GroundUp Conservation

We introduce another grassroots partner in Nagaland in Tseminyu District, Kenono Foundation. We have been trying to deliberate a conservation linked economic solution in Sendenyu, which is home to Sendenyu Community Biodiversity & Wildlife Reserve, a 2200 ha sub-tropical forest land with biodiversity representing hundreds of medicinal plants, small mammals and tropical birds.  Recently, we spent time with Kenono and their enthusiastic young team to understand the landscape, the bottlenecks in project implementation along with discussing immediate action through a low fidelity models. This resulted in a quick project submission to a meaningful funding partner and there is a hopeful turnaround expected – all of this in a matter of a week post the visit. It goes to show that partners with shared vision and complementing resources have the potential for quick thinking and fundable actions on ground. Swapnil Chaudhari | Ruchinilo Kemp| Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha | Amit Shinde | Sainath More | Divyanshu Pawar | Vishal Varma | Poorvasha Kar | Keletsino Mejura

🌿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗰𝗼-𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 🌿 In September 2024, we concluded an inspiring workshop on 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼-𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 with the enthusiastic Pochury community in Meluri district, Nagaland—an ecologically significant yet often overlooked region. Commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Nagaland State biodiversity Board, this initiative aimed to uncover eco-tourism opportunities in a land often dismissed as remote and inaccessible. Through the workshop, we successfully curated 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀, reflecting the pulse of the landscape and the rhythm of daily life in Meluri. Site selection was guided by:  ✅ Local stories and cultural heritage  ✅ Infrastructure availability  ✅ Visitor expectations and experiences The workshop fostered meaningful dialogues on 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 and creating value from one’s home and land—a testament to the power of community-led conservation initiatives. 📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/dcXxQcuk If you’re passionate about 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, we’d love to hear from you! Let’s work together to drive biodiversity gains through community-led initiatives. #EcoTourism #Conservation #Nagaland #CommunityEmpowerment #SustainableTourism #Biodiversity #Meluri #GIZ Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Amit Shinde | Aringle Hiekha

There are stages to partnership with communities, especially one that is long term. Across all the stages maintaining #transparency and nurturning #trust is a #continuous process which is important to be manifested through #deliberate #action. Recently GroundUp Conservation team met the Jalukie Pumling Nko that represents all of Jalukie people with participation from all of the social groups that constitutes Jalukie Land of Nagaland. This opportunity to be humbled is unparalleled where a community is unafraid to be vulnerable, takes the space to question, clarify and openly seek what they need. The strength in unfurling of deep humanity amidst discussion of projects and funding is a reality every #CSO, #NGO, #ImpactOrganisations and most importantly #donors should be privy to. Here, we can see the community and the GroundUp team deep into deliberation about how a partnership should look like according to the communities as well as #Outsiders (service providers). It is an ongoing process that hasn’t ended but has just begun, because it is rooted in building lasting relationships, embracing the uncertainty for survival and sustainability. Keep looking out for this space as we share the news of its outcome. Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha | Amit Shinde | Divyanshu Pawar | Sainath More | Vishal Varma | Poorvasha Kar

Youth have always been a very significant stage of every individual’s life. It is the only time when we can make mistakes and learn from it because enough time is passed after that to use our learnings. Then we ask why is it not also the time to take strategic decisions?  Why can leadership not be developed when you are not a leader yet but will be one in the future? Is it a problem of the community? Or is it the problem of us solution providers who find it difficult to engage people who don’t yet make decisions? Either ways, the sufferers are the youth. With one such realization and a constant support from Pastor Among from Kingdom Stewards of Jalukie, Nagaland – we conducted a day long session in understanding some of the issues that the youth were facing and prompt solutions at the same time. The issues identified included employment, water shortage, agricultural changes and optimizing economy. Today, one of those problem with solutions have become part of the proposals that the JSUN is writing to fundraise for.  Is this a method to community-led solutioning in action- we wonder, because what’s certain is that when communities come together to empower their youth, they plant seeds for sustainable change. #YouthEmpowerment #CommunityLedSolutions #LeadershipDevelopment #GrassrootsAction #Groundup #Conservation #Livelihood #IPLC #Nagaland #EastHimalaya Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha | Amit Shinde | Divyanshu Pawar | Poorvasha Kar | Sainath More | Vishal Varma

#Grassroots success is rooted in #ground action and access to equitable funding and resource to enable that #action. While we concentrated on our landscape assessment in Old Jalukie, our proposal on “Participatory development of land use maps and ecological indicators for Jalukie landscape” has been selected as one of the 24 recipients of the Youth Climate Convening Grant provided by the UMI Fund. We embark on a great moment in Jalukie, Nagaland, that the local indegenous organisation is recognised internationally for their work and gets trusted for further action. Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha | Divyanshu Pawar | Amit Shinde

Understand a landscape, one needs to understand perspectives from different stakeholders who influence the landscape and are part of it. Recently GroundUp’s team was in Kodaikanal to work on ground with our partners Kodaikanal International School - CEH (Centre for Environment and Humanity). As part of the Kodaikanal watershed and lake assessment the team collaboratively conducted series of consultations with local representatives to understand the watershed in detail from the ground up perspective. The insightful information collected right from generational knowledge passing to the current state of the landscape truly defines the understanding and connectedness one person can have with the place.  #conservation #Education #livelhoods #Humanity #Enviornment #Grassroots #GroundUp #Watershed #Lake #Kodaikanal #TamilNadu Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Iti Maloney | Dr. Rajamanikam Ramamoorthy | Divyanshu Pawar | Vishal Varma | Amit Shinde | Sainath More | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha | Poorvasha Kar

Rapid survey to understand the current situation of the Kodaikanal lake watershed Recently GroundUp team with Kodaikanal International School Centre for Environment and Humanity (CEH) were involved in groundwork associated to the Lake, Marshes and the water resources present in the Kodaikanal watershed. With aim to understand the current situation of the Kodaikanal Lake complex that consists of Marsh, Stream, Wells, documenting their pressures, biotic and abiotic variables, and mapping stakeholders. - To understand the marsh and lake and its role in supporting biodiversity preliminary vegetation was assessed - Lake depth and water level in wells were recorded to understand the water table across the watershed  - Archival data on rainfall, temperature, streams, springs, fishes, have also been recorded from historical work which was hidden in few of the CSO’s published work going back even to 1960s.  Stay connected as we bring more stories and action from the GroundUp! Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Iti Maloney | Kalyani Gandhi-Rhodes | Corleigh Robert Stixrud | Dr. Rajamanikam Ramamoorthy | Divyanshu Pawar | Vishal Varma | Amit Shinde | Sainath More | Poorvasha Kar

🌱 Collaborating with Communities to Build Capacity and Drive Change 🌱 When working at the grassroots, bottlenecks rarely linger for long—#solutions always emerge through collective effort and shared resolve. 💪 At a recent discussion with community leaders, a critical insight surfaced: to scale up our efforts and approach national and international #philanthropy effectively, we need to strengthen grassroots organisational structure. This reflection has led to a key decision to enhance the capacity and compliance of the Jalukie Students' Union Nagaland (JSUN). In this partnership:  🌟 The Jalukie Pumling Nko (JPN)—the apex body of Jalukie Town—will champion social equity and drive the larger impact of our work.  🌟 The JSUN, as its subsidiary, will focus on providing structured action and bridging the gap between grassroots efforts and institutional requirements of philanthropies. This initiative not only reflects our commitment to empowering local communities but also sets the foundation for sustainable, scalable impact. Together, we are creating pathways for inclusion, action, and meaningful collaboration. Grateful to be part of this journey where every challenge is met with a shared purpose and vision for a better future. 🙌 #GrassrootsLeadership #CollaborationForImpact #CapacityBuilding #CommunityEmpowerment #GroundUp #Conservation #Livelihoods #IPLC Swapnil Chaudhari | Radhika Kothari | Preety S. | Aringle Hiekha

It's time to level up for the planet! 🌴🦜🎮 These 3 winning start-ups from our recent #Biodiversity Challenge, run in partnership with Mercuria, take a variety of innovative approaches to conserving and restoring terrestrial biodiversity across the globe. 👉 Visit UpLink to learn more about all 17 challenge winners: https://ow.ly/h1Yl50UicIL Carbon Counts Pivotal Future GroundUp Conservation 1t.org Good to Nature OCP Group GoTo Impact Foundation India Climate Collaborative Conservation International Grupo AJE Climate Asset Management WWF University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology #BiodiversityConservation #BiodiversityRestoration #TerrestrialBiodiversity #TrillionTrees #Innovation #StartUp

If we don't value nature we will not know what we have lost! Nature underpins human survival check out the report published by UpLink - World Economic Forum and World Economic Forum