The Women of GBS by Amira Altamimi

Photo by Amira Altamimi

There isn’t one word to describe my experience or feelings in my three-day stay at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary (GBS). Founded in 1981 in Kerala by German botanist Wolfgang Theuerkauf, GBS was initially a seven-acre plot that would become a shadow of its now seventy-acre botanical sanctuary and rainforest. The sanctuary's efforts have not only expanded its physical footprint but have also created a thriving ecosystem unlike any other. It presents an ecological experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen and seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. Everywhere I looked, I encountered a new species, each more fascinating than the last, from towering Banyan trees to moss carpeting the forest floor. The campus was full of insects and animals, a testament to the health of the forest. What struck me most about GBS though was its distinctive approach to conservation and forest management. It was unlike any other conservation effort I had encountered, partly because of the team behind it. Whether volunteers and permanent team members were drawn to the sanctuary for spiritual reasons, scientific research, or other personal motivations, GBS served as a unifying force. It brought together people from different walks of life who shared a common belief in the sanctuary's mission and the importance of its work. This is especially true of the women behind the botanical sanctuary.

The women of GBS held significant responsibility for the maintenance of the rainforest in various ways. Given its immense size and biodiversity, this was not an easy task. As we traversed through the campus, we encountered numerous women diligently engaged in activities such as repotting and tending to the health of the plants in their nursery. The most memorable part of GBS for me was the food. Every day, the kitchen would prepare a fresh meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For someone who had never experienced anything like it, the way the kitchen was operated was revolutionary to me. A group of village women, led by Wolfgang’s wife Leela, cooked three incredible meals a day using the fresh food cultivated on the land. Each meal fed dozens of people and each of them was just as unique as the last. From fresh Jackfruit curry to amazingly seasoned potato dishes, the sheer love and work put into the meals left me in awe.

Photo by Amira Altamimi

In discussions about the global south, western representation often overlooks women or, when acknowledged, portrays them within a framework of a racist and misogynistic context. GBS, however, challenges and dispels this limited perspective. While misogyny persists globally, the women of GBS play indispensable roles that are fundamental to keeping the sanctuary operational.

These women are the backbone of GBS, they quite literally run the sanctuary. Their involvement in GBS extends beyond mere participation; they carry with them the deep-rooted history of the rainforest. GBS owes its continued existence to these women who invest their lives in ensuring the rainforest continues. Their contributions, however, extend far beyond what is typically recognized, showcasing the disparities in how labor is valued and acknowledged especially when practiced by women from the local villages and towns. It often felt as if any of our questions about labor distribution were being dodged when brought up. When the issue of class dynamics within the sanctuary was raised, a topic of genuine interest for all of us, it wasn't really engaged with or addressed. This evasion seemed to recur across some of the NGOs we engaged with over the course of our trip. It therefore left unresolved questions about the allocation of tasks and how caste and class played out on the ground. Especially since manual labor in many of these sites, including GBS, predominantly fell to lower caste women from the local villages and towns. This disparity was indicative of a broader issue of the caste/class system that followed us during our 3-week trip.