Saturday, March 31, 2018
2018, April 21 & 22 | Awakin to Abundance - Capacity building program | @ Khalad, Pune
FROM Annadata.....citizens movement for safe food news n happenings....www.organicannadata.org
Awakin to Abundance -Capacity building program on Sustainable livelihood for existing and upcoming youth...
Dt. 21st n 22nd Apr. 2018 Sat. & Sun.
Reporting on 20th evening or 21st morning 9am.
Will get over on 22nd Apr. 2018, Sun.even. 5.30pm
Venue - Gram Gaurav Pratishtan
Pani Panchayat, Shetkari Prashikshan Kendra, Gotemal Road, Khalad, Taluka Purandar, Pune 412 30.
Visit the website for more details of the venue http://Panipanchayat.org
One day or one session is also allowed to attend.
For serious participants preparation support will be done thr coordinators. For understanding strengths and to choose opportunities.
Facilitators are Arun Wakhlu CEO Pragati Leadership, Shitole Kaka Activist n Trustee of Gram Gaurav Pratishtan, Sadanand Pendse : Activist for Gramoday, in Dapoli, Dr. Sonali Shinde: Ayurvedic n Panchakarma expert
Kindly RSVP or inform Samadhi 9921008078
Friday, March 30, 2018
WORKSHOP ON RAINWATER HARVESTING & SOIL CONSERVATION
at Vanvadi on April 14-15, by Vasantbhau Futane and Bharat Mansata.
The workshop will address the severe twin problems of water scarcity (with plunging groundwater levels), and massive soil erosion and degradation, both arising from poor land care and destruction of nature. Even high rainfall regions like the Konkan Western Ghats now face severe water shortage, as community open wells dry up earlier each year, especially in upland adivasi villages.
The workshop will be bilingual, in Marathi and English, for the benefit of villager-farmers, and interested urban folk. Vasantbhau and Bharat will provide an overall introduction to rainwater harvesting and soil conservation. Vasantbhau will also provide practical training on how to mark out contour lines and make contour bunds/trenches, as suitable. About 2 hours of discussion will focus on specific local problems and needs.
The workshop will start at 10 am on Saturday, April 14, and end by 4 pm on Sunday, April 15. The outdoor practical sessions, which will explain theory too, will be from 4 pm to 6.30 pm on Saturday, and 8 am to 10.30 am on Sunday. The rest of the workshop will be indoors, in the shade.
Those desiring more hands-on practice in marking contour lines and making contour bunds/trenches – on Sunday evening and Monday morning – are welcome to stay over at Vanvadi till Monday noon. (Participants are requested to bring light clothing, bed-sheet, and a torch. Something to protect your head from the sun would also be helpful.)
A voluntary contribution of Rs 2,400 per urban participant is requested to cover all costs of training, food, and shared (dormitory-style) accommodation. For local villagers/farmers, the workshop will be free.
To register, please email bharatmansata@yahoo.com, with a copy to Vasantbhai at sapress.marathi@gmail.com. You would then be requested to deposit advance payment to confirm your registration.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
NEWS: Mumbai sees first edition of Women of India Organic Festival
Juhi Chawla at first Mumbai edition of ' Women of India Organic Festival'
Mumbai is hosting the first edition of ‘Women of India Organic Festival’ at the World Trade Centre, which was inaugurated on Friday by Juhi Chawla, Vidya Thakur, Pankaja Munde, and Madhu Shah. This festival has been organised on an annual basis in Delhi by the Ministry of Women & Child Development since 2015. In Mumbai, this is its debut appearance. Mumbai, has, in last few years, seen a rise in the number of people buying organic produce. Consequently, the city has responded well to the event.
This event, under one roof, has a comprehensive collection of organic products from across India. It is organised to support the women farmers and women entrepreneurs in the field of organic food production. During the event, the farmers travel and stay in the city free of cost, as another step to support them. Participants have travelled to Mumbai from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Kashmir, Telangana, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur.
Farmers displayed their organic products like millets, cereal grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, sherbet, seeds, plants, flour, pickles, honey, jaggery, products for personal care and compost among others. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Union Minister for Women & Child Development, shared, “We are very happy to present Mumbai with healthy and pure organic foods. Organic foods contain far more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients than those produced with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and preservatives. For the nation too, organic farming is better as it ultimately reduces the cost of cultivation by 25-40% and increases the incomes of farmers thanks to the improved quality of production as also the quality of the soil.”
Since the produce on display are from across India, it enabled Mumbaikars to choose things from a wide variety and also introduced them to the local food like purple rice, mint masala powder, black rice, and hulga among others. A lot of the cereals and millets on sale were grown by tribal communities and the profit made by it goes directly to them, empowering them financially. The festival is going on at World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, till the 20th.
Friday, March 16, 2018
1st Mumbai Edition of Women of India Organic festival in Mumbai inaugurated
Ministry of Women and Child Development
1st Mumbai Edition of Women of India Organic festival in Mumbai inaugurated
Will promote Women farmers & Entrepreneurs Engaged in Organic Produce from across India
Posted On: 16 MAR 2018 6:15PM by PIB Mumbai
Ist Mumbai Edition of Women of India Organic Festival 2018, organised by Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal, Maharashtra and with the support of Women & Child Development Ministry, Government of India is inaugurated in Mumbai today. This year’s theme of festival is “Good for Women; Good for India; Good for You”
Speaking in the press conference after inauguration of festival, Juhi Chawala, brand Ambassador of the Organic Women Festival 2018, said, “If we have to secure our next generation from chemical products and the various diseases like cancer, High per tension, diabetes etc., we need to adopt organic farming and organic products. Organic plants and foods are having contain higher amounts of salicylic acid which fights bowel cancer and the hardening of arteries that leads to heart conditions, strokes and other ailments”
A five day festival is inaugurated by Maharashtra Minister for Women & Child Development Smt. Pankaja Munde.
Addressing to the gatherings, Ms. Chawala further said that, “the festival is intended to highlight the health & environmental advantages of organic goods, provide platform for women engaged in production process and boost the development of sustainable & easily accessible sales outlets for women producers from the remote corners of India”.
Smt. Nandita Mishra, Economic Advisor, Union Ministry of Women & Child Development said in the press conference that, under the leadership of Smt. Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of Women & Child Development, this is the first edition after New Delhi where the Organic Festival of Women is being celebrated. This is the platform for the millions of women and farmers to know about the scientific information and clear their doubts. She further said that, her ministry has believe that, such kind of festival will give boost to the grass root women and farmers. She asked women to participate in such festivals and spread awareness about organic foods and farming information all over the world.
Answering to the question of why organic food grains like cereals, jawar, maza are more expensive than regular grains?, Smt. Juhi Chawala said, organic seeds are costly therefore; further process of production become costly but in the government organic stores, all products are available in reasonable prices. There is lack of awareness among the people about organic food grains. Such types of Organic stores needs to be known by the common people.
Smt Vidya Thakur, Minister of State for Women & Child Development, Smt. Indra Mallo, VCMD, Mahila arthik Vikas Mandal, Smt, Daian Pande, Holistic Health Expert, Well Known and legendry Cine Actor and actresses Jackey Shroff, Tanuja, and Madhu were present to the festival from cine world.
Backgrounder: “Women of India Festival2018” is celebrated since 2015. This is the third year, which is organised in the Mumbai by Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal, Maharashtra. Around 500 women from all over India are participating in these 5 days event from 16 th to 20th March 2018. The organic products include pulses, cereals, spices, cosmetics, oils, honey, pickles and preserves, tea, organic seeds, composters, among other bio-products are available for sale.
PIB/BG
(Release ID: 1524890) Visitor Counter : 655
Background release reference
1st Mumbai Edition of Women of India Organic festival in Mumbai inauguratedSOURCE : http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1524890
Thursday, March 15, 2018
2018 16-20 March @Mumbai - Organic Festival by GoI
https://www.facebook.com/Women-of-India-Festival-Mumbai-2018-Organic-Products-170237486643358/
Santosh Kaur of Kheti Virasat Mission, Punjab; We are selling Sweet lemon pickle, ginger garlic paste, turmeric pickle, vaadia, kasoori methi, roasted alsi and moongphali, carrot pickle, green peas pickle sattu, amla chutney, seeds, orange peel powder, methi powder. Visit our Stall No. 47
Varsha and Anant Bhoyar of Gavkus, Maharashtra; ‘We have been invited to Mumbai for an exhibition "Women of India". Mumbai friends please encourage the growers and consumers by visiting exhibition. Our stall no. is 12’
Women Farmers Collective from Gujarat; ‘Visit and buy from us at Stall No. 13, 45, 65, 66.’
Saturday, March 10, 2018
2018 6-8 April BEEJOTSAV-BIODIVERSITY @ NAGPUR
Dear friends,
We are happy to invite you to our 6th year of BEEJOTSAV-BIODIVERSITY at Nagpur from 6th to 8th April 2018, a carnival of organic food, foodgrains, spices and the celebration of the sustainable, eco-friendly life style, visibility to seed saver and pastoral communities.
We, at BEEJOTSAV, are a varied group of organic farmers, seed savers, urban farmers and consumers who have been showcasing organic food for last 5 years.. We try to link grass roots farmers and the urban consumer.
We believe that safe, chemical-free food and healthy Biodiversity is the right of every citizen and our movement is a step towards making it available to the consumer.
We invite you to attend it and you can even exhibit your products by taking a stall.
Festival date: 6th, 7th & 8th April 2018
Time: 10 am to 10 pm
Venue: Mure Memorial Lawns, Amravati Road, Near Variety Square, Nagpur.
Stall size: 8’ X 8’
Stall charges: Rs 2,500/- (for 3 days, doesn’t include food and accommodation charges)
To book your stall(s) please fill up the form here:- https://goo.gl/forms/S5
To register yourself please fill up the form here :- https://goo.gl/forms/khGSyo
For Stalls:- After filling up the form, please wait for confirmation from our team. After confirmation please go ahead with payment, you can take the account details from any of the following coordinator.
Beejotsav Coordinators:-
Akash Naoghare 9766912745 anaoghare@gmail.com
Sajal Kulkarni 9881479239 sajalskulkarni@gma
Ashwini Aurangabadkar 9890515814 ashwini.aurangabadkar@gmail.co
Monday, March 5, 2018
ARTICLE : Sowing hope: How some women have given organic farming a fillip by collecting seeds of long-forgotten vegetable varieties
Maneka Gandhi Mar 05, 2018 17:32:18 IST
Organic farming for me is as important as animal welfare. Both save thousands of species and make the world a better place for humans. When I became Minister for Women and Children, the ministry started a new project of holding an annual Mela in Delhi Haat, for 15 days, in which 300 women organic farmers are called from all over India to sell their produce. This year, products worth Rs 2 crore worth were sold and the ministry sent 50 women to a huge organic mela in Ahmedabad organised by Srishthi and now we are preparing for one in Mumbai in February.
I also make sure that one or more women organic farmers, or groups, get the highest award for women in India, the Nari Shakti award. In 2016, the best exhibition I went to was one of wandering pastoral tribes in India and the NGOs that conserve their cultural forms, camels and their milk. The best exhibition I went to this year was a huge organic one in Noida which had more than 700 companies, institutions, NGOs and individuals taking part. It was organised by OFAI which is headquartered in Goa and headed by Dr Claude Alvares. I bought a beautiful pair of earrings for my sister made of red ratti (used to weigh gold at one point) and white Vaijayanti seeds made by a farmer’s wife.
Representational image. Reuters
The Sikkim pavilion was the most impressive and the chief minister of Sikkim should get a Bharat Ratna for the work he has done to make the whole state organic. There were hundreds of varieties of rice, including one that you don’t have to boil, just simply pour hot water on. I saw vegetables that I have never seen before: huge long, white, aubergines (baingan), every variety of kaddu, cucumber and chilli. I saw red potatoes and at least 50 varieties of rajma ranging from white to purple. When I ate the lunch thali of village vegetables, I thought I’d died and gone to Food Heaven!
I would like you to know these women who have changed thousands of lives by simply collecting old seeds of long-forgotten vegetable varieties.
The Vanastree Malnad Garden and Seed Savers Collective in Sirsi, Karnataka is run by women. They have documented 120 varieties of vegetables, from the tiny sparrow ladies fingers (bhindi) to old varieties of sugarcane. All these are heritage seeds. You can get in touch with them at sunitasirsi@gmail.com.
Annadana is a Karnataka NGO started by Sangita Sharma. For the last few years, it has been practising and teaching sustainable farm practices and conserving over 200 old vegetable seeds. Sharma had realised that seed corporations and agricultural institutes were blasting seeds with toxins, chemicals and pesticides, contaminating all the food so she decided to start collecting, growing and distributing seeds to farmers. So far, she has distributed 3 lakh free seed packets to marginal farmers and is selling them at a low cost to garden enthusiasts. She has a training programme, called Seed to Seed, on soil health management. Sharma's core group now comprises 18 farmers who teach and they can be contacted at info@annadana-india.org
Niranjana Maru is from Wardha and has formed an NGO called Chetana Vikas. They have a demonstration farm of trees, grasses, tubers and fodder and concentrate on wasteland regeneration through teaching a mixed cropping system to local farmers. You can write to her at chetanavikaswda@gmail.com
Sabarmati Tiki is the daughter of Prof Radhamohan who bought degraded land in Nayagarh and, despite people calling his mission impossible, decided to regenerate it. He named the farm “sambhav” or “possible”. Sabarmati and her team grow 314 traditional rice varieties at the farm and distribute the seeds to farmers in Odisha. She can be contacted at sabarmati@gmail.com
Pebble Garden is a land regeneration project started by Deepika Kundaji on seven acres of laterite soil which was severely eroded with no topsoil. She and her partner set out to bring the old forest back, created water bodies, built up the soil by putting organic mulch and neighbourhood kitchen waste. Today, the land grows 80 varieties of vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants, many of which are endangered and never seen in markets. The seeds of these plants are shared with other farmers and seed savers. Contact her at pebblegardenforest@gmail.com
Mohinee Bhiste comes from Raigarh, Nainital and is part of a network of women farmers called Jan Prerna Sangathan. In 2009, she and her friends started exploring traditional seeds. They have made a bank of seeds of local wheat, millet, maize, barley and vegetables, where farmers can take freely provided they return double the quantity after the harvest. You can contact them at 09568254945.
And who can forget the contribution of Dr Vandana Shiva, who has been writing and working for non-violent farming and biodiversity since 1984? She has been actively involved in conserving 5,000 crop varieties, among them 3,000 kinds of rice, 150 kinds of wheat, 150 kinds of rajma and the rest vegetables and pulses. They have their own seed bank of 45 acres in Sherpur, Uttarakhand. I buy a lot of my monthly rations from Navdanya. You can contact her at dehradun@navdanya.net
This year for Diwali, I didn’t give useless mithai/statues / Ganeshes / dates or badams as gifts. I filled baskets of organic grains, pulses, jams, pickles, brought from small organic farmers from all over India, and gave these. Needless to say, each recipient was more than happy. After all, each one of us likes to eat well and the taste of organic wild rice, for instance, is incredible! We also like to feel safe, that our food is not giving us cancer. And we can only do that if we go forward to insisting on nonchemical, non-poisonous food. If you know any farmers, try to make them switch. As starter gifts, you can buy seeds from these women and give them to farmers.
Two Hindi proverbs say: kathiya gehu kargi dhan, jo bove vah chatur kisan. Farmers who grow Kathiya wheat and Kargi rice (both organic old varieties) are clever (because both can grow in dry and rainfed conditions. Kodau kare bhale mein chote, chote bade bhartev pet: Kodo, a millet, may be small in size but it feeds everyone from children to the elderly under adverse conditions.
Shamika Mone has written a source book on India’s organic seeds. You should definitely buy it from OFAI, Mapusa, goamyofai@gmail.com
To join the animal welfare movement contact gandhim@nic.in, www.peopleforanimalsindia.org
Published Date: Mar 05, 2018 17:29 PM | Updated Date: Mar 05, 2018 17:32 PM
SOURCE : https://www.firstpost.com/india/sowing-hope-how-some-women-have-given-organic-farming-a-fillip-by-collecting-seeds-of-long-forgotten-vegetable-varieties-4377263.html
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