SHAKTI: Sustaining Heritage through Adaptive Knowledge and Technology Integration

SHAKTI: Sustaining Heritage through adaptive knowledge and technology integration

Objective

• Through collaborative partnership between Progyan Foundation and IIT Madras, the project will establish the first comprehensive indigenous women's climate knowledge repository in India.

Description

• Climate change disproportionately impacts indigenous women in tribal landscapes of Jharkhand and Odisha, who constitute 70% of the agricultural workforce, yet possess only 13% land ownership. Despite this marginalization, tribal women serve as custodians of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) that has sustained climate-resilient agricultural systems for millennia. This women-centric initiative uniquely positions indigenous knowledge systems as foundational to ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and nature-based solutions (NbS).

Impact

• Climate Resilience Enhancement., Food and Nutrition Security., Ecosystem Services., Women's Empowerment., Knowledge Democratization.