Welcome to the official web site of Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai, India.
Updated on 6th May 2008
NEWS, UPDATES, HAPPENINGS
thumbnail

WORKSHOP ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE, MARKETING AND ORGANIZATION BUILDING

A workshop on work shop cum training program on organic agriculture, marketing and organization building was organized by ICCOA

DETAILS>>

thumbnail

BRAINSTORMING MEETING ON ORGANIC FARMING

The Centre is organizing a series of brainstorming meetings on organic farming in four districts of Tamil Nadu.

DETAILS>>

pic

TRCs Consultation Meeting at Chennai   

CAPART hosted a consultation meeting of the TRCs (Training Resource Centres) to ascertain their experiences and views on the mandate of CAPART.

DETAILS>>

pic

Science Festival at Chennai  

CIKS participated in the “Science Festival” organized by Science City on the theme “Science in every day life”.

DETAILS>>

pic

Visitors from DARCOF, Denmark

Dr. Niels Halberg, Scientist from the Danish Research Centre on organic farming along with his Ph.D. Student Mr. Paneerselvam visited our centre on 11th January.

DETAILS>>

pic

CIKS Foundation Day

CIKS successfully completed 13 years on 23rd January 2008.  All the members of the team got together at our Sukkankollai farm. 

DETAILS>>

 

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

new project :

IMPROVING LIVELIHOODS OF FARMERS THROUGH ORGANIC VEGETABLE CULTIVATION IN THE IRRIGATED AREAS OF DINDIGUL DISTRICT IN TAMIL NADU

This project for improving livelihoods of farmers through Organic Vegetable Cultivation with a package of organic and sustainable farming technologies is being implemented with the help of Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai under their Small Grants Programme.

DETAILS >>

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)

 

 

CIKS Technology Resource Centre in Sukankollai .


RECENT PUBLICATIONS

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.

 


 

BOOK

IYARKKAIVAZHI VUNAVU

This publication in Tamil gives basic information about organic foods. Some of the frequently asked questions about organic food have been answered in this booklet. Besides this it also gives information on some of the outlets where organic foods are sold in Tamil Nadu.


 

BOOK

ORGANIC FODDER
CULTIVATION

Cattle forms an integrated part of organic farming.   Providing clean organic fodder to cattle is a very important task of an organic farmer.  This small booklet produced in Tamil gives detailed information on the organic cultivation techniques of important fodder crops of Tamil Nadu.  For copies, please contact info@ciks.org.


 

BOOK

Enhancing soil fertility in organic farming

Farmers have realised the importance of maintaining the fertility of the soil using organic amendments. They are now looking for alternatives to chemical fertilizers. It is possible to enhance the fertility of the soil by making use of easily available material like Farmyard manure, Green manure and Green leaf manure. Besides this, compost can also be prepared easily using material available in the farm. This book describes the methods by which soil fertility can be enhanced using organic material. Preparation of compost is also described.

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


BOOK

Botanicals for pest management in organic agriculture

Farmers have been using plants for pest control since time immemorial. Several plants have pest control properties. Research shows that there are more than 2400 plants with pesticidal properties. There are a number of research programmes which make use of such plants and examine their pest and disease controlling properties. In this book methods to prepare plant extracts from commonly available plants which have pest control properties and the method of use has been described in detail.

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


BOOK

Endogenous Development in India - Revisiting Swadeshi

The objective of this publication is to provide an overview regarding the experiences of the Indian partners in the area of endogenous development during the previous phase of the COMPAS project that concluded in December 2006. This also includes a chapter where the Indian experience has been synthesized based on inputs that have been received from all the partners.

For copies contact: info@ciks.org / ciksorg@gmail.com


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

training


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