"...that they have life and have it abundantly" is the vision of the Peermade Development Society. We are staying at its "camp headquarters" (pictured here) in the mountains of Kerala. The goal of PDS is derived from this vision statement and that is "empowerment of village communities especially the tribals, women, children and the marginal farmers towards sustainable development by conserving and enhancing local resources in order to have fullness of life."
There are many strategies to attain this goal including organic tea production (see the picture of the terraced tea bushes), Ayurvedic pharmeceuticals (see the factory) and organic spices.
The statue of Mary greets visitors at the front gate. I like it because the facial features and clothing of Mary and Jesus look somewhat Indian, rather than European.
Along the path to the herb nursery and pharmeceutical factory is a statue of an ancient sage of 5000 BC, Agastya, who, legend says, came from the north to this region and invented many medicinal treatments.
I like it that the development efforts are building on local resources and local traditions.
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