Who We Are

About the
Foundation

The Heritage Foundation is a registered Trust based in Kotagiri, Nilgiris. We work at the intersection of ecology, culture, and community—protecting what is irreplaceable across the Nilgiris hills.

Nilgiris Shola Forest
Our Mission

Restoration
of Heritage

The Heritage Foundation was founded on the conviction that heritage is not merely what we inherit it is what we choose to protect, practice, and pass forward. In the Nilgiris, that means acting urgently across three fronts: ecology, arts and culture, and the anthropological record of its communities.

We are a Registered Trust eligible for 80G tax exemption, headquartered in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu.

"யாதும் ஊரே யாவரும் கேளிர்"
"To us all towns are our own, everyone our kin"
Kaniyan Poongundranar, Purananuru 192
2020
Year Founded
12+
Active Campaigns
10
Forest First Established
80G
Tax Exemption Eligible
The Team

The People
Behind the Work

Dilip Srinivas M
Founder & President
Hari Prasad K
Trustee
Sathish Srinivas M
Trustee
Kayalvizhi S
Trustee
Honorary Advisory Board
Dr Shanthakumar
Honorary Advisor
Mrs Sudha
Honorary Advisor
Mrs Sangeetha
Honorary Advisor
Ms Shobana
Honorary Advisor
Field Team
Mr Ganesh
Field Officer
Mr Sundarrajan
Community Officer
Mr Babu Rao
Office Admin
Mr Sai Krishna
Public Relations
All Campaigns

Our Work
on the Ground

Ecological
Forest First
Engaging individuals and companies to purchase and permanently rewild land in the Nilgiris, creating biodiversity corridors that are protected in perpetuity.
Ecological
Water Management
Reviving traditional water harvesting systems and advocating for responsible water use across the Nilgiris watershed.
Ecological
River & Stream Cleanup
Community-led cleanup drives and long-term monitoring of the Nilgiris river systems to restore water quality and riparian habitats.
Ecological
Regenerative Farming
Supporting and documenting indigenous farming knowledge of the Nilgiris tribal communities.
Ecological
Earth Pilgrimage
Designing responsible heritage and nature tourism routes that generate community income while protecting sensitive ecological zones.
Ecological
Bird Watching & Wildlife Photography
Citizen science programmes to document the extraordinary avian biodiversity of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.
Arts & Culture
Indigenous Cultural Documentation
Systematic documentation of 10 pictograph and petroglyph sites the only evidence of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities in the region.
Arts & Culture
Tribal Art Exhibitions
Curating and mounting exhibitions of tribal visual art, craft, and material culture.
Arts & Culture
Literary Forum
An annual gathering of Tamil and English writers, poets, oral storytellers, and scholars held in the landscape that inspired them.
Arts & Culture
Arts Workshops
Regular workshops in painting, craft, and traditional visual arts drawing from Nilgiris tribal aesthetics and natural pigments.
Arts & Culture
Cinematography Workshops
Hands-on film-making training covering documentary technique, nature cinematography, and indigenous storytelling.
Anthropological
Architecture Documentation
Recording vanishing Nilgiris vernacular buildings Toda mandarins, Badaga longhouses, colonial bungalows, and bazaar streetscapes.