The forest is a sacred place. Not just a place for worship, but an entity which sustains life in its entirety. A repository of unsurpassed biological wealth (much of it we are yet to discover), a birthplace for rivers, cultures, art, music, mythology and more importantly planetary wisdom; all these above mentioned values have been the bedrock of human civilisation ever since the first human-like apes climbed down from trees and went on to become ape-like human, till today. The forests of the Central Indian Highlands especially Kanha and the contiguous forests of Chattisgarh and the mighty river Narmada are our inspiration, reverence, and the pursuit to protect their ecological, social integrity and sanctity is binding to all of us at the Singinawa ConservationFoundation.
- Singinawa Conservation Foundation (SCF) works under the aegis of the Singinawa Jungle Lodge, located on the periphery of the Kanha Tiger Reserve.
- Kanha Tiger Reserve itself is a vital stronghold of the tiger and the hardground Barasingha and a vital clog in the entire Central Indian Tiger Landscape.
- This landscape bears some of India’s finest forest areas and has great potential for healthy tiger populations and long-term tiger survival.
- The Kanha forests are not only vital biodiversity vaults, but they are also major catchments for various life giving rivers like Narmada, Pench etc.
- These thickly forested landscapes are vital repositories of traditional and indigenous cultures, artforms and house indigenous communities like the Baiga, Gonds, Bhills etc.; These communities are some of the earliest inhabitants of India.
- The Singinawa Conservation Foundation follows a holistic outlook towards conservation and is of a firm belief that with the loss of the sacred forests of Kanha, we will not only lose species like the tiger, rivers like Narmada; but we stand to loose the indigenous communities, their knowledge, their culture and their splendid artforms as well.
SCF’s work in the Kanha Landscape and otherwise can be broadly divided into the following categories:
Forest guards are the primary protection units of the forest and #tiger protection. At Singinawa we understand and appreciate this and try to create a support system for them. After the excellent response and appreciation from the forest guards at the Bhaisan Ghat anti-poaching camp, we have installed a 1KW solar unit at the Sukhadi anti-poaching camp as well.
Winters in the Kanha landscape can be very harsh and freezing temperatures often keep kids away from their favourite 'Bhoorsingh School'. The warm track suits Singinawa made available will keep the kids covered and safe from the chill and ensure they don't miss their lessons.
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”. Singinawa Conservation Foundation focuses on better education and education facilities for the children living around Kanha tiger reserve. With the start of the new academic year, we have put new wooden desks, benches, books, stationary, water bottles for the kids at the Bhoor Singh School near the park's gate. Our naturalists regularly interact with the schools and seek opportunities to add value to their curricular and extracurricular development.
Students that attend the Bhoor Singh school at Mukki, Kanha have to walk to school through the forest area often in partial darkness. To ease this hassle and to ensure maximum safety and attendence in the school, Singinawa Conservation Foundation donated this school bus to ensure safe transport for the kids.
One of the focal points of Singinawa Conservation Foundation is our effort to put forth indigenous art forms on a larger, global platform and therefore conserve these threatened folklore, myths, legends, traditions, beliefs for posterity. This fully solar-powered building houses the Kanha Museum of Art and Life and is your gateway to Gond and Baiga art forms.
We are committed towards the upliftment of the local people, communities and villages with whom we share the land. With this objective, we recently empowered the Kohka village panchayat office with a computer, printer and a power inverter setup. We hope this intervention smoothens and speeds up the various administrative and welfare work the panchayat office facilitates.
Singinawa Conservation Foundation and IndianSnakes.org in association with the forest department regularly a free health checkup and medical camp covering numerous villages across the Kanha landscape.
Singinawa's team of naturalists and IndianSnakes.org regularly engage with people including Baiga tribesmen and women from across the region about how to avoid and react to snakes and importantly snakebites. The Singinawa Conservation Foundation actively works in mitigating human-snake conflict and facilitate better treatment of snakebite victims.
To celebrate the ”Earth Hour”, a whole of lot people around the world switched off their lights and took a plunge in to darkness. At Singinawa we did our bit by helping some Baiga families in Lagma village ward off darkness by bringing solar lights to their homes. Our mission to help bring happiness and safety to the people who share their homes with the tiger.
The Singinawa naturalists & staff welcomed the students of the Kohka Village School for a day visit. Our naturalists engaged with the children about various aspects of biodiversity & environment protection and also various issues and nuances about cleanliness and hygiene. The kids were very happy to visit the butterfly habitat and especially the Kanha' Museum of Life and Art'.
Singinawa Conservation Foundation strives tirelessly to alleviate the impacts of noise pollution and erratic weather changes (due to deforestation) in the Kanha region. With frequently planned “Tree Plantation Drives” conducted by the Singinawa Jungle Lodge, tourists enthusiastically partake in these “Small Investments” to make our world a better place.
Singinawa Conservation Foundation collaborates with Kanha Forest Department and other groups to collaborate and host differently abled children in #Kanha and expose them to the wilderness in specially curated jungle safaris and nature walks.
Singinawa Conservation Foundation is proud to associate with support, a biodiversity researcher Mr. Zeeshan Mirza through a monthly scholarship for the last 2 years.
Zeeshan Mirza is now 32 years old and has pubished more than 75 publications in top, international and rigourously peer-reviewed scientific journals.
At the age of 32, Zeeshan has discovered and described about 38 new species (new to science) of frogs, spiders, scorpions, lizards and snakes from all across India!
