Welcome to the official web site of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai, India.
Updated on 27th May 2009
NEWS, UPDATES, HAPPENINGS
pic

Trainers' training programme at TRC

A Trainers Training Programme (TTP) was conducted in our Technology Resource Centre (TRC) at Sukkankollai between 21st and 25th April 2009.

DETAILS>>

pic

Organic farming awareness program for school children

Sivakasi Hindu Nadar Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai organized a program called as “Environ Fest” on 13th March 2009.

DETAILS>>

pic

FOUNDATION DAY CELEBRATION

The fourteenth CIKS Foundation day was celebrated on 23rd January 2009. All our staff gathered at our Sukkankollai farm in Kancheepuram district to celebrate the day.

DETAILS>>

pic

ORGANIC AWARENESS PROGRAMME

In lieu of the women’s day celebration, WIPRO, Medavakkam invited CIKS for conducting an organic awareness programme at their office premises.

DETAILS>>

pic

VISITORS FROM CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF PENANG (CAP), MALAYSIA

A group of 14 members including farmers and University researchers from Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) participated in a ten-day exposure program organized by CIKS between 8th - 16th November 2008.

DETAILS>>

pic

COMPAS PARTNERS MEETING

Our Centre hosted a regional meeting of the COMPAS partners from Asia between 28th November and 2nd December 2008.

DETAILS>>

pic

Gender workshop at CIKS

As part of the COMPAS program, CIKS organized a one day workshop on “Gender Equity and Endogenous Development” on 11th August 2008 at Chennai.

DETAILS>>

pic

International Training Program for Endogenous Development Facilitators at Sri Lanka

COMPAS had organized a training program for facilitators of Endogenous Development for five days between 25th and 29th August 2008 at Sri Lanka.

DETAILS>>

 

PROJECTS AT CIKS
A look at some of the major projects that
CIKS is currently involved in.

new project :

Biodiversity Conservation, Reduction of Pops and Livelihoods for Farmers in Tamil Nadu – A Sustainable Triangle

pic

UNDP has sanctioned a project to our Centre under their GEF (Global Environment Facility) - Small Grants Programme entitled “Biodiversity Conservation, Reduction of POPs and Livelihoods for Farmers in Tamil Nadu – A Sustainable Triangle”. The programme will be implemented for a period of two years in four districts of Tamil Nadu - Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Dindigul and Nagapattinam.

 

FARMERS DECIDE TO GO COMPLETELY ORGANIC

The HIVOS supported project “Paddy organic chain from seed to market: A pilot project in Tamil Nadu” is entering the third year. The beneficiaries of all the three villages Kolathancherry, Chitravadi and Kaliyapettai were gathered and detailed discussions were held with them on the impact of the project on 18th, 19th and 20th of December 2008 respectively. The beneficiaries were asked to make an assessment of the project to see if the project has attained self sustainability and if not what steps need to be taken in the future to make it sustainable. Farmers gave a positive feedback about the overall implementation of the project. More than 80% of the beneficiaries have come forward to convert their entire land into organic from the next season, which is really a positive impact that the project has made.

Improving livelihoods of farmers through Organic Vegetable Cultivation in the irrigated areas of Dindigul district in Tamilnadu

Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai has sanctioned a project to our Centre under their Small Grants Programme for a project entitled - “Improving livelihoods of farmers through Organic Vegetable Cultivation in the irrigated areas of Dindigul district in Tamilnadu”. The main objective of this programme would be to bring together vegetable farmers and help them to convert to organic cultivation, enable them to produce inputs on farm and empower them with organic farming technologies and project management so that the programme becomes sustainable.

THUMB

TH

TH

ENHANCING LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD SECURITY THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ORGANIC FARMING AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

This project, supported by the Ford Foundation, aims to enhance the livelihood of small and marginal farmers through organic farming and biodiversity conservation.

DETAILS : PHASE 1>>

DETAILS : PHASE 2>>

 

thumb

TH

PADDY ORGANIC CHAIN FROM SEED TO MARKET : A PILOT PROJECT IN TAMIL NADU

A pilot project entitled – “Paddy organic chain from seed to market : A pilot project in Tamil Nadu” was launched during October 2005 with support from Hivos, Bangalore. The project covers all components of the paddy organic chain - from seed to market

DETAILS >>

 

th

TH

TH

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ORGANIC FARMING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE KANCHEEPURAM DISTRICT OF TAMIL NADU

CIKS was recognized as the Technology Resource Centre (TRC) by the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) during the year 2005. The main objective of this project is to build the capacity of the farmers on organic farming through trainings, make farmers more familiar about organic farming by establishing demonstration fields, to establish a rural library and a training centre and to develop various training modules on organic farming.

DETAILS >>

 

compas

compas

COMPAS PROGRAMME ON ENDOGENOUS DEVELOPMENT AND BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY

COMPAS (Comparing and Supporting Endogenous Development) programme is a network of organizations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe who are working on the current relevance and applications of traditional knowledge systems in varied areas. CIKS has been part of the COMPAS network since its inception in 1995 and we are also currently the Asian Coordinators of this programme.

DETAILS >>


farmer

Wonder Women.

Over 50% of the beneficiaries in our various programmes are women farmers. They play a crucial role in the success of the initiatives, taking on key leadership roles in the community, contributing to decision-making, and contribbuting considerable skill and energy towards the sustainability of the programmes.

farmer

Do you know this man?
He can protect your
family’s health.

Velmurugan is an organic farmer with a small 3 acre farm in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu.

How is he a part of your life? Along with his fellow farmers in the region, he works to ensure that the food on your table is safe, healthy and free from chemicals.

CIKS works intensely with these farmers, mobilizing their communities, organising them into groups, and providing them with the training and input they need to go completely organic.

SPOTLIGHT

CIKS VIDEO THEATRE

View and download informative and useful video clips from CIKS produced films and audiovisuals.

pic FEATURED VIDEO :
'NEEM ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE' > >

 

READING ROOM

Here are some articles of general interest that we hope you will find interesting and useful. (Click on a title to read the full article)

 

 

Job Openings at CIKS.

Are you an agriculture graduate / post-graduate /diploma holder with fluency in English and Tamil?

We need Programme Coordinators, Field Coordinators, Field Supervisors, Trainers, Marketing Executives. The jobs are located in various field stations in several districts of Tamil Nadu.


training

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

BOOK

System of Rice Intensification – An Introduction (Semmai Nel Sagupady - Oru Arimugam)

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method is gaining popularity in recent days because of the advantages involved in it like low requirement of water, seeds etc. This book provides information on ways to implement SRI method of rice cultivation organically. It also highlights the advantages of SRI method of cultivation. This book is available in English and Tamil.

English : Rs. 25/- International Price : US $ 4.00


 

BOOK

Organic farming Heroes

CIKS has been encouraging and supporting Small and Marginal farmers to convert to organic farming. Through organic farming, CIKS has been trying to enhance the livelihood security of these farmers. In this book, case studies of successful farmers have been presented. Their experiences, reasons for shifting to organic farming, their views and aspirations and a come out on their way of thinking and way of life has been presented in this book. The case studies were done as a series of interviews with the farmers and hence present their learnings in a narrative format. This book is available in English and Tamil.


 

BOOK

NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION (partial document) (TAMIL)

This publication in Tamil provides complete information on standards to be followed in organic production in India. It also provides information on organic methods of animal husbandry, standards to be followed by farmer groups for getting organic certification, list of inputs allowed and restricted in organic agriculture and the quantity of use..

Download for Free>>


 

BOOK

Group Certification in Organic Farming – A Manual (in Tamil)

This manual provides complete information on procedures involved in smallholder group certification. It also provides information on organizing farmers groups, formation and implementation of an Internal Control System (ICS), preparation of an ICS manual, land selection, risk management, training farmers and maintaining the organic quality of the products. This will serve as a complete guidance manual for farmers interested in obtaining an organic farming group certification. A CD ROM produced along with this manual will serve as a training tool on organic group certification.

Download for Free>>

Download Presentation on ICS>>


pic

ORGANIC FARMING CERTIFICATION

This publication provides an overview of the organic certification systems. It also provides information on how the system of certification evolved, need for certification, the different methods of certification, the merits and demerits of each system and how they vary from each other. Besides this, it also discusses the small holder group certification and procedures involved in detail. A list of accredited certification bodies in India is also provided in this booklet. This booklet is available both in English and Tamil.


 

BOOK

ORGANIC CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES -Tomato - brinjal - lady's finger- chilli

This book describes the major pests and diseases affecting the four major vegetables cultivated in Tamil Nadu namely chilli,brinjal,lady's finger and tomato.  It also provides information about the various non chemical pest management methods and the prepareation precedure for some of the botanicals and plant growth promoters used in these vegetable crops.Organic cultivation practices for all these four vegetables have also been described.This booklet is available in English and Hindi.

 

 


A TOUR OF OUR EXPERIMENTAL FARM

TH

CIKS maintains a 11.14 acre organic farm in a village called Sukkankollai which is in the Maduranthakam taluk of Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu. It is 4 kms from the famous Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary. The farm is an important hub for all our activities.

DETAILS AND PICS >>

 

 

DOWNLOAD OUR PUBLICATIONS CATALOGUE

NEWS

For India | For all other countries

DOWNLOAD OUR NEWSLETTER

NEWS

CIKS NEWS LATEST ISSUE
English | Tamil


It is good to swim in the waters of tradition, but to sink in them is suicide.
- Mahatma Gandhi

LOOKING BACK

Some important milestones for CIKS in the past ten years .

MORE>>

 

HOT LINKS

NEW PUBLICATIONS |NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES | TSUNAMI RELIEF | SEED BANK PROJECT

 

CIKS is registered as an independent trust.
Donations to the centre are exempt under Section. 80 G of the income tax act

The centre also receives contributions from foreign sources. We have a permanent registration number alloted under the
FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) - Registration number 075900632 dated 27th July 1998. All material copyrighted property of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, India.
Best viewed in 1024X768 resolution and high colour.

Site designed and maintained by Big Fat Phoenix