About Us
Aram Thinai is a platform for people, especially youth to reimagine our collective futures by working on the intersections of climate change and local livelihoods, and eco-social justice. We aim to catalyse the eco-social change required for the transition towards Localised Climate Resilience.
Localised Climate Resilience
We define Localised Climate Resilience as a pathway for climate action which is based on local landscape and community needs and rooted to their socio-cultural wisdom i.e. local knowledge, local livelihoods and local economy. In the current centralised socio-political scenario, local governance and local action are vital for resistance against any act of jeopardising the shift towards Localised Climate Resilience.
Our work is centred on the impact of climate change on marginalised communities, community response and localised climate resilience through co-creating/supporting working models i.e. action, documentation, experiential education and effective communication.
Background
Climate change is one of the major concerns for today’s youth but is slowly being appropriated leading to greenwashing and maladaptation. We believe that climate change is an extension of the prevailing eco-social issues and will disproportionately impact the already oppressed and marginalised. An intersectionality understanding of climate change with local relevance is critical to anchor the climate actions in the desired direction i.e. towards “Localised Climate Resilience”. Aram Thinai is a humble effort to enable this transition.
The name of our initiative has a lot of significance and relevance. Aram means righteousness. It is a highly valued word in Tamil literature and also the title of 1st part of the renowned Thirukural. Thinai means landscape. Land was classified in Tamil tradition and literature into 5 Thinai – Kurinji (Mountain region), Mullai (Forests and marshy lands), Marutham (fertile cropland), Neithal (Coastal areas) and Palai (Deserts and Dry lands) and lifestyles and culture were derived based on the Thinai. The two words form the core of our work and thus the name.
We will probably not know in our lifetimes whether we are serving as deathbed attendants to a dying world or as midwives to the next stage of human evolution. So, what is it going to be? With nothing to lose, what could hold us back from being the most courageous, the most innovative, the most warm-hearted version of ourselves that we can possibly be?
- Joanna Macy
Our Mission
Enabling intersectional and nuanced understanding of climate change with local relevance especially among youth
Enabling various models and inclusive collaborations for supporting nature based livelihoods, climate change adaptation and mitigation
Amplification of the voices of marginalised communities and other life forms
Shifting the narrative of development from mere economic growth towards people’s wellbeing
Our Team
Eco-Social Changemakers
