What Kerala’s Traditional Homestead Gardens Can Still Teach Us About Self-Reliance
Kerala’s traditional homestead gardens, called thottam or purayidam, integrate fruit trees, spices, vegetables, herbs, and livestock in multi-layered systems that mimic natural forests. These small plots have long provided families with food, medicine, fuel, and income while requiring minimal external inputs. The gardens achieve resilience through high biodiversity, seed saving, circular resource use, and vertical … Read more