Giving voice to the wisdom of India’s traditional people by encouraging children from indigenous communities to write and publish their own environmental story books.

1. REVIVING INDIA’S LIVING
TRADITIONS
BOOK PROJECT
BY ESD INDIA
Giving voice to the wisdom of
India’s traditional people by
encouraging children from
indigenous communities to write
and publish their own
environmental story books.

2. India is the last big
repository of Traditional
Knowledge Systems with
skills and expertise in the
fields of health and ethno-
botany, water harvesting,
forest management,
agriculture, animal care,
textile, architecture...

3. To preserve Traditional
Knowledge, it is therefore of
utmost importance to make
children aware of the significance
and relevance of indigenous
practices and skills and thereby,
instill a sense of pride and
confidence about it.
The all-important traditional
ecological knowledge
developed by India’s
traditional people over
many hundreds of years of
intimate interaction with the
natural world is today on the
verge of getting lost for
ever.

4. The Book Project aims at:
Reviving India’s Living Traditions by giving to rural
children an opportunity to share with the world
through the medium of story writing their
adventures while…
tending animals
roaming jungles in
search of wild
fruits
fishing at the
river
helping parents with the harvest…

5. This project will also be a chance to:
1. Discover and document India’s Ecological Traditions.
2. Enhance respect for local culture, its wisdom and its environmental ethics.
3. Encourage pupils to learn from their parents, grand-parents and other
adults in the community, and to appreciate and respect their knowledge.
4. Experience the wisdom of India’s traditional people.
5. Reconnect native youth with the land and its culture emphasizing ancient
connections to the natural world.
6. Explore ancient traditions and build a modern life that "re-discovers" a
natural harmony and balance with nature.

6. PROGRAM
ESD India will organize Creative Writing Workshops in SCHOOLS and NGOs
working with children of indigenous communities set in remote rural areas. To
capture India’s cultural as well as ecological diversity, ESD India is planning
to hold its program in about 50 rural schools around the country.
During the workshop, the students will be introduced to the
art of story writing, and illustration.
The 5 days workshop is addressed to children aged 10 to
15 years old.
The best stories will get published by a leading publisher of
children’s books. Others will be made available online in
downloadable ebook format.

7. Part of the program will also be:
- the organization of a trip to nearby villages
where students will help with the
documentation of local practices in the field
of agriculture, health traditions, biodiversity,
water harvesting, forest management,
vernacular architecture, textiles, crafts…
- the setting-up at the school level of a
Traditional Knowledge Exhibition where
students will display local tools, baskets,
crafts…
The entire program will be documented in print as well as audio-visual media.

8. You run a school in a forgotten corner of India and
would like to participate to the Book Project to
Revive India’s Living Traditions.
Contact Muriel Kakani at
Livingtraditions.india@gmail.com
In your mail, don’t forget to tell us something about your school,
mainly where it is situated, and to which indigenous or rural
community do the children belong. Suggestions welcome.