The Mud on Boots Project is a booster programme designed to empower and support ‘mud-on-the-boots’ conservationists in India over a two-year period. The project focuses on those individuals whose conservation leadership potential is overlooked by large organisations and government agencies because of limitations such as the lack of academic qualifications, access to technology or language barriers.
Through this project Sanctuary is enabling a network of on-ground conservationists across the country, each of whom is contributing steadfastly to biodiversity conservation and community engagement in distinct and measurable ways. In addition to monetary support, Sanctuary works to raise the profiles of these Project Leaders, connect them to pertinent organisations or experts and forward their causes. The Project has been developed to be flexible to the needs of each Project Leader and Sanctuary’s support to each one is customised. While keeping paperwork and bureaucracy to a minimum, Sanctuary ensures that every project develops holistically.
Project Leaders are selected through a closed nomination process. Nominations are invited from trusted conservationists within Sanctuary’s extensive network, and are reviewed by the Sanctuary team. Priority is given to nominees who do not have the tools to expand their work through external funding; and are working in neglected landscapes, on conflict mitigation, or on community engagement.
Nominations for the Mud on Boots Project are considered on a rolling basis, as and when funds become available.
The sponsorship of a single Project Leader’s work is INR 3,00,000/- for the two years. This excludes administration costs and overhead.
Photo: Shiv Kumar
Photo: Ripan Biswas
Photo: Shivang Mehta
Sanctuary’s Small Grants are monetary awards of less than one lakh rupees that are bestowed upon veteran grassroots wildlife conservationists in recognition of their service to India’s biodiversity and ecological health. Over the years, we have also extended solidarity and resources to several small grassroots organizations across India addressing myriad conservation issues.
Sevaram Parihar
Sevaram lives in the village of Kheechan, Rajasthan, which serves as a winter migration site for thousands of Demoiselle Cranes from southern Europe, northern Africa and parts of Russia.
The Mud on Boots Project is made possible by the generosity of individual donors and the following collaborators:
The TINA Grant
The Tina Abraham-Sanctuary Initiative for Nature Action (TINA) was launched in 2015 by banker Paul Abraham and Sanctuary in memory of Tina Abraham, who was a staunch wildlife defender.
The Hemendra Kothari Tiger Defenders Fund
Investment banker Hemendra Kothari is widely-recognised as the single largest individual donor to wildlife conservation efforts in India. In 2016, in honour of Mr. Kothari’s 70th birthday, his friends and colleagues pooled their resources to establish the Hemendra Kothari Tiger Defender Fund to be disbursed through the Mud on Boots Project.