Navajyothi (Kerala) micro self-help group began with great promise and received nurturing support from the TGG Foundation, its activities gradually tapered after transitioning to independent management. This phase offered valuable insights into the challenges of sustaining collective enterprise and highlighted the importance of ongoing mentorship, leadership development, and structural resilience. The experience has informed future livelihood missions, reinforcing the need for adaptive frameworks and deeper capacity-building. TGG Foundation remains committed to supporting women-led initiatives with renewed clarity, ensuring that each journey, regardless of its outcome, contributes meaningfully to the larger vision of regenerative transformation.
In 2014, TGG Foundation took over the maintenance of The Green Gardens Farm in Wayanad, Kerala, and has started working towards sustainability. Our vision was to transform the farm into a zero chemical, zero waste, zero budget project that empowers the rural community and provides a venue for urban youths to understand sustainability practices. One of our core focus has been ethical green tea production using the traditional method. We have developed an in-house technique using best energy conservation practices and by choosing to hand pluck and handcraft the fresh green leaves, we have created significant improvement in livelihood creation through stakeholder engagement, ensuring gender equality wages, better work satisfaction, and sustainable development leading to the production of ethical premium green tea.
The USPs of our tea are: 100% chemical-free, from an ahimsa farm following ethical agriculture practices, tea leaves are hand-plucked & hand processed by the permanent members who work at the farm round the year. The handcrafting of the tea is done by people with passion and dedication, the leaves come from a single garden and are processed within the garden freshly retaining its aroma.
In 2018, Navajyoti (Kerala), the self-help group supported by TGG Foundation, has turned their hands to make, pure cold pressed ‘Virgin Coconut Oil’ using a manual process.
Since the oil is not processed through direct heating and is separated from fresh coconuts with an alternate procedure of extraction, virgin coconut oil is unquestionably more extravagant in benefits than normal coconut oil. It has got high content of vitamin E and cancer prevention agents which makes it suitable for raw consumption. The durability of virgin coconut oil is long and therefore it doesn’t go foul that easily. As the oil is rich in Lauric acid, a component that is found in breast milk, it proves good for one’s health.
“Annad bhavanti bhootani” – These are the words of Sri Krishna in the Bhagvat Gita. It means that all creation is sustained due to food. Helping to assuage a person’s hunger will win you good karmas. It is an equally important deed to feed the animals and plants of the creation as well.
People who opt for sustainable living practice / Experience are offered homely food at the Green Gardens farm. Freshly prepared food using vegetables, dairy, and eggs produced in-house is served to the guests by NAVAJYOTHI (Kerala) at a subsidized rate. Cooking classes for interested guests are conducted on request.
TGG Foundation started the Livestock unit as part of its sustainable living practice project at The Green Gardens, an Ahimsa Farm in Wayanad, Kerala for livelihood and obtaining organic manure which supports the ethical farming practices at the farm in addition to products such as milk, eggs, etc derived through this activity. During the last 3 years of operations, the livestock unit has undergone many corrections and modifications to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the farm. The number of livestock maintained is now in accordance with the sustainability of the farm, thereby creating a harmonious ecosystem for livestock, farm, and the people that are managing it. The stocks are now handed over to Navajyothi (Kerala) and they manage it well for creating additional livelihood.
2018-2021
2015-2018
