Introducing Saryan Vigyan Foundation

My sister (Swati) and I spent a considerable part of our girlhoods in Kinnaur - one of the most remote yet most beautiful districts of Himachal Pradesh. Our village in Ralli became our cherished escape from busy urban life and we loved coming back to our trees, the forests, freshwater streams, and local fruits and produce.

Needless to say, climbing up these hill-tracks still make up many of my fondest childhood and teenage memories. But a lot has changed over the course of time - some for better and some not so much. Agricultural practices have shifted significantly from sustainable methods to widespread and excessive use of chemicals and pesticides, which has in part led to loss of many wild varieties of plants. Traditional knowledge, once preserved for generations has also eroded considerably. There is now water shortage, more landslides, no flowing rivers (because of multiple dams on Satluj and rerouting of water through tunnels). We reached out to community members in an attempt to understand this frustrating phenomenon but eventually found some answers in our own training; for me it was as a student and an ecology scientist while Swati in technology as an engineer. There is a significant lack of data and scientific research on the flora and fauna of the Himalayan belt, particularly parts of Himachal that have remained isolated from mainstream research efforts for many reasons. This absence of data has become a double-edged sword with traditional methods and knowledge fading, and modern high-yield agricultural practices becoming unsustainable and rapid development without much scientific studies. Swati and I also got involved with @zed.tells - an organisation that documents indigenous knowledge and culture in Kinnaur - to understand the extent of this issue and soon realised that we needed to address the gaps separately as well.

So, earlier this year we established a non-profit organisation called the Saryan Vigyan Foundation, dedicated to conducting research in this under explored region. On Instagram, I have chosen to rename my previous page ‘Aranyam Loki’ to ‘Saryan Vigyan Foundation’ to maintain continuity of my work and also to honour my humble beginnings. I hope you will stay tuned for more updates from my side of the world and share your thoughts with me too.