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Dear Sisters, They Are Killing Our Trees
Geetha and friends
http://www.countercurrents.org/geetha140316.htmDate Written: 2016-03-14 Publisher: Countercurrents Year Published: 2016 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX19016 People in the Thrissur district of Kerala, India, are fighting to keep their forests in the face of a threatened dam project which would submerge their ancestral lands. Abstract: People in the Thrissur district of Kerala, India, are fighting to keep their forests in the face of a threatened dam project which would submerge their ancestral lands. Offered financial compensation based on the 'market value' of their trees, they reply that they reject this idea of 'value.' "We we are aware of the true value of trees. For us, all of the Kadars in the 9 settlements in the Vazhachal Athirapally Forest division the trees are part of a large and contiguous rainforest ecosystem. We value them for the coolness we feel as we walk for hours in search of food, fuel and fodder. We know and sense trees through their continuous life process by which water is rejuvenated in the ground and flows out as streams and rivers. We feel the trees in every drop of water that the river carries down feeding and watering the lives of so many downstream Panchayats. We see the strength and generosity of trees in the honey filled flowers and the honey combs that bees make that earn us our livelihood. We sense the nutrient rich humus that leaves shed from trees growing by the river bank that emerges as the diverse fishes and other life forms that reach our hearths. We know trees through the heat and energy of the fire that helps cook our food and warm our tiny huts on cold nights." Subject Headings |