Nature is a humongous assembly line where every being on the planet is playing an active role in the process of creation of food. Some help either pollinate or till the soil, while some eat the produce. It’s a perfectly harmonious system, where every being in the process benefits. Apart from Man, no other being alters the role that it plays. Astonishingly, when one changes its role, the entire system shakes. That is exactly what is happening now. Our intervention in this process of creation of food is leading to mass extinction of species. Man is suffering too. From never …

My roots spread in the deep fragments of the lovely luscious earth far and wide. I have sowed the seeds of life innumerable times and am happy to see them raising families everywhere. More than that, it makes me proud that they never gave up the values that they had been taught while young – always help humanity, in whatever manner possible. Yet, they suffer. In spite of doing good, in spite of sacrifice and selflessness they continue to be misused and abused. Just like me. ‘Does it run in the family?’ I wonder. You never know. Life is such. …

“Water is the driver of all nature”, said Leonardo da Vinci. Every monsoon, heavy rains flood some parts of the country and in other areas the rainfall is less than normal and forebodes lower productivity, crop loss and agricultural distress. This state of affairs need not always be the case. One can harvest the rain water and make sure that it percolates into the soil and replenishes ground water. The accompanying pictures depict water conservation on the 14-acre campus in Awalkhed village, Igatpuri Taluka, Nashik District, Maharashtra state where the Aseema Educational Trust has established a primary school for tribal …

Beneficial Insects As plants grow, it simultaneously creates a world of its own. With your care, other plants begin to emerge. Earthworms, ants, etc call the soil their homes. Butterflies add some colour to your garden and bees give it a beat. Apart from these insects, there are others whose life revolves around your plants. Some love to eat the plant, also known as pests, while others protect your plant from these “bad guys”. The good guys are called ‘beneficial insects’ and they are very effective in managing pests. Today we’ll profile a few of them and also suggest on …

How many times have we complained about the garbage on our roads and all around us? The ones among us who have had the opportunity to go to popular hill stations, tourist destinations and pilgrimage spots will bear testimony to the absolute recklessness with which garbage is strewn all around these areas, making them breeding grounds for disease-spreading germs and insects. But how many of us have actually done something about it? How many of us have picked up the trash and put it where it belongs? Meet one lady who has. UK-born Jodie Underhill, along with her group of volunteers, …

Ek Titli .Org is celebrating World Kitchen Garden Day this 28th August at the The Urban Ashram where we are: Organizing a workshop on Growing your own food. The aim is to teach people how to grow their own food, to save themselves from the pesticide laden vegetables available in the market. Duration:5 pm – 7 pm Investment: Rs. 450/person (Inclusive of starter kit worth Rs. 200) To register click here Venue: Join the celebration at The Urban Ashram, Opp Sujay Garden, 34 Mukund Nagar, Pune. [View Map] For more details contact: (e) Swati.Maheshwari@EkTitli.org (T) +91 9881 379 779, +91 9967 589 210 To register …

It gives me an ecstatic feeling as I write this. Recently, my husband and I woke up to 19 Brahmakamal flowers in our garden. These beautiful flowers bloomed just over a night on a single plant. You would wonder what is the fuss about Brahmakamals. Well, here’s the deal, the Brahmakamal is not a lotus at all, although its petals resemble a lotus. Lotuses grow in ponds, whereas the Brahmakamal grows on the slopes of the Himalayas (It is the state flower of Uttarakhand).  The original Brahmakamal looks quite different from the one that blooms here in the city. The …

Ek Titli .Org is celebrating Eco-Day this 31st July at the The Urban Ashram where we are: Organizing a workshop on Organic Home Gardening. The aim is to teach people how to grow their own food, to save themselves from the pesticide laden vegetables available in the market. There would also be a small workshop on how to create compost.Duration:11 am – 1 pm Investment: Rs. 450/person To register click here A movie screening on Ecology, Environment and Nature. Duration: 2 pm – 4 pm Investment: Nil! Stalls for Organic personal care products, Terracotta pots for Composting, Up-cycled products, Nursery …

Honestly, I don’t understand what all this ‘go green’ fuss is about. There has been an explosion of TV shows, green marathons, walks, talks – you name it! But, how does it matter to me – if the earth runs out of oxygen or water after 1000 years? I won’t even be alive then! It simply makes no difference to my life. Or does it? A long time ago, when I was still a pig-tailed-school-kid, we learnt about the soaring temperatures (40+ degrees centigrade) in the Thar desert in Rajasthan, and were utterly shocked. How anyone could survive in such …

Kavita Saharia, a passionate blogger who writes about North Eastern India, shared this beautiful article on river dolphins from her personal blog. Happy World Environment Day This year we planned to celebrate the Environment Day by visiting Kukurmara a very small township at 40 kms west of Guwahati. This place attracts a lot of visitors because the river Kulsi here(one of the tributaries of river Bhramaputra) has the presence of approx 30 odd fresh river Dolphins. Around the world only four species of fresh water Dolphins are found, one of them being in India River Dolphin – Platanista Gagentica Gagenticahave …