By Chacko Jacob
As we pulled into Akhina’s house, we were met with a yard full of exotic plants and creepers that covered every inch of available space. Her mother’s love of house plants, which Akhina wrote about in her personal profile, was now before my eyes.
Akhina’s love of flora differs from that of her mother. Akhina Mohan prefers a thriving indigenous plant ecosystem.
Although having worked closely with Akhina on and off-campus, I was more of a third wheel on this trip to her hometown; a fly on the wall that got to witness the birth of her organization, alarmo.
To an outsider, the registration process, setting up a bank account, the first board meeting etc. would seem like mundane, uninteresting tasks. But the successful completion of each of these beginning steps fills a founder with a gentle hope and excitement: a sense of moving forward with one’s life mission. I watched Akhina sit on the veranda floor with Manu and Riya, her trustees, as they had their first board meeting. A quiet affair with no frills; a testament to a humble beginning of what could one day be a great positive influence on Kerala’s ecology.
alarmo’s mission is to inspire children to get involved in climate action and to lead their communities to identify local environmental issues and coordinate the effort to conserve and restore the local environment. The impact has already begun, albeit among just a few children.
alarmo’s pilot project involved three curious children from the tribal community in Erumanathoor, Wayanad. The aim was to visit Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary to be immersed in a rainforest that has been restored to its original glory. According to the Sanctuary, “all plants, insects, birds, fish, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fungi, worms and humans, in other words, all living creatures are sacred.” This attitude has been completely lost in most parts of the world and is seen now only mostly among certain tribes folk. The children were fascinated as they walked through the lush jungle with a guide explaining the different flora they encountered along the way. The wonder and curiosity were visible on their faces as they experienced this new moment in their lives. The most encouraging part about the pilot project was that the children could not wait for whatever alarmo was going to involve them in next.
Akhina met with a total of 17 children in the last couple of months. A rare number to find together during the last few months because of the Covid situation. Besides, the children were at that time left with only Sunday as a free day because of extra classes to catch up on what they missed during lockdowns. There was also a communication gap between Akhina and the children because having been shut out from the world for two years greatly diminished their reading, writing, social and communication skills. It would have been easy for Akhina to delay alarmo’s activities by citing a hundred different reasons. She could have kept waiting until a sizeable number of children were on board for her pilot. But the fact that she managed to do something with 3 children gave her so much insight into how she has to plan her first camp during the summer holidays. She now also has three little ambassadors and their parents who can be a witness to the other children and parents on the benefit of being a part of alarmo.
This was another small but crucial step in inching toward her mission.
Well, the summer holidays are here now. And alarmo is the thick of Erumanathoor, Wayanad with 15 children ranging from age 8 to 13 for a camp that will last till the 3rd week of May.
It is day three of the camp as I write this blogpost. The first day was a bit silent. They all piled into a classroom for introductions. Akhina felt like a schoolteacher as they sat quietly in their seats, girls on one side and boys on the other. You could probably hear the abundant cicadas in the background. It took a few games and icebreakers for the children to come out of their shy little shells and mingle with each other regardless of gender. But still there was something missing; a cloud of discomfort still hung over them. Akhina realised something needed to change. She asked them to show her their favorite spots in the village to play and hang out. They took her to a clearing in the thicket with a stream running by; this was their football ground. A ball was found, and a game commenced. Suddenly they loosened up. Now their chatter and laughter could be heard loud and clear.
After the game was over, they decided to walk along the stream and have a little splash in it. It became evident that the children are already deeply connected with the beautiful nature they have been blessed with. The children surprised Akhina as they pointed out different medicinal plants and trees and their uses. They plucked off leeches attached to their feet and legs with ease, and some even playfully threatened Akhina with the little bloodsuckers. Few of them caught tadpoles, apparently a favourite pastime of theirs. Snobin, a team member, explained the metamorphosis of frogs, a concept alien to them, but they listened with interest.
With these children, a connection to nature is not the problem. What they lack is the understanding that this lush land of theirs is under threat of “modernization”. That the plants and trees they are so familiar with, could in their lifetime, become endangered or even extinct. They lack the right understanding and communication skills to lead their communities in preserving their naturally blessed land. And alarmo’s camp (named Project Urava, meaning water spring in Malayalam), is here to fill that gap.
Now that they have bonded, both boys and girls, and gained some confidence, they are ready to take on the many different activities of the camp. They will go on exposure visits just like the 3 children before them to learn about environmental conservation concepts and activities. They will learn communication and speaking skills through fun theatre activities. Additionally, through games and hands-on exercises, they will learn about composting, making bio enzymes, learning about rainwater harvesting, water filtering etc.. They will also have time to reflect through writing and drawing.
Akhina may have to change and adapt as the camp goes on, but that’s another step in refining alarmo’s activities to achieve her vision of creating young ambassadors of change.
From a seed of an idea at kanthari to an official start on a veranda floor, to a summer camp with 15 children, alarmo got there through small steps made every day, keeping the vision always in mind.
Here, nature provides us a nice metaphor, as it often does: some of the longest rivers in the world have humble beginnings from little springs.
(If you would like to support alarmo’s projects, please visit their Milaap fundraiser page: https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-to-run-projects-under-alarmo)
