Meghalaya is a land full of traditional and cultural wonders. It has a rich tapestry interwoven into the daily lives of the people, particularly the community members. From the Double-decker Living Root Bridges of Nongriat to Mawlynnong, the cleanest village in Asia, Meghalaya has taught the world how taking care of Mother Nature isn’t just a hobby, but a way of life. Agriculture is one of the backbones of Meghalaya, and in the post-independence period, in the 1950s, when Meghalaya was part of Greater Assam, there existed village Basic schools whose curriculum focused not just on bookish knowledge but also on life skills like agriculture, cultivation, and community service to prepare the students for life.
As time passed, the curricular concept of a basic school also seemed to have faded away. Through the years, NESFAS has promoted revitalising the Indigenous People’s food systems and way of life through landscape management, sustainable livelihoods, and cultural preservation. As part of the TNC-supported initiative, People’s Perspective Landscape Management Plans (PPLMPs) session at Umtathymmai village in Umling Block, Ri Bhoi District, discussions were held to shape collective plans for conservation and natural resource governance. It was through these conversations that NESFAS made a remarkable discovery: the presence of a unique Khlaw Skul, or School Forest, embedded within the village landscape.
The village is home to different kinds of forest – Khlaw Shnong (Village forests), Khlaw Shimet (Private forests), Khlaw Balang (Church forests), and Khlaw Skul (School’s forest). The Umta Secondary School, established in 1985, is one of the few schools, if not the only one, with a forest of its own. The school currently has twelve teachers, ten of whom are aided, and two are private teachers who are supported by the Village Councils of the two villages. The village headman of Umtathymmai, Mr. Saion Ronghang, narrates how the two villages, Umtarim and Umtathymmai were originally a single Village. However, in 1965, they were divided into two villages for administrative purposes. However, despite this division, the two villages share a common bond of ecological brotherhood by willingly sharing natural resources. This practice reflects the embedded Indigenous values of sharing and caring, which remain central to community life and are clearly visible in the way these villages collectively steward their forests.
The Khlaw Skul, or school forest, is managed by the School Management Committee (SMC) under the leadership and guidance of village executive members. The innovative initiative began in 1988 to plant bamboo to fund the school and teachers’ salaries by selling the bamboo. This has been done successfully to date.
Beyond its ecological role, the forest has become a living classroom for intergenerational knowledge exchange. Within its shade, children learn the art of foraging; identifying wild edibles, such as Jajula, Jamahek, Jaratiang, wild ferns, chameleon plant and a variety of mushrooms, guided by the wisdom of elders. More recently, during the PPLMP session with NESFAS, the community reaffirmed its commitment to the forest by planning expanded plantation efforts, with a focus on increasing the diversity of native trees and fruit-bearing species.
The idea of the School Forest is not limited to sustaining the teachers alone. It creates a wider ripple effect by encouraging environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility toward sustainable development and conservation. This awareness begins with students at an early age and extends to adults, who have learned to value nature as a living economic entity that supports life across every dimension of human survival. In a state rich with God’s nectar of natural beauty, readopting a constructive curriculum like that of the pre-statehood era towards sustainability will transform Meghalaya into a model state.
If we are to imbibe something from the 21st Century curriculum of the school in the Philippines, they actively promote tree planting through the landmark, “Graduation legacy through the Environment Act” (2019), which mandates all graduating elementary, high school, and college students to plant at least ten trees as a prerequisite for graduation. In the modern day, through the Green Voices, Education and Environment are looked upon as two significant entities, suggesting eco-friendly ideas and promoting green practices aimed at improving environmental outcomes. The Khlaw Skul may also be a tiny beacon of hope to inspire, educate and reconstruct to repair the damages we have so long neglected.
Reported by Merrysha Nongrum, Sr. Associate, NESFAS
