OFM
Order of Friars Minor
Province of St. Thomas the Apostle, India
Joy is Being Franciscan
Joy is Being Franciscan
Prakruthi Mithra
Franciscan Friars
House No – 325
Pakkali Pallam
Chundel – 673123
Wayanadu
| Diocese | Thamarassery |
| Year of Foundation | |
| Juridical Status | Residence |
| Specific Mission | JPIC, Pastoral Work Eco-Farming, Family Counselling, Ministry to Migrants and Rebuilding lives |
Prakruthi Mithra is situated in the District of Wayanad in Kerala by the foothills of the majestic Chembra hills at Chundale. ‘Prakruthi Mithra’ means ‘Friend of Nature’. It was started in the year 2009 October 20th with the permission of his Grace Joseph Kalathiparambil and the newly constructed house was inaugurated by the minister General of the Order Rev. Fr. Michael Perry and blessed by the Bishop of Calicut Rt. Rev. Dr. Varghese Chakkalakal on 17th Feb.2014, at the initiative of the then provincial Rev. Fr. Babu Jose Pampalny ofm.
The activities of this initiative began with giving tuitions to children and skill training like tailoring for women with the help of the Philip Neri sisters and subsequently fr. Tom John joined the team to take English tuitions and introduce sports and games for children and youth. Another initiative of Prakruthi Mithra has been providing drinking water to those who do not have access to it.
The vision behind Prakruthi Mithra is to live and promote the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, by nurturing a culture of caring for creation. The concept and idea of “Prakruthi Mithra’ the name and its vision is the inventiveness of Friar Davis Kalloorkaran, with the approval and support of the then Provincial administration. The mission was entrusted to the nearby Chipplithode community and it is still affiliated to it. Friars Davis, Pradeep Kaliyath, and Babu Jose as directors of Prakruthi Mithra have contributed a lot to making it a one of its kind vibrant Franciscan presence living on the periphery along with the marginalized caring for nature and all its creatures. The objective of this Franciscan presence and all its inclusive Eco-spiritual & Socio Economic Development activities is the awareness that marginalized people fail to get opportunities that can create an enabling environment for them to live a life of dignity.
Since its inception the activities and engagements Prakruthi Mithra are aimed at promoting ecology, inter-religious dialogue, self-supportive and income generating activities. Prakruthi Mithra provides skill trainings like tailoring, driving, computers, English tuition classes, animal husbandry, seminars and summer programs for the empowerment of women and children as well as providing basic necessities during the pandemic and natural calamities etc., to help alleviate the housing shortage, and regular medical care for the sick and suffering and such other related acts of solidarity and support in order to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged and thus rebuilding homes, hopes and lives for establishing human dignity among the rural poor as best as possible.
The activities promoted to realize the mission and vision of Prakruthi Mithra provides opportunities for skill and talent developments so far denied to the rural poor of this place and is aimed at putting an end to discrimination and social exclusion and thus to restore human dignity, and the right of every human to live effectively as equal citizens. Our presences here enhance the possibility of the church to bring people together to respond to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and to restore peace and justice through our program of inclusive development for all in and through an inter-religious dialogue of life in the spirit of the encyclicals and exhortations of Pope Francis like Laudato Si, Fratelli Tutti, Synodality and Laudate Deum, and above all, the constitution of the Order of Friars Minor.
Art. 1 of the constitutions which lays the foundation of our identity states that “to announce the Gospel throughout the world and to preach reconciliation, peace and justice by their deeds and to respect for creation.”
Art. 71. Which Says “Following closely in the footsteps of Saint Francis, the friars are to maintain a reverent attitude towards nature, threatened from all sides today, in such way that they may restore it completely to its condition of brother/ sister and its role of usefulness to all humanity for the glory of God the Creator.”
The ambience Prakruthi Mithra serves as a house of Franciscan prayer, so Prakruthi Mithra was envisaged from the time of its inauguration by the Minister General of the Order as a house of prayer consecrated to the memory of St. Francis, as a response to GS. Art. 15. “The ministers are to strive earnestly to have at least one hermitage or house of prayer erected in the territory of their own province and friars that reside in such places are to receive willingly without detriment to their own recollection groups of the faithful and initiate them into Franciscan prayer ...” And as recommended in the Art.13, of the General statutes of the Order. “… A place of retreat consecrated to the memory of St. Francis and the saints are to preserve an atmosphere of silence and recollection in order to remain havens of intimate prayer for both the friars themselves and the friends of St. Francis and the Order. ”
To further facilitate these directives of the Order and to actualize the plans, activities and services of this initiative Fr. Davis as the director during 2016-2019 began the construction of a new building and subsequently it was completed by Fr. Babu Jose named it as Peace Petal. This independent structure was instrumental in catering to the humanitarian support Prakruthi Mithra had extended during Covid and during repeated rain and pain scenarios in Wayanad.
During the course of time Friar Charles Mathew and after him Friar Joy Prakash joined the community and extended their services for the expansion of this mission. Having established facilities for residential retreat for small groups Priests, Religious and families occasionally come to make retreat in a silent and Franciscan spiritual setting to this house of prayer consecrated to the memory of St. Francis.
Prakruthi Mithra is situated just at a three kilometer distance from the National highway (Bangalore – Calicut en route NH.766. It is in the midst of green carpeted forests and tea gardens and on the periphery of Chembra hills and there we are surrounded by people marginalized in more ways than one. Here we have tribal hamlets, tea garden workers, settlers and families belonging to various cultures, works and religion and the wild animals and all of them together make up for our neighborhood. Prakruthi Mithra involves in encouraging and promoting ‘a friendly interaction’ with nature and its creatures in order to respect, protect, preserve, restore and sustain Mother Earth and all created things and beings.
The friars at Prakruthi Mithra wish to continue to extend and sustain our gestures of solidarity with the poor and the marginalized. Our activity plan is aimed at remaining relevant to sustaining human dignity of the poor and the marginalized and nurturing the fragile eco system of our common home by bearing witness to the light and joy of the Gospel and to demonstrate that we listen and respond not only to the cry of the Earth but also to the cry of the poor.
When the devastating flood and landslides badly affected the people of our area, the friars at Prakruthi Mithra lost no time in catering to their most urgent needs of food, clothing and shelter and medicine. The relief work was followed up with rehabilitation by repairing leaking roofs and renovating dilapidated and partially built and abandoned houses. We also reached out to rebuilding collapsed bridges and to address the hardships of getting safe drinking water in summer. Wells were dug and pipes were laid to provide access to good drinking for all those who were deprived of such a facility. The good and safe drinking water project in Vettikkaad was blessed and inaugurated in 2021 by Rt. Rev. Dr.Varghese Chakkalackel, bishop of Kozhikode. It now provides drinking water for 21 families. With the support of the Province educational assistance to children and helping the youth in their transition from school to professional courses like Nursing, Diploma in pharmacy, motor vehicle driving tailoring and the like. Another area of our intervention has been extending financial assistance to meet the emergency needs of medical care for the sick and suffering. In the post covid scenario with much of education of children also taking place online computer literacy classes were conducted for young mothers with school going children. To promote art and culture we avail facilities for children to learn dance as well. We also extend pastoral care at the parish, to people in our neighboring unit, to migrant workers, to sisters and people in the area as per request.
Prakruthi Mithra by its very presence and service, in solidarity with those on the periphery in more ways than one, with its multiple activities for the uplift of the poor and the marginalized has become a beacon of hope for the locality. Our gates are left unlocked day and night and people by day and wild elephants by night can freely walk in and out of our compound as if Prakruthi Mithra true to its name is their home as well. Those who have a habit of chewing pan can come anytime to collect Aricanut and paan leaves cultivated in our garden for their sake. The wild elephants occasionally come in to eat the tender bamboo and jack fruits without destroying our gate. Since it is not locked with one push the gate is flung open and the elephants easily walk in and out at will at night. As if in a barter system the elephants leave their dung which is good manure for the Jackfruits and bamboos they have eaten. Many others around here who kept their gates locked were destroyed by the wild elephants. Now they all follow our example as ours is the only gate that was not destroyed by the elephants. Thus in the Franciscan way without saying a word we preach respect for creation.
Encouraged by Pope Francis, since its inception and now followed up by the message of Pope Leo for the IX the world day of the poor Prakruthi Mithra is constantly attentive to the Cry of Hope of the Poor and of Creation. Our presence in this remote region of Wayanad, the most backward district in Kerala Prakruthi Mithra strives to hear and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the environment knowing well that when the environment is threatened it is the life and hope of the poor that is at risk. So Prakruthi Mithra continues to remain as pilgrims of hope with the poor and with creation by offering spiritual companionship by being brothers and minors among the poor and by fostering friendship and faith with God, thus our community remains for everyone who comes to us a place of welcome, compassion, and encounter.
