Shimul Bijoor, Deepika Sharma and Madhuri Ramesh During the first phase of our project, wherein we studied the governance and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Andamans, we observed the keen influence of tourism on the way that most spaces in the islands are governed. Tourism influenced which islands were better connected by…
By Tanmay Wagh and Madhuri Ramesh The Andaman and Nicobar islands are at the centre of multiple developmental activities with the tourism industry forming the major thrust area for economic development. With the growing impetus to tourism through subsidies, easy land acquisitions and higher connectivity, the number of tourism-related businesses have increased exponentially in…
By Mythreyi K In early December 2018, James and I headed to West Bengal to conduct a birdwatching workshop for budding tourist guides. The workshop took us all the way from Wandoor in the Andamans to the island of Kumirmari in the Sunderbans. Sunderban, “the only Mangrove-Tiger land of the planet” (Banerjee M, 2012) was…
By Tanya Koshy One of the most remarkable things about field visits is its ability to jolt you back to reality. Vulnerable communities who were earlier mere statistics in a larger, impersonal statistical picture that we absentmindedly scroll through as we sip our morning cup of chai, suddenly come to life as real people with real…
By Shiba Desor The Karen community settled in the Andaman Islands in the early 1920s. A forest-dependent community from erstwhile Burma, the Karens quickly developed linkages with the natural environment of the islands. Along with having a good traditional and developed knowledge of the forest and the sea, the Karens are adept craftspersons of wood,…
Part 3: James & Co. James quickly made friends with many of the participants and organisers by hanging out at the nearby chai shop. He was even invited for a game of “patti” and a drink where he also became quite attached to a few of the local boys whom he took under his wing…
By Mythreyi K People from Kumirmari can be broadly classified into two types. The first type are landed farmers who grow rice and have 5 to 8 acres each, excluding the space in which their houses are built. These are the supposedly well-to-do half of the population. A huge part of their house is built…
By Mythreyi K In early December James and I went to the island of Kumirmari in the Sunderban area to conduct a bird watching workshop for budding tourist guides in the area. Over a span of 4 days, we assisted them in identifying about 35 resident and migrant birds. Sunderban, “the only Mangrove-Tiger land of…
Learning Centre in the Andamans By Mahira Kakajiwala, Sadaf Sethwala and Karishma Modi Despite the loud discourse on the quality of education, a large number of school going children continue to rote learn their way through academia and are not independent readers or writers by the end of elementary school. As part of the “Islands…
