Education
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
– A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Our engagement with the local community is primarily through environmental education programs, skill-building workshops and capacity building exercises. Our primary aim through the education programs is to address the basic rights of the local communities by focusing on health and hygiene concerns, building economic support and improving living conditions which have a significant impact on their health and well-being. Through the empowerment of the local communities adjoining the Bannerghatta-Hosur landscape we believe that we can create shareholders for conservation.
Conservation success in India depends upon the support of future generations, and our education programs for rural and urban children are geared towards building a sense of fascination, tolerance and cooperation towards wildlife and the environment.
Stakeholder capacity building
Livelihood initiatives
Our community-based initiatives include skill and capacity building programs such as sustainable farming practices, craftsmanship, alternative incomes (beekeeping, agro-farming) as well as setting up market chains. Our digital literacy program aimed at teaching the rural youth and women about basic computer skills has been successful in providing opportunities for higher education, opening small businesses and providing additional sources of income to farming communities.
Training Forest Department Staff
We engage in regular training for the forest department front line staff and uniformed officers based on our research and collective experience over the years. Every year we jointly organize workshops and training sessions with various forest departments. This is an opportunity to engage with new recruits as well. We cover topics like animal behaviour, ecology, current status of conservation local and global, trends and relevant topics in Asian elephant research, new tools and technologies being used for human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Our hope is to build capacity within the department and co-learn along with them to make for a more resilient management system.
Health & hygiene concerns initiatives
Our long-term commitment to the landscapes involves a deep relationship with the local communities. As part of our on-going initiatives to foster relationships we are invested in their health and well-being. During the COVID-19 pandemic we had the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the local community and since have been building our community welfare initiates systematically. Education plays a key role in addressing these concerns. During community surveys we have assessed several needs and gaps in health, sanitation and hygiene awareness among people that we try to address by organizing learning opportunities for them. Hosting plastic drives, medical camps, general hygiene, women’s hygiene awareness camps in collaboration with public health experts is a regular part of our health and hygiene initiatives.
© 2025 A Rocha India
National Office & Field Study Centre
#13, Kaserguppe Village,
Bilwardahalli (Dakle), Bannerghatta (Post),
Jigani (Hobli), Anekal (Taluk),
Bangalore South-560083
Karnataka – IN