-by Hussain Ebrahim
An Educator's Diary #3
My journey into unfamiliar territories started off with settling at a homestay at the foothills of
the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and gaining gatekeeper trust in taking the initiative of a self funded research forward. Not being tribal myself I still wonder what aspect of my inclination towards nature education led me to the roots of nature worship and learning through forests as classrooms. Maybe it was years of engaging with urban children in sensitising them with environmental awareness that I conceptualized this topic subconsciously and materialized it into field action.
Despite many challenges like a lack of funding, the ethics of sourcing aid that represents social justice and ecological sensibility, and my need for unbiased independent research - my grit led me to unfold the rich nuances on site. Building deep relations while sharing meals and cooking with the tribals, we overcame the harsh damp cold of monsoons with warm gestures and exchanges in kind. The time spent over dialogues with the community was a lived experience for me as an outsider with lighter skin tone and a difficulty in communicating in their language. A mix of Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada dictated their political dialect that extended state boundaries and confluence with my North Karnataka and Chennai roots.
My entry to the local healer's home was denied as they doubted my belief in shamanism or spirituality. That was the first challenge I faced, with lower back paralysis I stayed stuck in the field unable to continue research. In 40 days I took a train back to Bengaluru that was delayed to depart half a day later and arrived only a day later. After giving my NET entrance exam I reluctantly headed back to engage in a solitary enquiry on the nature of learning that happens within tribal populace. The journey within only started now, and the nuances got distilled as I left my urban ego aside to learn more from nature education than what I already knew and intellectualized living in a city.
The village was North West of Coimbatore at the interstate border with Kerala. The children walked to school and families went by foot across the Tamil Nadu transects into the forests of the Western Ghats. They worshipped the Nagas and were majorly Irulas and Jennu Kurubas. The honey and lantana collected from forests was their only revenue beside milk, meat and eggs derived from livestock rearing and open grazing in the hilly terrains of forested landscapes.
Through a research that conceptualized nature learning to be tribal centric, culturally relevant and environmentally sensitive of the cohabitus, the Nature Classrooms' framework was a perfect match to implement at the pedagogy and curricular level at a school that was essentially for the education of kids of tribal descent. Indigenous wisdom and aboriginal skillsets were infused into the philosophy and syllabus to dictate the needs of generational schooling that was in conflict with NGO interventions, state aid and ecotourism.
The intent was to adapt tribal youth to the intergenerational shifts in socioeconomics of the place so they are better informed when choosing to migrate for better education and sources of income. The need was to empower them to navigate cultural exclusion with the knowledge of forests as an asset to reviving sustainable use practices and cohabitating wilderness. The attained outputs of research were teaching methodologies and learner content that was in line with their leaning needs. This also involved environmental science as a bridge between social and scientific theoretical engagements that brought to practice a cultural ecology of interacting with nature and society in their daily learning.
Lastly, a psychological approach to engaging with art as therapy, including roleplay and drama, dance and music - in reviving tribal identity was applied. The building of a sense of community amidst the teaching and support staff through crafts and painting, colouring competitions for children, and an arts mela or exhibition that was themed along sustainable fabrics - were aligned with the annual learning goals. Finally teacher training was essentialized to hone tribal identity within classrooms and empower alumni to instil actionable change in career choices that tribal children often struggle to make in the eco-politics of forest management and rural development.
The feeling of leaving such a space after completing research was heavy with a void lacking purpose and direction. I wished to settle for life in such a nurturing environment but had to pack my bags and wish the schooling community a goodbye. The relations with teachers and students is still cherished, and I do miss the management and support staff. Now that I have completed a PhD I can aspire to find such spaces to explore my integral philosophies regarding education and living.
I also wish to someday document nonfiction work around my research in such remote spaces, as a novel or ethnographic study. The conferences I presented my research ideas and output at, were intrigued by the nature of my work and I hope future video documentaries too reach a larger audience and have a greater impact.
Writing this blog brought back memories from field research years ago, and editing this piece revitalized my aspiration and directionality in life. I thank 'An Educator's Diary' series for giving me this opportunity to write about my experience as a young researcher in the making, and helping me review my agency as a young ethnographer.
About the author:
Hussain, PhD Scholar, The University of TransDisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology
Hussain Ebrahim is an independent researcher, educator of alternate schooling, and a recent PhD scholar at the University of TransDisciplinary Health Science and Technology (TDU - Yelahanka, Bangalore, Karnataka). His recent interests in research include eco-centric learning amidst children from tribal families, documenting via oral histories and folklore - community conservation initiatives in reviving sustainable livelihoods that are dependent on the effective management of locally existing natural capital. He is also pursuing findings on the role that plant-derived medicine plays in healthcare of Adivasis amidst forested landscapes, in the hope of preserving aboriginal customary practices.
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