Echoes of EcoEcological Indians

In this issue:

Ecological Indians Towards energy independent The Happenings Green Rameswaram From our Publications: Gandhiji

on development Visions of Wisdom:

Living Planet Being a tree Eco-Awareness

Peaceful be heaven, peaceful theearth, peaceful the broad spacebetween. Peaceful for us be the

running waters, peaceful the plantsand herbs!

Peaceful to us be the signs of thefuture, peaceful what is done and

undone, peaceful to us be what is andwhat will be. May all to us be

gracious!

- Atharva Veda (XIX, 9,1-2)

Hymn for Peace

August, 2015 Vivekananda Kendra- nardep Newsletter Vol:7 No:6

Service to humanity is the highest form of worship – Swami Vivekananda

This is the fifth time that NationalGeographic has partnered withGlobeScan to develop an internationalresearch approach to measure andmonitor consumer progress towardenvironmentally sustainableconsumption. The key objectives ofthis unique consumer tracking surveyare to provide regular quantitativemeasures of consumer behavior and topromote sustainable consumption. Thisquantitative consumer study of 18,000consumers in a total of 18 countries(14 in 2008, 17 in 2009 through 2012)asked about such behavior as energyuse and conservation, transportationchoices, food sources, the relative useof green products versus conventionalproducts, attitudes toward theenvironment and sustainability, andknowledge of environmental issues.

[Courtesy: National Geographicwebsite]

Throughout all the surveys Indianshave ranked the first in all of thesestudies. The study for the year2014 also reveals the same. Theresearch teams says: “Indians'Greendex score has increased veryconsiderably since 2012 and theyremain in 1st place overall. TheirHousing score has increased greatly,and their Food score has alsoincreased. Their Transportationscore has also seen a modestincrease.” The report notes:“Majorities of consumers in allcountries surveyed, except Sweden,feel that food is an essential part oftheir culture, especially Indians.Almost half of consumers say theyprefer to eat the food and recipesthey grew up with, rather than thelatest trends in food.”These are the strengths upon whichwe intend to build projects like‘Green Rameshwaram’.

There is but one world and everything that is imaginable is necessary to it. For this world alsowhich seems to us a thing of stone and flower and blood is not a thing at all but is a tale. And all init is a tale and each tale the sum of all lesser tales and yet these are also the selfsame tale andcontain as well all else within them.. – Cormac McCarthy

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, August 2015, Vol. 7 No: 6

The above is an excerpt from the book published by VK-nardep on renewable energy.One of the aims of ‘Green Rameshwaram’ is to make the island energy self-reliant. Thebook deals with solar energy, wind energy and bio-energy. It discusses the renewableenergy potential and how they can be harnessed through green technologies to make thelocal villages energy independent. The book is important for both lay public and socialworkers who take green technologies to communities.

For more information on Green Rameshwaram please contact: Secretary, VivekanandaKendra-nardep, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari -629702Email: vknardep@gmail.com Phone: 04652-246296 www.vknardep.org

Green Rameshwaram aims to make the island energy independent. Towards this end solar power installations arebeing made in the hamlets of coastal communities in the isolated regions of Danushkodi where there is no electricity.At another level solar panel based smart-grids are employed to make buildings energy-surplus and independent.

Solar panel lights up a hut in the coastal hamlet.

More grass means less forest; more forest less grass. But either-or is a construction moredeeply woven into our culture than into nature, where even antagonists depend on one anotherand the liveliest places are the edges, the in-betweens or both-ands..... Relations are what

matter most.- Michael Pollan

Farmers Awareness Programme andBuyers – Sellers Meet was conductedby VK-nardep at TRC for 58 farmers. Itwas organized by NIAM, Jaipur,Rajasthan from 27th to 29th of August.

Happenings this month:SUSTAINABLEAGRICULTURE

Ashden India Renewable EnergyCollective held its Second Annual Meetorganized by AIREC, Delhi atHotel Le Meridien at Delhi on 20th ofAugust. Shri.G.Vasudeo attended italong with 20 other awardees.

46 students of Dept. of Zoology, HolyCross College Nagercoil visitedVivekanandapuram on 25th of this monthand learnt green technologies –particularly Vermi compost and Azollatechnology, as part of their study tour.

Training programme on “Organic wastebased Bio-methanation plant” was conductedat TRC, Kalluvilai on 22nd of this month for 8persons. Er.V.Ramakrishnan was theresource person.

Awareness Programme on “Kitchen wastebased Bio-methanation Plant” was conductedat Gramodaya Park, VK-nardep :

- On 12th August through IFAD,Painkulam, Midalam, KanyakumariDist. For 100 persons

- On 13th August through IFAD,Muttam, Thuttur, KanyakumariDist.for 100 persons.

The resource person was Er.V.Ramakrishnan

Workshop on “Low Cost Latrineconstruction” was held for the 62 studentsof the Govt. of Polytechnic, Konam atArumanai, Extension center on 20th ofAugust and the resource person wasShri.V.Ramakrishnan.

To know more about ‘Green Rameshwaram Pilgrimage’ Project contact:Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra - Nardep, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari-629702;

Phone:04652-246296, 9442646296 Email: vknardep@gmail.com

Green Health Home of VK-nardepfunctioned for 7 days and treated219 patients.

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, August 2015, Vol. 7 No: 6

Construction of Bio-Methanation plants:

Portable type 1 cum – 1 Fixed type 1 cum – 30 - Rameshwaram

Fixed type 1 cum – 6 - IFAD

Happenings thismonth:

Renewable Energy

Learning green technologies: theory andhands on session.

Cost-Effectiveconstruction technology

Happenings thismonth:

Networking

Farmers at Buyers & Sellers Meet.(above): And farmers learning greentechnologies

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, August 2015, Vol. 7 No: 6

“No one species shall make the life of the world its own.' … That's one expression of the law.Here's another: 'The world was not made for any one species.”

-Daniel Quinn

‘Green Rameshwaram’ aims to realize one of the last dreams of Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam for his own native island

Clean-up drive near HanumanTeertham: Sis.Saraswathi coordinated

the work : The work is part of theGreen Rameshwaram drive.

A neglected old well inside thenandavanam.

Ramar Teertham gets a new beautifullook after decades: the traditionalwater body is associated with some ofthe important events that Dr.Kalamhad narrated in his autobiography.Below you can see the maintenancework after the main renovation.

Solar panels for bringing light intotheir houses: Panchayat school:

Danushkodi, Rameshwaram.

Green Rameshwaram: The nandavanam(traditional garden associated withthe temple) of the Ramar temple isbeing renovated: Report in the popularTamil daily Dinamalar. Below thenandavanam and the nagas-serpentineidols associated with the nandavanamcan be seen.

An effort to collect the Nirmalya in anaesthetically pleasing way and makevalue-added compost out of it.

There is a close analogy between the aims of art and of science. Descriptive science is, of course,concerned only with the record of appearances; but art and theoretical science have much in

common. The imagination is required for both; both illustrate that natural tendency to seek the onein the many, to formulate natural laws, which is expressed in the saying that the human mind

functions naturally towards unity. – Ananda Coomarasamy

From ourPublications

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, August 2015, Vol. 7 No: 6

The environment is very importantnot only for this generation but alsofor future generations. If we exploitthe environment in extreme ways,even though we may get some moneyor other benefit from it now, in thelong run we ourselves will suffer andfuture generations will suffer. Whenthe environment changes, climaticconditions also change. When theychange dramatically, the economy andmany other things change as well.Even our physical health will begreatly affected. So this is notmerely a moral question but also aquestion of our own survival.Therefore, in order to succeed in theprotection and conservation of thenatural environment, I think it isimportant first of all to bring aboutan internal balance within humanbeings themselves. The abuse of theenvironment, which has resulted insuch harm to the human community,arose out of ignorance of theimportance of the environment. Ithink it is essential to help people tounderstand this.

Our deepest experiences areexperiences of connection with theEarth and with the world. Peopleoften ask me if I believe in theGoddess. I reply ‘Do you believe inrocks?’ It is extremely difficultfor most Westerners to grasp theconcept of a manifest deity. Thephrase ‘believe in’ itself impliesthat we cannot know the Goddess,that She is somehow intangible,incomprehensible. But we do notbelieve in rocks we may see them,touch them, dig them out of ourgardens, or stop small childrenfrom throwing them at each other.We know them; we connect withthem. In the Craft, we do notbelieve in the Goddess we connectwith Her; through the moon, thestars, the ocean, the earth,through trees, animals, throughother human beings, throughourselves. She is here. She iswithin us all. She is the full circle:earth, air, fire, water, and essence— body, mind, spirit, emotions,change

Living Planet Being a Tree Eco-Awareness

A deep concentration seized on, and Iperceived that I was identifyingmyself with a single cherry-blossom,then through it with all cherry –blossoms, and , as I descended deeperinto consciousness, following a streamof bluish force, I became suddenlythe cherry tree itself, stretchingtowards the sky like so many arms itsinnumerable branches laden with theirsacrifice of flowers. Then I hearddistinctly this sentence: “Thus hastthou made thyself one with the soulof the cherry trees and so thou canttake note that it is the Divine whichmakes the offering of this flower-prayer to heaven.” “When I hadwritten it all was effaced; but now theblood of the cherry tree flows in myveins and with it flows andincomparable peace and force, whatdifference is there between thehuman body and the body of a tree?In truth, there is none; theconsciousness which animates them isidentically the same. Then the cherrytree whispered in my ear: “It is incherry-blossom that lies the remedyfor the disorders of spring.”

- Star HawkEco-Feminist

Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, Kanyakumari-629702 Phone:91-4652-246296 www.vknardep.org

How do we inculcate the righteousness in the heart. In my opinion, there are three sources which canbuild a youth with righteousness in the heart. One is mother, second is father - both spiritual, and thethird and the most important is the teacher, particularly primary school teacher. Also to providerighteousness in the heart to the young minds, we should have an environment of great education and aspiritual way of life and spiritual environment. _Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

- HH Dalai Lama- Mother