Overview
Nimai Valley will be a headquarters for One Health research, education, and action. Set on ten acres in a breathtaking valley in Nandi Hills in Karnataka (India) surrounded by forest and farmland, it is located just 40 minutes north of Bangalore International Airport. Nimai Valley brings together the natural environment, agriculture, animals, and human health in the spirit of One Health. It is in a natural setting to inspire global conversations, ideas, and action.
Features
The center will take up 42,000 sq ft of space for research, classrooms, labs, and visitor accommodation. Half of the ten acres are set aside for forest, water harvesting lakes, and organic agriculture.
Nimai Valley will be:
- Inspirational – With beautiful surroundings to stimulate creativity and conversations
- Local - In its architecture and cultural relevance
- Sustainable - As a solar-powered, net-zero, and water-zero campus with organic agriculture to support on-campus dining
Focus Areas
1. Global Research on Food, Climate, and Health
As the Nimai Valley serves as a base for our novel One Health Demographic Surveillance System and projects on soil health, zoonotic disease spillover, and antimicrobial resistance, One Health Trust researchers, visiting scholars, and students will engage in and execute vital research addressing pressing global health issues.
2. Local Community Engagement
We are committed to promoting local community health, providing free cancer screenings and noncommunicable disease monitoring in pop-up clinics.
The Nimai Valley is also open to all neighbors to participate in ongoing programs.
We will have clinics for livestock health for neighboring farms and coordinate expert consultations with partners in veterinary universities.
Our soil health initiative will work with local farmers to integrate traditional and modern approaches to regenerative agriculture.
3. Academic Programs
The PhD program in Data Sciences for Global Health, jointly offered by BITS Pilani and the One Health Trust (OHT), provides full-time, advanced education in global health and research methodology. This program offers training on global health plus qualitative and quantitative skills, with rigorous fieldwork.
Undergraduate students from Princeton will gain field experience in our One Health projects, working with OHT researchers and professors while they are housed in our modern and culturally enriching facilities.
Events
The Nimai Valley will host a wide array of events, from academic conferences and meetings to workshops and community gatherings.
The first event held on the land of the future Nimai Valley was the Bhoomi Puja (foundation stone laying) ceremony to begin the center’s construction on August 21, 2022.
The event was graced by the Honorable Minister of Health for the Government of Karnataka, Dr. K Sudhakar, and blessed by local villagers and their leaders.
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