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Projects > The Rewa Schools’ Project, India
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The Rewa Schools’ Project, India - New project for 2007.
 We have been researching this project for more than two years: the bureaucracy is now satisfied, the teething problems ironed out and we’re ready to go!
Location & Field Conditions
The project will focus on schools in and around the city of Rewa in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This area is Sal and teak wood forest, and has the look and feel of an English beech wood. The forested hills surrounding Rewa are home to a range of native wildlife species including sambar and chital deer, gaur bison and a staggering 1,266 bird species (compared to about 375 in the UK!) and of course the big cats, leopards and tigers.
Nearest town: The town of Rewa is our project base, located 70 miles north of the nearest rail connection (about 17 hours travelling time from Delhi).
Project Partner: His Highness the Maharaja of Rewa
Our host and project partner is His Highness the Maharaja (HHM) of Rewa whose historical family influence in the area complements his current educational programme within the local rural communities. HHM is passionate about conservation and is actively engaged with several conservation projects in this region.
The land of Mowgli and the "Jungle Book"
Rudyard Kipling actually wrote his famous tale in Kanha National Park which is a short distance to
the south of Bandhavgarh National Park. In fact there's a fragile forest "corridor" which links the two parks and tigers are able to make the hazardous journey from one to the other. Young males in search of their own territory are the individuals most likely to do so, but all tigers cover huge areas and need vast tracts of land. And this is the root of their problem: the shortage of land. India has a staggering human population. I had the chance to talk to a Minister in Delhi in early 2005 and he told me that no-one actually knows what the population of India is! The bureaucracy is so convoluted, the country so immense and the communications so tenuous, that an accurate census is beyond feasibility! At best, it's an educated guess. There are over a billion Indians. The population is growing and so is the need for land. This is the largest pressure on the Tiger. And then there's always the poaching!
A hundred years ago Bandhavgarh was a tiger hunting reserve ( a "Shikargah") for the exclusive use of the Maharajas of Rewa. In the days of the Raj, each Maharaja was required to dispatch 108 tigers (a number thought to be auspicious!). Ironically, such was the zeal with which the Maharaja preserved his hunting domain, that the habitat has survived remarkably well and is now one of the strongest elements of tiger conservation.
A short history of Bandhavgarh
1927 Maharaja of Rewa declared "Tala" 105 sq Km "Reserve Forest" and human activity was curtailed.
1976 The last village within Tala was re-located amid much local resentment. Compensation and incentives to move were provided. 1983 Park area increased to 448 sq Km. ("Primary Gazette" area) by adding the ranges Kalwa, Magadhi and Khitauli. 6 villages remain within the new park. 1994 Bandhavgarh joins "Project Tiger" and the adjoining 200 sq Km range of Panpatha is included with Bandhavgarh
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