Programs of GRAMYA

The Van Panchayat has a long history of more than 90 years and it is amongst very few common property resources which were formally institutionalized as early as 1930s .Van Panchayat is a unique system of community forest governance in hilly districts of Uttarakhand. Currently there are about 12,000 Van Panchayats governing more than 13% of the total forests of the state. 

GRAMYA has been working with van panchayats in organizing them, building their capacities and helping them to engage on relevant policy issues. 

We have been operating a secondary school- Janta Uchhatar Madhyamik Vidhyalaya, Dumak since 1998. This school has been instrumental in increasing the education level of the young generation in the region. For more than a decade, the school was operated with the help of generous financial support from villagers and other well wishers. Currently, the state government of Uttarakhand provides financial support to meet salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff. 

We strongly strive to integrate environmental education in everyday life. We believe that this is an effective way to support our government's global commitment to reduce carbon emission by bringing changes in behaviour of people. 

We therefore create space and platform for school children and community members to learn, think and act. Our work goes beyond integration of environmental education into formal education and allows students to gather evidence and experience nature and observe natural phenomena using equipment and traditional ecological knowledge.

The degradation of oak forests due to over exploitation in the vicinity of forest depending villages in the western Himalayan region of India and climate change is a serious cause of concern. Some recent studies found that degradation of these forests have adverse impact on local ecological services, wildlife, birds and groundwater recharge, soil erosion and retreating of Himalayan glaciers 

With the help of local schools and Van Panchayats (Village forest councils) we have been organizing events to plant oak trees in the community governed forests or on other degraded landmass. Through conservation we strive to promote sustainable livelihoods in the Indian Himalayan region such as Eco Tourism, Horticulture, Food processing and Village Industries