The Nilgiris Earth Festival begins from December 19

Foraged produce
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Indulge in a feast for the senses and savour a seasonal spread of indigenous cuisines representing the communities of the Nilgiris Biosphere at The Habba, the heart of the four-day event — The Nilgiris Earth Festival (TNEF) which begins December 19. This is the festival that turns the Blue Mountains into a stage for rich culinary experiences and ecological learning, while highlighting inclusivity as it brings together food, ecology, and people that is quintessentially Nilgiris.

Artisanal teas
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

At the Habba, the central event on December 22, The Keystone Foundation in Kotagiri will turn into a hub for indigenous foods, and a cosy market will spring up for locally-sourced produce, honey, and art. Along with food, music, and dance, speakers including CK ‘Bablu’ Ganguly from the  Timbaktu Collective, Arshiya Bose, founder, Black Baza Coffee and environmental activist G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal will talk on climate activism, food sovereignty and biodiversity.

While the Timbaktu Collective strives to empower rural communities towards sustainable lives with equal rights for all genders, Black Baza Coffee works with over 650 small coffee producers in the Western Ghats to strengthen biodiversity-friendly farming practices, and Poovulagin Nanbargal (Friends of Earth), is an NGO dedicated to conservation and sustainability. Author and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani will be the guest of honour who will also present the annual Nilgiris Earth Award during the event.

Sandesh Kadur’s Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness, produced by Rohini Nilekani captures the magnificence and challenges faced by the Nilgiris biosphere and will be screened. Sandesh and Rohini will also share a glimpse into the making of the film and its central themes.

A traditional dance in progress
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Presented by The Nilgiris Foundation, a sister concern of The Keystone Foundation, the TNEF will be held at multiple venues around the Nilgiris and brings together growers, renowned chefs, writers, and artistes who care about eating mindfully. “It’s a gathering of people from all walks of life, a coming together of amazing minds from across fields and borders, for us to listen, speak, and learn from. A celebration of sharing,” says Pratim Roy, founder-director of The Keystone Foundation and founder of TNF, adding that topics like going local and foraging will open discussions on working towards a sustainable planet. “These are global and urgent narratives and the TNEF aims to forge meaningful relationships across boundaries. We want to be a small part of the larger story about water and environment, community well-being, people, and Nature collectives,” explains Pratim.

Seasonal produce will be part of sit down multi-course meals
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Day one of the festival begins with a session on forgotten greens and heritage grains with Devi Lakshmikutty of Bio Basics, and Shruti Tharayil of Forgotten Greens that showcases heritage rices, wild edibles, and medicinal greens as well as unique farming and foraging traditions of India. What follows is a special experience centred around a tasting menu featuring Badaga cuisine, curated by educationist and restaurateur Suresh Belliraj in collaboration with Chef Kartik Pendse at Donnington Bakehouse in Kotagiri. It will be accompanied by a Badaga cultural performance.

At a session on tea, visitors can explore Nilgiris’ artisanal teas at Tranquilitea Tea Lounge in Coonoor with Sandeep Subramani. Besides a haiku-inspired creative walk with poet Shobhana Kumar through Lovedale’s estates, there will be a farm-to-fork sojourn at the Emerald Lake area near Udhagamandalam with Vishanth Kumar, a regenerative farmer and chef.

Guests can experience the flavours of high-elevation organic produce and farm-to-table wood-fired cooking and raise a toast to people growing high mountain organic produce. Over lunch prepared by Chefs Vishanth Kumar and Karan Thakker, chef Vishanth, who is also the founder of Kikui Farms & Red Hills Tea Estate, where he grows organic vegetables, herbs and spices, reflects upon his life at the region’s iconic farm. Concludes Pratim, “Listening to accomplished speakers will inspire us to care deeply for the Earth.”

From Decemeber 19 to 22 at The Nilgiris. For more details, log onto tnef.thenilgirisfoundation.org