On Track To Sustainability

I went to Visakhapatnam, India for my international field placement in 2023. My host organization, VIKASA, was a Natural Resources Management organization with a focus on agriculture and horticulture-based interventions to sustain and strengthen the livelihoods of tribal farming communities in the Andhra Pradesh region. This image is of my supervisor Suresh Challa on the train to the Aruku Valley office talking with a passenger, a tribal farmer from the area, about the benefits and increased yields managed through natural farming methods. Changing farming methods can be overwhelming as it can put your income and family at risk. That is why VIKASA does a lot of their work through relationships built with community members and word of mouth about the proven successes of their methods. When locals see first-hand the improved yields and increased revenue through natural farming its easier to make the change towards a more sustainable future.