Translated from the original Hindi by Baba Mayaram published in Vikalp Sangam (https://vikalpsangam.org/article/paushtik-kheti-ki-or-laut-rahi-hain-bheeli-kisaan-in-hindi/
Efforts are being made to bring back into practice the vanishing indigenous seed cultivation and its culture.
“While working on women's health issues, I saw that their health was very weak, they were anemic and underweight. Most of their health problems are related to lack of nutritious food, so we first did organic farming of nutritious grains ourselves, learned through experience and now we are trying to get indigenous women farmers to do this as well.” Said Subhadra Khaperde, a farmer and social worker from Pandutalab village.
This area of Western Madhya Pradesh is situated in the valley of Narmada River between the Vindhya and Satpura hill ranges. The residents here are mainly Bhil indigenous people. Bhil, Bhilala, Barela, Mankar, Naik and Pateliya Scheduled Tribes are together known as Bhils. Most of the tribals are landless and farmers with small land holdings. Most of the farming here is non-irrigated and rain-fed. Since there is very little income from farming, the farmers have to do labor also for livelihoods.
The settlement of villages here is not dense, it is sparse. Houses (huts) are built in the fields. There is a lot of distance between them. There are kutcha and tile houses in the hills. The houses are made of grass and wood, the walls are also made of mud, wood and bricks. Rooster, hen, goat and cattle also live together with humans.
The story of change in farming starts from the year 2015. This initiative has been taken by Subhadra Khaperde and her husband Rahul Banerjee. This couple has been engaged in social work for years. Subhadra Khaperde started her social work with Ekta Parishad, while Rahul Banerjee, after graduating with a civil engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur, worked for a long time among the indigenous people in Alirajpur.
An organization was formed to carry out organic farming systematically and take this work forward. The name of this organization is Mahila Jagat Lihaz Samiti (https://mahilajagatlihazsamiti.in/) which means Society for Respect for Women and Nature. This village is in Udainagar tehsil of Dewas district. Before this, Rahul Banerjee has worked for the rights, education and dignity of tribals through Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath in Alirajpur district.
Subhadra Khaperde said that first of all we bought one acre of land and established the Tribal Culture and Livelihood Promotion Center there. This center is situated on barren and hilly land. Many efforts were made to make this land fertile through conservation of soil and water. Irrigation using alternative solar energy was developed. Embankments have been built to prevent soil erosion and many local species of trees have been planted on the hill slopes to enhance water recharging, which include Amla, Sitaphal, Bamboo, Karanj, Neem, Mango etc.
Recently I visited this area for three days. Along with Rahul Banerjee, I saw the farm of Pandutalab and met many women farmers from Dewas, Khargone, Alirajpur and Jhabua districts.
We traveled hundreds of kilometers amidst drizzling rain. There was the smell of soil, air and trees on the way. There was clear rain-drenched air in the afternoon. There was a green forest. There were rustling leaves and fluttering insects. At some places there were croaking frogs, light touch of wind, fields of maize, sorghum, cotton, groundnut and soybean swaying in the wind. There were green meadows. There was a murmur of many rivers and streams. The clattering sounds of bullock carts and the bells around the necks of the bulls attracted attention. We passed through clouds in the high hills.
After reaching Pandutalab, I took a look at the fields. Visited the crops closely and touched them. Here crops of millets like Rala, Bhadi, Batti, Sawa, Ragi, Bajra, Jowar and Maize, Tur, Choula, Groundnut and Aambari were flourishing. There was also local Dunwar and Dubraj paddy. Apart from this, there were indigenous vegetables like ladyfinger, small tomato, spinach, gilki, zucchini, chawla and semi.
This center also reminds us of tribal culture and traditional farming. It has also been constructed from soil, stone and wood. The wood carvings have been done by tribal artisans. Most of the materials for the mud house were local. The soil was also brought from an old broken house. Bought old wood and used it. Made clay tiles and placed them on the roof. There is also a well and a motor pump operated on solar energy.
Through this centre, efforts are being made to preserve the folk traditions of the tribals like folk songs, stories, musical instruments and craftsmanship. In this context, an audio-visual program named Bheel Voice (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCndkAYBLF_2ZWRPHZRJglaw) is being run through the organization. For this, a studio has been built on the hill in Kakrana village of Alirajpur district, in which stories, songs of Bhil tribals and videos on environmental education programs are made and broadcast on YouTube channel. There is also a residential school for tribal children, which is run by tribal teachers only. This school has been named Rani Kajal Jeevan Shala after the life-giving goddess of Bhils, Rani Kajal.
Subhadra Khaperde said, “Pandutalab center has 30 varieties of indigenous seeds of grains, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. We have collected these seeds by going from village to village. Along with this, properties and information related to these seeds were also obtained. This initiative is to conserve and promote indigenous seeds.”
She further explains that from time to time Farmers' meetings and programs are also organised. Mother's Day was also celebrated in May this year. Women from nearby villages attended it. They were also told about organic farming of local seeds and were distributed local seeds, so that they too could do farming in their fields without chemical fertilizers.
Subhadra Khaperde said that the cultivation of these indigenous seeds has been continuously spread to other tribal districts. Another similar center is in Kakrana village of Alirajpur district. From this centre, indigenous seeds have been distributed to women farmers of many nearby villages. So that they can grow nutritious grains in their fields and include them in their diet.
Pandutalab centre worker Badrilal and his wife Heerabai said that they do not use any kind of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in farming. Bio-pesticides are prepared and sprayed by themselves, which kills the insects. Bio-fertilizer Jeevamrit is also made from farm biomass and cow dung manure, which makes the soil fertile.
Tejlibai and Belubai of Khodamba village in Alirajpur district have grown jowar, sawa, urad, bajra and batti in their fields. He told that there is no cost in this farming. There is no need of any kind of chemical fertilizer or pesticide nor of buying seeds from the market and local grains are very tasty to eat. Earlier these indigenous seeds had become extinct, which they have got back from the organization.
Tejlibai fed us fresh Ambari bhaji and maize bread from her farm. On the same day, 'Navai' was worshiped at their house. Navai means new food. It is a traditional festival to welcome the crops in the fields. Farmers also celebrate it with great pomp in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Vesati Bai of Attha village, Raiti Bai of Kakrana and Naku Bai said that now we have got the old indigenous seeds. They grow it in their fields and give its seeds to some new farmers every year. There is a seed bank in Kakrana, from where seeds are taken every year and we also learn how to make bio-pesticides.
Overall, a few things can be said about this initiative, such as this initiative is environment friendly. This method is not only based on local seeds, local cow dung manure but is also effective in increasing production through new technologies like bio-pesticides. Useful in increasing production in adverse conditions. Because in mixed farming, if one crop fails, it is compensated by other crops. There is a continuous emphasis on learning from traditional elderly farmers. Because traditional knowledge has also been associated with indigenous seeds.
This is also a method of reducing the cost of external investment in farming. This is a time and situation when farmers across the country are going through unprecedented crisis. Most of whom, burdened with high costs and debt, start taking extreme steps like suicide. In such a time, it has become very important to remember the old indigenous seeds and low-cost farming using plow and oxen and implement it. It definitely takes hard work but that too will reduce the problem of unemployment. The government should take initiative to popularize it by providing adequate grants.
Organic farming will increase biodiversity, soil quality, water conservation and reduce carbon emissions in the face of climate change. It is labor friendly and very creative, hence it gives people a chance to engage in creative livelihood. This is also a lesson for the school children and teachers of Kakrana. This initiative also enhances the value of labor in education for schools, which has been missing in our education. The most important thing is that farmers will get nutritious food. Overall, this initiative is commendable as well as exemplary.
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