Women in Kerala are joining hands for recovery and sustainable development after the disastrous floods that hit the state last year. Taking guidance from the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they have found an innovative way to promote community resilience and natural resource management through women’s empowerment and skill training.

“Just as the ocean serves as the substratum for the waves and gold as the base for all ornaments made of gold, creation and Creator are not two. They are one.” says Amma. “For when we see Mother Nature as the embodiment of God, we will automatically serve and protect her.”

It is this vision of loving and serving nature that has inspired numerous green initiatives at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math. One of them is the Amrita Organic Farm, which certainly had humble beginnings.

The Mata Amritanandamayi Math will give $7,000 US to each family of the more than 40 Indian soldiers killed on February 14th. The terror attack occurred in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir as the paramilitary convoy passed by.

“It is our duty to support the families of these brave men who died while doing their duty of protecting the nation,” said Amma. “My heart goes out to their families and loved ones. May we all pray for their peace and wellbeing.”

January 21, 2019 - Kollam, Kerala

The women who attended this event are people who face difficult life challenges, including poverty, widowhood and domestic violence. From communities across the Kollam District, they arrived on the 11th of January at the Amritapuri Campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to make a positive change in their lives.

January 14, 2019 - Amritapuri

“From time immemorial, stories have caught the fascination of young and old. In fact, anything and everything we experience can be told as a story,” explained Amrita University Professor Gayathri Manikutty. Manikutty is working with AMMACHI Labsas the Robotics 4 Education Academic Coordinator.

January 9, 2019 - Amritapuri, India

More than 1,200 people from the ages of 15 to 35 years gathered at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Amritapuri to shape their goals for the future of our world. Having travelled from 23 different states across India, they were taking part in AYUDH India’s second Leadership Training Summit.

January 3, 2019 - Europe

Their goal: to plant 1,000 trees within three years. AYUDH Europe has launched Trees for Peace--a planting campaign that combines concrete climate action with education for sustainable living. From Lisbon to Munich to Copenhagen, volunteers aged 15 to 30-years-old are meeting to make a difference for the future of our planet.

December 27, 2018 - Poland

The United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference took place in Katowice, Poland this month. Usha Nair, Vice-President of All India Women’s Conference, discussed how our Saukhyam Reusable Pads project is establishing an alternative to the use of disposable plastic pads--a major global pollutant.

Saukhyam was one of two projects from India lauded at the conference for its innovative and sustainable financing model. The workshop was titled "Climate technologies and up-scaling gender-just climate solutions". Saukhyam supports self-help groups in rural India as an accessible micro-business for village women.

December 20, 2018 - Amritapuri, Kerala, India

A historic event took place at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Amritapuri campus. Amrita University’s UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality hosted its first International Colloquium for Women’s Empowerment from December 17-19.

More than 90 village women from 21 communities across India met with international delegates, Govt. of India officials, professors, representatives from UN partner organisations, technocrats and researchers.

December 10, 2018 – Amritapuri, Kerala, India

This animation tells the story of how Amma decided to take on a life of complete love and service to the world, regardless of the fact that it was far from easy and she had to confront much opposition and even torment.

Amma was born in a remote coastal village in Kerala, South India in 1953. Her father was a fisherman, along with many of the others there. When she was nine years old, her mother became ill, so she was withdrawn from school in order to help with household tasks and the care of her seven siblings.