-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...
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Feeding off the land -Anuradha Sengupta
-The Hindu Business Line An Odisha organisation is working hard to preserve traditional foods and prevent the mainstream from swallowing up local knowledge systems Inside a candy pink-and-yellow shamiana, a group of children in blue uniforms line up in front of stalls heaving with different kinds of foods. Tubers in shades of brown, beige and cream; pink and red berries; tiny yellow, orange and red tomatoes; leaves of many sizes and shapes;...
More »A forest drought no one is talking about -Purshottam Singh Thakur, Ajit Panda & Anupam Chakravartty
-Down to Earth Severe dry spells in Indian forests have hit the livelihood of more than 100 million people. But India simply does not acknowledge this drought For more than five months, residents of Jabarra village have been foraging the forests for minor forest produce (MFP). The forest in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district is abundant with more than 200 types of forest produce and the district is known as Asia’s biggest trading...
More »Indigenous agriculture, processing reap yields -Snehlata Shrivastav
-The Times of India NAGPUR: Subhash Vasant Kamdi and Varsha Anant Bhoyar, organic farmers from Wardha and Nagpur districts, respectively, have set ideal examples for promoting indigenous agriculture and processing. They are also propagating how traditional agriculture can still be more sustainable as compared to commercial agriculture. Kamdi has been into organic cultivation of various crops like wheat and sugarcane. Speaking to TOI during the ongoing three-day 'Seed Festival', he said that...
More »Kolams turning more and more reclusive -S Harpal Singh
-The Hindu NARNOOR (ADILABAD DISTRICT/ Telengana): This vulnerable tribal group has been left out in the cold since the retirement of the development officer about a decade ago. The rate of death due to seasonal diseases is also proportionately higher in this PVTG. For example, about 20 Kolams died in Jainoor and Sirpur (U) mandals out of a total of 65 in the last epidemic season. If anything, the rather reclusive Particularly...
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