LocationsBy Tazeen Qureshy / UNDP India
Poetry and Community at the Heart of Odisha’s Climate Action
October 24, 2025
Climate Champions are the backbone of the ECRICC project
On India’s eastern coast, the state of Odisha has long lived with the rhythm of the sea, its bounty and its fury. Every year, cyclones sweep across the Bay of Bengal, eroding land and uprooting lives. Rising seas and salt intrusion threaten farming, fishing, and fragile livelihoods. Yet amid these trials, a quiet transformation is underway. Local women are turning their lived experience into leadership, using creativity, culture, and community to adapt to a changing climate.
A Landscape of Challenge and Change
Odisha’s coastline stretches over 575 kilometers along the Bay of Bengal, making it one of India’s most climate-vulnerable regions. Repeated storms, soil erosion, and shifting weather patterns have forced thousands of families to rebuild their lives again and again. For many women, the burden is doubled, caring for families while finding ways to sustain livelihoods that the sea can erase overnight.
Across four districts—Ganjam, Kendrapara, Puri, and Balasore—an initiative called Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) is helping communities turn hardship into strength. Implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India; the Green Climate Fund; the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Odisha; and UNDP, the project trains local “climate champions” to restore ecosystems and promote sustainable livelihoods.
More than 300 champions now lead efforts on mangrove plantations, watershed management, and climate-adaptive livelihoods such as mud crab farming, the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and ornamental fisheries. Together, they reach nearly one million people across 968 villages.
Finding a Voice in Verse
Climate Champion Kanchan Jena wields poetry as a powerful tool to communicate the realities of climate change
Among them is Kanchan Jena from Balasore district. Until recently, her days revolved around caring for a paralyzed husband and two school-going children while managing financial strain. She had some experience in the development sector, but her curiosity deepened during self-help group meetings where sustainable farming was discussed. When she joined ECRICC in 2023, she found her voice.
Her transformation came through poetry. A fellow volunteer found verses she had written about ECRICC staff and encouraged her to share them. The response was overwhelming. Soon, Kanchan realized that her poems could reach people in ways reports could not.
“We went to the seashore,
Sorrow filled our hearts
Seeing the waste scattered around,
Which never perishes.
The sea is our ornament,
So, why are you degrading it?
From it we are securing our livelihoods,
By selling the fish it bestows.”
Written in her native language, Odia, Kanchan’s poems have become a local form of climate storytelling. Today, she performs at village gatherings and environmental observances, turning technical ideas like soil conservation and crab farming into verses that stir emotion. She has written nearly a dozen poems, each carrying a message about care, sustainability, and shared responsibility.
“Poetry touches emotions in a way plain speech cannot,” she says. “I weave in feelings so people understand why these issues matter to them personally.”
From Loss to Leadership
For Mamata Mai from Kendrapara, the work is deeply personal. Her childhood village of Satabhaya was lost to the sea due to coastal erosion. Now she oversees ECRICC activities in four nearby villages, guiding farmers toward sustainable practices like SRI that improve yields while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“We lost our homes, but not our determination,” she says. “What began as a livelihood opportunity through ECRICC has become a mission. These are my people, and I am working to bring them solutions that matter.”
New Platforms, New Identities
Babina Kandi was among four climate champions to be felicitated by legislators for her work
The climate champions use self-help groups, youth clubs, and schools to spread awareness and build small enterprises. In Puri, Babina Kandi draws on her love for dance to choreograph performances for village events, weaving environmental messages into local culture. She has mobilized more than 150 women through self-help groups, organizing beach clean-ups, forest protection drives, and waste segregation efforts.
“Initially I faced resistance,” she recalls. “I started with children, who were more open, then reached out to my friends. Over time, trust grew and our group expanded.” On September 20, 2025, on the occasion of Global Coastal Cleanup Day, she was felicitated by legislators for her work on climate action.
In Ganjam, Bharati Sethi champions sustainable practices like mud crab farming to strengthen coastal aquaculture resilience
In Ganjam district, Bharati Sethi took a different path. After years of tutoring and volunteering as a traffic warden, she joined ECRICC earlier this year. Today she supports 12 crab farming units, 25 SRI farmers, and one ornamental fisheries initiative. Her dedication earned her a spot in a 14-member delegation to the Sea Food Expo in Chennai, where the Odisha team won first prize in the government sector category.
“ECRICC gave me a platform to raise my voice,” she says. “In Chennai, I could share my experiences on a big stage. Representing my state and winning felt surreal.”
A Movement Rooted in Community
The ECRICC project has given its climate champions a new identity and confidence. Once overlooked, they now lead meetings, train farmers, and inspire others
ECRICC’s model emphasizes local ownership. Champions are nominated through open village meetings, ensuring participation and trust. Passion for community change often counts more than formal qualifications. Once selected, champions receive technical training and draw strength from their lived experience.
Together, they are demonstrating how adaptation can be local, creative, and deeply human. For women like Kanchan, Mamata, Babina, and Bharati, the journey has been about more than training or new livelihoods. It has been about identity and confidence. Once overlooked, they now lead meetings, train farmers, and inspire others.
“Let’s adopt the SRI way,
And keep the methane gas at bay.
With costs so low and profits high,
The farmers’ weary struggles die.”
As Kanchan reflects, “This project didn’t just teach me about climate change, it taught me that my voice matters. Even a village woman’s words can inspire action and strengthen her community.”
About ECRICC: The Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (2019–2027) initiative is a collaboration between the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Odisha, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It strengthens the ability of vulnerable coastal populations, particularly women, to cope with and adapt to climate change and extreme weather events, using an ecosystem-based and community-led approach. The project operates in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. For more information, visit www.ecricc.org.
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