building.
• Organization was free, open and spirited. Between the 3 of us we did almost everything. Designing labels, filling up honey, selling door to door, writing proposals, talking to the Government, village meetings, building a team and Kotagiri and Keystone seemed to be our only life.
• From rented premises we moved to our own small campus. Resources were generated through consultancies – we went back to the big cities to earn for the land. Donors supported us with the small buildings (5 of them over a period of 1999 – 2004). A vibrant campus is up and ticking with rammed-earth technology. Projects related to Conservation, Enterprise and Livelihoods started – like a force of freshwater into a reservoir. The team grew – new projects and donors were won.
• 2003 end was the second evaluation which concentrated on rights-based approach, livelihoods and organizational structures and decentralization.

 

The Phase of Organization Building : Systems, New Areas and Structures 2004-2009 - Mind over Spirit

• 2004 was the 10 years celebration of Keystone Foundation. An important development was the stakeholder workshops – with staff, with communities. Communities’ headmen and leaders – 50 of them gathered and placed their priorities and tasks for us for the next 10 years. Advocacy, Income generation options and assistance in cultural revival issues. The IDLG (Institutional Development & Local Governance) was born. Tribal youth from Keystone Foundation took great interests and dived full steam to address their community and cultural issues – documentation – digital camera; newspaper, reports, drawings, paintings, indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants.
• New structures and systems – a larger team; areas of operation grew wide; from the Nilgiris district we expanded to the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve (5000 square kms; 14 different ethnic communities; 200,000 indigenous people). But still something was missing. We were not happy with the model of the organization and what emerged left many doubts. Are we to hold it as hard as we did? Giving it to others – what does this mean? Things were left to flow this way for 2 years almost… It was like a forest regeneration process after the climax or the primary vegetation put on hold... But some new things happened too – more initiatives more responsibility and more of a feeling of ownership.

Professional partnerships and alliances brought richness and new perspectives. IFOAM / Participatory Guarantee System, NTFP – EP, Fair Trade, Ernst & Young (Business Plan & Administration & Finance inputs), Future Earth, IRMA students, New & expanded Board of Trustees.

 

2009 - 2017 : Discover & Create : Re-look People & Nature interrelationships 

Try out different things and implement on ground and see how things work, what are the dynamics. Rights-based, facilitating, training, a place for brainstorm, Local Think Tank, Field University, Modern-Traditional Spaces and Initiatives.  Environmental diplomacy at all levels. Create a movement through networks on the importance of Western Ghats in general and Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve in particular for freshwater resources, biodiversity, livelihoods quality and improvement and a higher well being of life and creativity both local and global.

• Green Exchange – A series of green shops focusing on local producers, markets, exchanges of ideas, skills, training and spaces. A network of positive small initiatives that work primarily with nature – people interface. This can be a start up to a holistic ecotourism program and a heritage trail across the Western Ghats and Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. The Green Exchange will primarily give impetus to local economy, local cultures and enhancing the local environment.
• Field University / Local Think Tank – Keystone Centre should become in the future a melting zone of development and environment initiatives between hills / plains communities and the science, arts and research and communication. This would be a living space for practical action, politics, enlightened policies, grassroots initiatives, partnerships between Civil Society – Governments – Business – Academia. The fact that Keystone today is a field-based organization in the heart of the NBR and that indigenous people and non-indigenous people get together here for working and implementation of ideas that matter and change lives and ecology.
• Environmental Governance – Use environmental diplomacy at all levels to bring about sustainable, long term, far sighted solutions and working mechanisms to deal with globalization in mountainous, biodiversity-rich, home-to-indigenous people area.
• Arts, Crafts, Theatre, Film, Music & Traditional Foods – This needs to be promoted through projects and programs in the coming 5 years – as more emphasis has been given only to income generation projects.
• Town & Country Planning – Rural – Urban: Vernacular Architecture / Concepts of Space - this would be an active curriculum at the Field University. The need for holistic planning and development in mountain ecosystems cannot be overemphasized. Students’ projects from leading Schools of Architecture & Planning will be tied up to document traditional mountain habitats, spaces, local needs and culture and combine with new and appropriate integrated technologies and systems which improve quality of life and the environment.
• Mountains – plains value chain: Today the mountain areas are rich in natural beauty, resources but often poor in economy and home to indigenous marginalized communities. Either then they become the havens of the rich and famous and an economy that is artificial which often alienates local culture and lifestyles and traditions. How then to bridge this gap or how to create a channel by which mountain special environments are a special human-nature zone and that helps the watershed and the surrounding areas of the plains. Through-put Economic and ecological cycles and energies with some imaginative governance.
• Managing Lives / Situations: Life histories and dynamics of hunter-gatherer; plantation worker; people-in-nature and people-for-nature. The 3 years Bees, Biodiversity & Livelihoods Project funded by the Darwin Initiative gave us this tool and knowledge on exploring life histories. There is not one single livelihood strategy and agenda – it’s myriad, diverse and has interesting social linkages which support societies.
• Partnerships – Civil Society – Government – Private Sector
• How to work through networks / learning opportunities
• Nilgiris Annual Lecture Series
• Writers’ Retreat

What do we have?

1. New Organization restructure
2. Team of 50 people
3. Projects related to Conservation, Enterprise & Livelihoods
4. Small Campus & Infrastructure

What are the challenges recently?

1. Culture & People Group - the perspective plan and the dilemma of the cultural identity
2. Environmental Governance – the Forest Rights Act, how to work with the diverse role players – Trade & Business, Governments – Forest & Revenue, Academia & Research, NGOs/CBOs & Peoples’ Movements
3. Strategy to develop people in their own contexts speeds and yet makes a critical change and shift in the overall progress of endeavour.

 

Sparks that create new futures and progress

What do we need? Where do we want to go? How do we want to approach these subjects? Through what kind of interventions – which are embedded in local contexts yet have the flexibility and openness for transcendence?

• Conservation
• Livelihoods
• Enterprise
• Culture & People
• Environmental Governance

What we do not want to become…

• A pure research organization
• A place that is not alive
• Run of the mill and mediocre work and activities
• A charity

What do we want to become…

• A practitioners’ paradise
• Real life unending learning and application
• The organic mix of community, science, arts, music, crafts, culture, development, graphics, architecture, story- telling, politics, leadership training, experimenting with new ideas & processes.
• Professional, small and effective, not a large administration and bureaucracy, appropriate technologies – energy, renewable, solid waste and recycling; town and country planning.
• Ecotourism, local marketing initiatives, local skills and produces, local trails, agriculture practices. Fair trade issues.
• How to sensitively address the issue of marginalization, tribal rights, access, space and empowerment. In this region of the NBR the issue is complex as the number of tribal spread over the 3 states is large but fragmented and do not matter in terms of vote gains as their respective state population is large amongst the non-tribal.
• Does the biodiversity argument still valid? Do we need to see some other approaches? Is change evitable and tribal shall become the non-tribal? What does history say? Show?

Looking back at the 25 years – there are several learning and approaches that is the foundation on which Keystone has been built.

• Local Initiatives
• Global – Local Approach
• Transparency, Trust and Openness
• Giving impetus to small initiatives
• Bringing pride into traditional societies
• Building people and ideas in their own contexts
• Using the best of science, imagination to come out with participatory solutions and processes that work in the field; can be implemented.

The new ideas are in the following areas:

• Organization
• Communities
• Subject Areas / Fields
• New Innovative Practices that is cutting edge and leading yet embedded in a forward-looking local context
  • Field University / Local Think Tank
  • Communities of Practice
  • Environmental Governance
  • Ownership / Stakeholder / Stewardship

1. Holistic Livelihoods: Implementing livelihoods program with indigenous communities should have a broad focus and approach. It is not only about the income or the management of a value addition unit. In the coming 5 years Livelihoods should be able to integrate and work with other groups – Conservation, Enterprise, Culture & People and Environmental Governance. It should be able to perceive and initiate small projects on peoples’ use of resources, their time and space. What is the definition and world-view of the indigenous person – how does he / she relate to the forests today? What have been the changes – is it a re-organization of ideas, skills and resources amongst them? How do they relate to the traditions that are changing? How do they interact with others – the non-tribal or the traders? Much has changed and will be changing. What is it that drives them today? In the Bees - Biodiversity – Livelihoods project a finding that has emerged is that NTFP collection is small and not so significant – there are various livelihood options – wage labour, embroidery, working in factories, auto mechanics, cleaners, firewood collectors for hotels / resorts, etc. Given that these are all income options – some have cultural moorings and some do not. It would be worthwhile to engage in the discovery and creation of their inner space – the story telling, the music, the art and painting, the value that they transfer and convey to their children and the young generation. How is it possible from this group to tap and build future leaders? Is there trends? Is there historical or cultural nuances and underpinnings that can be revisited and revived in present contexts?
2. Local Conservation: Community led, linking up the science and action-research to the context and realities of what the community seeks and needs. Is Conservation an important factor for them? How do they relate to this? Often ecological science and restoration and protection measures are not in synchrony with development. The task gets more complex with other development initiatives and projects which find their way into the region. How then to tailor and market Conservation that is forward looking and has a context. Protocols that make livelihoods easy and efficient; local enterprise that is sensitive to collection and seasonality for the harvest of better produce enabling a better price – has to be the conservation focus. There are also areas where protection of species and habitat conservation has to be priority and peoples’ activities can be restricted. These areas can be dovetailed with Culture & People and their work on Sacred Groves, documentation of ancestral domains and traditional ritual histories. Agro-biodiversity, horticulture, use of water and wetlands, pastoral systems, organic plantations of homestead gardens with spice and medicinal plants need to be introduced for greater integration.
3. Unique Production Centre Development & Organic Market Development:  Marketing was the mantra from the very start in Keystone. From honey to homestead products led to the establishment of the Green shops and gradually this business grew. The Enterprise Group earlier looked at the production, distribution and marketing and advertisement and customer relations. In an evaluation in 2008 to make it more effective and focused – the Enterprise Group split into two. The Production Centre Development (PCD) went to the Livelihoods Group as it dealt with the villagers, the production and value addition centres and formation of those local groups to come together – primarily to benefit their income and add value to forest products. Aadimalai Pazhangudiyanar Producer Company was formed from the PCD. The Organic Market Development (OMD) was formed to see the Enterprise activities – the forward linkages – new and local markets, the distribution channels, consumer education and showcasing Keystone’s work through products, producers and an ethical marketing system based on local fair trade principles and organic growing practices. Several other groups who believe in this philosophy and practice also market their produce through the Last Forest Enterprise Private Limited, which emerged out of OMD.
4. Culture & People: This is complex. We are already facing the costs of success. How much is it a mandate of the organization and where do we draw the lines – this is a dynamic process. Culture & People was meant to provide a platform, a space for the tribal communities to revive their leadership issues, discuss what’s happening in the community and facilitate cultural practices and documentation. It has gone beyond that. One of the communities identified itself with a cultural identity and naturally issues of traditions, rituals came in conflict with changes in perception of marriage, views of life and relationships and work ethics. This was a program which became internalized with a particular community in the course of a few years. How do we retrace back our steps to a merely documentation and research organization on culture and people. This is where we are and confused. On one hand is the possibilities of positive change and a fresh new perspectives into tribal domains and beliefs – do we involve with this further? Or do we stay back in the periphery to watch, document and explore the large number of tribal groups whose culture and people practices and activities have not been documented before. After this is done – the documentation – then what. Where is the implementation? What is the future road ahead? This is an interesting and crucial situation in the lives of Adivasi. A number of them are in the management of Keystone Foundation where they face this situation – they belong to Keystone, they are also first community members. It is during these times that one also sees the downside of the traditional societies and narrow attitudes which hamper future viability and growth for progress.

Environmental Governance: From advocacy the movement has shifted to Environmental diplomacy. This is challenging in a country like India. Firstly few understand the environment and development agenda. It has to be put to the clients in a manner that they relate. Governments, Business, Academia & Civil Society. How to create a movement in which Environment & Sustainable Development issues occupy centre-stage? Local ward, panchayat, taluk, district and to the state level to the national scale? How to do? What to do? When to do? Why to do – that is clear as we want the environment to be the central hub of all decision-making – politics, business, education, manufacturing, transportation systems, rural and urban development, water resources, housing and building, architecture, energy – all sectors that touch us in some way or the other. For this to happen – what should we do? Awareness material? Educating the right people at the right place? Showing that all this can work actually by doing? A project demonstration in an area? How to work on it in a smart way? What are the changes and efforts to make and do so that from the design to implementation this is in the very consciousness of all sectors and all role players? For a healthy sustainable happy livelihood and lifestyle – the environment is important as a key player. One could start from soft and hard issues at the same time – and meet somewhere in the middle. More than this – at this point I am not sure how to go about. But a few ideas are building champions in each and every sector – who become part of a network that meets regularly to fine tune strategies and action.

Insider – Outsider Story

Mixtures have always been critical in history. This one is also like that. Founders are outsiders. Insiders are stratified – locals, adivasi and people from the state. This mixture has had a dynamic adaptive mechanism – learn, unlearn, change, calibrate, create and reduce. There are advantages of this mixture – it has pieces, favours, approaches that are National in nature, yet the practice is embedded into the Local.

What Drives Change & Synergy of Different Knowledge Systems:

Accomplish, continue on my dreams of Inter-linkages & Processes: especially in context of rural, tribal India in diverse ecosystems. As an Ecologist and Physicist by training my passion been observing, studying lives of local hill people – those who live frugal lives but have deep impacts on society and ecology. As a founder- Director of a field-based NGO (www.keystone-foundation.org), since the past 20 years, through projects, initiatives, field trips and surveys – I have tried be a student / learner between ecology of life, sustainability and thirst for progress and development. What I am keen to understand / accomplish is whether there is an Ecologically Sustainable Development paradigm for this planet?

• Why Progress necessary means Displacement, Destruction and Fragmentation of Nature & Natural Resources?
• What kind of future local and global leaders need to be created so that living, learning, exchanging becomes an extended classroom and a space for innovation and interaction. Something that goes beyond only a commercial venture.
• How to make local, innovative and new approaches - mainstream? If good needs to be spread, embedded in all spheres of life, politics and governance; what are the trajectories? Is it through other forms? Music, arts and crafts? Or is it through small, niche-based steps, actions that inherently can’t be scaled up? Diversity is the engine of stability and change, how do we create a new school of thought leaders who will implement local action – globally and be nimble to constantly change and adapt to new situations.

Yale Global Leadership will help me to develop the Nilgiris Field Learning Centre (blogs.cornell.edu/nflc/). This was an idea to create inter-linkages, processes to understand on how to develop thought and perceptive leaders in a rapidly changing world. The NFLC is a 15 weeks spring semester course, which will begin in Jan 2015 to bring Cornell students, indigenous and local people at a practice-cum-learning zone, de-learning and rationalizing myths and exploring new ways of collaboration. This will provide a new meaning to education that is transformative, field-based and keeping a keen eye and ear to the ground on what to learn from hunter-gatherer communities, marginalized tribal societies who have rich culture and complex thought and living systems. Interaction between local and international cultures and confluence will provide new opportunities of learning and application.

The Conclusion: Legacy

To me the balance between ecology and economics is crucial. The marriage between biodiversity and livelihoods has to work in our planet. Science and Technology should not alienate us from nature – but provide imaginative tools and solutions to work for nature and natural resources. India is passing through a period of big change. The new Government has won on the plank of Development & Governance. For several decades people and institutions have got used to a kind of development and approach; this is changing. Change is welcome but we must be pro-active to bring in good change. Environment, ecology and poor people could be affected by big projects, instead of an opposition and conflict situation – we need to engage positively to show new ways of working and making things work. Seeing what the rural people, the hill tribes and their ecosystems can offer and share, thereby creating a partnership in this new development process. It’s a bold process that has unleashed; capable of changing the country, the relationships and the way we work and live. This is also a great opportunity for leaders – local, regional and global to make things happen.

Resilience is a key thing in my world – at the community, at the village, at the state and nationally. We need to seek out the road t resilience in every way. Though our work originated from tribal communities, hunter-gatherers and mainly rural India – gradually in the span of 2 decades – our challenges are in the rural – urban. Rurban. Urbanization is taking gigantic strides into the hinterlands; small towns, one horse shacks, faceless outskirts are suddenly becoming rapid hubs of business, growth and communication. What we need to factor is the kind of life, lifestyle and attitudes that are taking place. Is it alienating us from a tolerance, all-encompassing, compassionate society? Then what was the use of all this wealth generation – if happiness is again hard to find and grasp.

Progress on this issue needs to be monitored and factored constantly. If we are moving away from our raison-d’être, then we need to re-navigate and revalidate. If this is a phase for us to get back to basics and origins with fresh creativity and energy, then we must realize, document and understand this narrative.

Future professional plan is to make Kotagiri a Global Centre for Experiential Learning. A small hill town which is home to several particularly vulnerable tribal groups, a mixed population  – how can it achieve a new city of the future with culture, habitat, animal corridors, tea business, coffee plantations, wetlands and springs courses all tied up in a burgeoning population and rapid urbanization.  Can the city become a centre of learning and Field University? This can be an immersion zone for all kinds of people – generalists and specialists, advocacy activists and green business entrepreneurs. I have a dream. To make these things happen. Time is now.

- A note by Pratim Roy