Hi, everybody! Let me introduce to you the ‘environment banks’ in operation across the length and breadth of this tiny little district of Kodagu in Karnataka.

What would an environment bank be all about?

All of the following, and……much, much, more!

•  Preventing soil erosion
•  Providing shade, plants and life
•  Bringing rains
•  Supplying oxygen
•  Becoming a source of springs

Let me introduce to you a very traditional, practical, and contemporary system of environment protection in Kodagu that has been in operation for decades, if not a great deal longer: the ‘Devarakadus’.

Through the ages, trees have played a dominant role in human evolution. They have provided for every basic need of human kind including food, clothing and shelter. They are necessarily a vital cog of the environment. Humankind has reflected fondly about trees, both in song and dance.

A Devarakadu

Trees are more important now than ever before, as today, we wrestle with crucial issues such as global warming and its inevitable consequences.

Kodagu, interestingly, has evolved a very unique method of protecting trees, a model that well-deserves to be emulated the world over.

Welcome to the concept of ‘Devarakadus’: groves or a collection of trees in villages, protected by the free association of the local folk, without any sovereign authority or government organization having much to do with it.

A Scenic View of a Devarakadu

Part of the forest is dedicated to the Gods from Ancient times. ‘Deva’ means God, and ‘Kadu’ means Forest.

Villages across the length and breadth of Kodagu have adopted these groves, varying in size from less than an acre to over 100 acres, and usually in proximity to their abodes, coffee gardens and paddy holdings. A ‘Devarakadu’ basically comprises a group of trees that have been allowed to exist in their pristine and natural state.

Humankind is conspicuous by its absence in these ‘Devarakadus’. Religious offerings are usually conducted once each year within these sacred groves, more as a display of amity between the village folk living in the neighbourhood, than with pomp and splendour.

Attending these offerings would imply trekking a short distance through some uninhabitable terrain occupied by tall, imposing indigenous trees, enjoying the coolness they offer and the mystery of the darkness on account of the thick canopy which blocks out much of the daylight, adding greatly to the ambience.

These ‘Devarakadus’ play an important role in sheltering animals, including honey bees, providing a cool ecosystem, while ensuring receipt of adequate rainfall to those farming around them.

The springs and water canals that channel themselves out of these ‘Devarakadus’ have a serene and calming effect on all life that comes into contact with them.

As over 1000 such designated sites are present in Coorg, covering an area of over 2,000 hectares, different deities are worshipped in these groves.

This village effort is perhaps the only system of its kind in the world, and something Indians ought to be proud of. Kudos to the ‘Devarakadus’ of Coorg!

Achayya Mukattira

Mr. Achayya Mukattira is a planter engaged in Corporate farming in South India for about a decade. He has worked with crops such as Tea, Coffee, Pepper, and Cardamom, and possesses sound knowledge regarding landscaping and ornamental plant culture. He has been a farmer since 1996, tending a small ancestral coffee plantation in a village called Arapattu, in South Kodagu. He spends a major portion of his time on his farm and feels ‘one’ with nature during these occasions.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 4:46 PM and is filed under Environment, Flora, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.