Kadar
The Kadar Confront Another Hydropower Dam
Inspired by their success over the years in stopping the construction of a big hydroelectric project in Kerala, the Kadar have decided to contest the construction of another dam on a different river in the state. A post on an Indian environmental blog on October 20 provided some details of the latest attack by the […]
The Kadar Defend Their Rights
A nightmare for the Kadar is returning. Kerala announced last week that the State Electricity Board has been granted permission to resume planning a large power dam on the Chalakudy River. The proposed dam, which has generated extensive news coverage over the years, would harm or destroy a couple Kadar villages and inundate the habitat […]
Kadar Knowledge of Forest Life
The Kadar people of the Anamalai Hills in southern India exhibit a profound knowledge and appreciation for nature, which they share with travelers who take forest walks with them. In an opinion piece published in the New Indian Express newspaper on April 2, travel writer and tour leader Pravin Shanmughanandam explains why he is so […]
Kadar Protect Hornbills and the Forests They Share
Despite threats to their communities, the peaceful Kadar and four species of large birds, all hornbills, are beginning to thrive in southern Kerala where they live together in the forests. While numerous news reports over the years have chronicled the Kadar love for their natural environment, the critical development in recent years has been their […]
Kadar Prevented from Living in the Forest
When 23 Kadar families had to flee their community in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, located in India’s Tamil Nadu state back in August, they told everyone who would listen that they desperately wanted to remain in the forest. During the night of August 11, the 90 or so members of the Kallar Kadar settlement had […]
Improvements in Kadar Marketing
Indigenous tribal communities in Kerala are learning from an NGO how to improve their earnings from the products they fabricate. An article on October 31 in The New Indian Express described the work of the NGO, the River Research Centre, with three Muthuvar, Malayar and Kadar villages in the Vazhachal Forest of Kerala. The tribal […]
Kadar Love Forest Life
A remote community of 23 Kadar families has been forced to abandon their traditional huts due to a landslide on August 11, but they are determined to remain in the forest anyway. On the other hand, the Forest Department does not want them to rebuild anywhere else in the mountains that they have lived in […]
Kadar Village Threatened by Landslides
The Kadar living in the Anakkayam Colony had to flee for their lives last August 16 when a huge landslide swept everything away right next to their homes. They’ve been homeless ever since, according to a news report published in the New Indian Express last week. A good review of the background was provided by […]
Honey Time in the Kerala Forests
Last week The New Indian Express sent a reporter into a Kadar colony in Kerala to see how the tribal people there were reacting to the prospect of voting. The third phase of the Indian General Election was scheduled to include the state of Kerala on April 23. The Kadar whom the reporter interviewed expressed […]
The Traditions of the Kadar
Ms. Geetha, the leader of the Kadar community at Vazhachal, never seems to be at a loss for words. In an interview with The New Indian Express two weeks ago, she says, “We used to preserve the forests. That was how we lived. Now the government owns the forests.” She goes on to lament that […]
