ESSENCE@ IIT-PKD field visit engages with the sustainable agriculture system of the Kurichiya of Wayanad

A team from ESSENCE organised a visit and interaction with the youth leaders and community members of the Kurichiya tribal community of Wayanad, Kerala, last week. Kurichiya, though considered a minor tribal community with roughly 30,000 people (among the 151,443 tribal community population in Wayanad district) is one of the largest joint families ever reported in anthropological literature. They keep large land holdings, big herds of cattle, and all adults of the joint family engage in the cultivation of diverse kinds of food crops. The Family farming approach meets all the cultural, culinary, and curative needs of the family and is considered a sustainable agriculture system.