Here, in the dense forests, a group of dedicated individuals has become volunteers and coordinators at the Cuckoo Forest School.
This remarkable institution focuses on imparting knowledge about the environment, nurturing it, and teaching skills like natural medicine and seed collection.
Meet Mayaveli Selvi
Mayaveli Selvi, a 35-year-old resident of Erode city in Periyar, was once a software engineer by profession. She had worked with companies like Vipro in Chennai and Bangalore.
However, her journey took a different turn when she joined a weekend trekking group in Bangalore to connect with nature and embrace greenery.
It was through this group that she discovered the Cuckoo Forest School, which opened up new possibilities for her.
Cuckoo Forest School
Mayaveli’s husband, Muthu Venkat, also found his calling at the Cuckoo Forest School. He had previously worked as a medical representative but now manages the campus’s Medicine and Medication Center.
People from nearby villages come here not only for medical treatment but also to learn. Treatment is free, using herbs and oils from nature.
Grateful patients often bring gifts from their fields as a token of appreciation.
Mayaveli Selvi, Tamarai, Renuka, Arjun, Ramesh, Kaushik, and many other volunteers are fully dedicated to training children and young adults in various subjects and skills.
They do this according to their convenience, ensuring that the youth can learn different subjects and crafts.
Training Pulianur Village in Eco-friendly Living
The village’s residents are being trained in sustainable lifestyles, thanks to the Cuckoo Forest School.
They understand that education is not limited to textbooks and classrooms; it extends to the wisdom shared by thinkers, activists, and writers who have walked diverse paths in life.
The school imparts knowledge about local forests, wildlife, plants, water, soil, and harmony with the environment while promoting a sustainable way of life.
Students at the school are free to choose their interests, such as music, painting, sculpture, seed collection, nursery planting, palmistry, organic fertilizer production, and natural medicine.
Pulianur Village’s transformation through sustainable education is a testament to the power of individuals coming together for a common cause.
Mayaveli Selvi and other volunteers have left their urban careers to empower their community with eco-friendly knowledge and skills, making a positive impact on both the environment and the lives of the people in the region.
Cuckoo Forest School stands as a shining example of how education can bring about a sustainable revolution in rural India.
