THE CROAK is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial.

During the recent COVID 19 lockdown, eCoexist began a series of web talks called REVIVE - as a way to reconnect with self, with community and with Nature. These talks started as chats between friends to see how we were going to work towards a new normal and to find a way to envision a different future. Slowly, our audience grew to include more people and the discussions to cover various aspects of Sustainability and Self. 

We were delighted to discover that Bablu Ganguly was listening in to some of our chats and so we approached him to see if he would talk to all of us about his incredible journey in co creating The Timbaktu Collective with his wife, Mary. 

C.K. Ganguly otherwise known as Bablu, from Chennekothapalli village, Anantapuramu district, is an organic farmer and has been involved in the field of rural development in the district since the late 1970s, helping empower small holder farmers, agricultural labourers, Dalits and other disadvantaged and marginalised communities, artisans, women, children and People with Disabilities. Over the years he has been striving to regenerate and revive the local economy, enhance livelihood opportunities, help regain food security and food sovereignty, and work on large-scale ecological restoration.

In the initial part of his career, Bablu was a social activist working with agricultural labourers and peasants and associated with various mass movements across the country. In 1990, when he co-founded the Timbaktu Collective and established the 32-acre ‘Timbaktu’ agro-forest habitat and intentional community, his work and personal orientation began moving away from direct political action and agitational politics to constructive work. With his partner and colleagues, he began to regenerate and revive the local economy, enhance livelihood opportunities, help regain food security and food sovereignty, and work on large-scale ecological restoration.

Over the years, the Timbaktu Collective (www.timbaktu.org), a grassroots non-profit organisation, has stamped its presence in a clear operational area of 182 villages in four mandals of the drought-prone and ecologically challenged Anantapuram district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh amongst 25,000 marginalised families. It has so far established and promoted 13 community-owned and managed Cooperatives [of rural women, small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, people with disabilities, and tree growers] in order to demonstrate a model of local production, consumption and distribution, and provide an alternative to mainstream economic systems, which are often ecologically and socially exploitative. These alternatives have the potential to facilitate a vibrant local economy based on ecological sustainability, fair trade, and social and economic inclusion.

What inspires a Mumbaikar to shift to a remote village in Andhra Pradesh and spend several decades restoring a barren landscape? How does this experience transform him and his relationships?  

Watching the beautiful videos made on the work of the Timbaktu Collective gave us tremendous hope, and a vision of what our country could be if one were to truly love and labour for the conservation of Nature. Of how humanity could find a way to live lightly on the planet and nurture the Mother as well as receive nourishment and healing from her. 

Every Sunday between 4 to 6 pm, we welcome you to connect with us through the REVIVE talks, that is bringing together a fantastic community of sensitive and brilliant people, with whom we can co create a new future. 

The talks are free for registration and have ample time and space for a deep and authentic conversation with the speaker. Some of our guests are otherwise difficult to reach as they live and work in remote locations and so these are precious opportunities to hear from them in person. 

The Croak is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial. Satirical, urgent and wise the newsletter brings to your attention, topics of global environmental relevance as well as emerging encouraging alternatives. Put together by a team of passionate Nature lovers, The Croak hopes to look at the environmental crisis in its face. It is a tool to reconnect readers to Nature, through questioning and self reflection. To understand the outer environment as a reflection of our own inner state, individually and as a species. And to take responsibility for enabling change.
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