Our Profile
Tamwed is a registered charity based in South West England. The founders have longstanding professional and personal links with community groups in the area and have collaborated on projects over many years. It is a small organisation that supports the work of their partner, the ISLAND Trust which is based in Kotagiri District of the Nilgiri Hills. We are guided by a committee of knowledgeable and committed volunteers, many of whom have visited India to evaluate and give feedback on progress and plans. Our ongoing programme is called Tribal Futures which aims to secure a sustainable future for tribal people in 25 remote villages around Kotagiri. Tribal people themselves have prioritised issues such as health, human rights and agriculture for assistance. Tamwed has few overheads with nearly all funds being sent to India and carefully monitored.
Registered Charity 1113533
Tamwed was launched soon after the tsunami hit India at the end of 2004. The founders had social and professional links with NGOs in South India and we initially supported community organisations that were engaged in restoring livelihoods in coastal areas. By 2006 Tamwed had become a registered charity with the objective of helping to overcome poverty in areas of greatest need. By 2009, Tamwed was working with three NGOs: CRUSADE to the north of Chennai, GAWDESY near Thanjavur and the ISLAND Trust in Kotagiri. As organisations became more financially self-sufficient we began to concentrate on projects with beneficiaries that had the greatest need. Our focus changed to work with a single partner which from 2015 is the ISLAND Trust, an organisation that does important work with tribal people in the Nilgiri Hills dealing with health, climate change adaptation, land rights, agriculture and other issues that aim to secure a sustainable future for all tribal communities.