How a community radio gives voice to the climate-vulnerable in Tamil Nadu
After Cyclone Gaja wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu in November 2018, a community radio station in Nagapattinam district started the “Voice of the Vulnerable” initiative. The initiative aims to engage and empower coastal communities with stories of environment and climate change affecting their everyday lives. The staff and volunteers, primarily young residents, broadcast shows on cyclone preparedness and best farming practices, among other important social and cultural shows.
Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli operates in a 110-square-foot room that is soundproof by shutting the door and window. However, it could help build climate resilience in the disaster-prone region. This story was produced as part of the Climate Tracker-One Earth Fellowship, 2019.
Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli, a community radio station amidst farmland in Vizhuthamavadi, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. The station, located three kilometers from the coast, broadcasts climate change and disaster management shows, among other topics.
Ranjitha (L) and Durga (R) record a radio show at the community radio station about disaster preparedness in the coastal villages of Nagapattinam district.
Ranjitha, the radio station jockey, walks towards a vast bed of fallen trees on a beach in August 2019. The trees fell during Cyclone Gaja in November 2018.
Ranjitha, a radio jockey, edits a show to be aired by Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli. The station has trained the local youth to record and contribute to shows.
An audio mixer at the community radio station. The station lost several pieces of equipment during Cyclone Gaja.
(L to R) Ranjitha (radio jockey), Durga (volunteer), and Aparna (station director) inside the recording room at Kalanjiam Samuga Vanoli.
Dark clouds gather on Vizhunthamavadi’s coast. Fishing and agricultural communities inhabiting Tamil Nadu’s disaster-prone regions incurred substantial losses during a tsunami in 2004 and a cyclone in 2018.