This December, the Nilgiris Earth Festival (TNEF) returns for its fourth edition — a four-day, multi-sensory celebration rooted in the landscapes, communities, and ecological memory of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Since its inception in 2022, TNEF has emerged as one of India’s most thoughtful regional festivals, bringing together an astonishing constellation of writers, artists, chefs, farmers, ecologists, indigenous communities, and travellers. What binds them is a shared commitment: to honour the Nilgiris through storytelling, and lived experience.
From December 18–21, 2025, the festival unfolds across Ooty, Coonoor, and Kotagiri with over a dozen immersive events centred on food, culture, and ecology. Each experience is designed not simply as a showcase but as an invitation — understand the Nilgiris as a living, breathing ecosystem shaped by people and place.
At the heart of the festival is Habba 2025, a vibrant community day held at the Keystone Foundation in Kotagiri. Over fifteen indigenous communities will come together to share their foods, crafts, and traditions, culminating in a free indigenous lunch open to all. The day will also feature the screening of Wild Tamil Nadu, directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Kalyan Varma, followed by a conversation between Varma and guest of honour Supriya Sahu, IAS, who will present the TNEF Award 2025 celebrating grassroots leadership in conservation and culture. Keynote speakers — Divya Mudappa and T.R. Shankar Raman of NCF, and Madhu Chandan of Organic Mandya — will offer grounded perspectives on ecological futures and sustainable food systems.
One of this year’s most anticipated highlights is Bengal to Nilgiris, a special Chef’s Table created in collaboration with Sienna Calcutta, led by Chef Avinandan Kundu. This intimate, donor-only meal will bring Bengal’s culinary heritage into dialogue with Nilgiri-grown produce from local farmers, TOHFA’s organic cooperatives, and the indigenous collective Aadhimalai. Crafted course by course as a meeting of two landscapes, the event reflects the festival’s ethos.
TNEF also offers rich ecological immersions. Listening to the Forest — a guided experience by Rohan Mathias — blends nature walks, nocturnal listening, birding, and film conversations to reorient participants toward slow, eco-conscious travel. Workshops across the weekend explore ancestral grains with Bio Basics’ Devi Lakshmikutty, foraging wild foods with Shruti Tharayil, and native plant restoration walks with ecologist Vasanth Bosco. Heritage and memory find space too, with Afshan Mariam’s Edible Memories workshop and Dr. Suresh Sethuraman’s Stories in Stone heritage trail.The festival closes with celebrations of settler cuisines, artisanal stalls, and a haiku-led Ginko Solstice Walk by poet Shobhana Kumar.
TNEF continues its affiliation with the Slow Food Community Nilgiris Local Food, advocating for clean and fair food for all. Thoughtful, grounded, and community-led, the Nilgiris Earth Festival remains a rare space where ecology and food are not separate themes but interwoven truths.
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