Sahjeevan has been conducting the Salim Node Certificate Course on Sustainable Pastoral Ecosystems of Banni in four villages of eastern part of Banni Grasslands in Kutch since October 2025 for pastoralist youth. This course stands as a significant milestone in re-imagining conservation through community led actions, and is built on that very belief: that local knowledge, when combined with science and policy understanding, can restore the delicate balance of one of Asia’s largest arid grasslands. The course is not just an academic pursuit—it is a bridge between generations and knowledge systems. It nurtures pastoral youth as future custodians of Banni’s biodiversity, equipping them to lead conservation actions such as restoring degraded grasslands, managing invasive species like Prosopis juliflora , and supporting community forest rights and governance and management of the grasslands through local Community Forest Resource Management Committees (CFRMCs).
As a part of their learning modules, the youth were taken on an Exposure Visit to Chotila and Gir from 1st to 4th May 2026, to understand the breed and community of pastoralists from Chotila. This was the first time that these students have traveled out of Banni in their lives. In Chotila, the students met members from Motabhai Bharwad community in Gautamgadh village of Muli, and had interactions with pastoralists having herd of cows, buffalos, sheep and goat. The idea was to understand the community and culture, along with breeds and their management, and grazing resources. The students also got an opportunity to visit one of the “vidis” (savannah grasslands of Surendranagar region) near Anandpur village and interacted with the Kathi Darbar youth. They learnt about the management of vidis and dependence of maldharis on these vidis. They also learnt about the camera trapping system to spot wildlife in the vidis, which was very well explained by local team of Sahjeevan’s Chotila office. A theory session on “Breeds and Breed Registration” was also conducted at Chotila office by Sahjeevan’s in-house faculty, Mr. Narendra Nandaniya, who leads the Breed and Health thematic at Sahjeevan.
The visit was concluded with students enjoying a wildlife safari at Ambardi Safari Park at Gir National Park.
