JOIN USWomen as keepers of tradition
It is a rural woman’s collective born and bred in the villages of Malnad region. Setting it up was a city-born and city-bred girl Sunita Rao! This Bangalorean went to do her masters in ecology in Pondicherry Central University. “There I got a chance to see Auroville. I observed old-timer Aurovilleans doing lot of work in healing of the earth, land restoration and food farming.”
Their philosophy of environmentalism influenced her and she too wanted to do something––and in a practical way.
She landed up in Malnad, where she resolved to document, research and endorse the whole activity of small-scale food gardens, informal exchange of traditional seeds (i.e not hybrids), and the role of women as seed-keepers and sources of tremendous knowledge.
“I was also tasting and admiring their diverse cuisine,” she says. Finally, the Malnad Home Garden and Seed Exchange Collective was born in 2001. Its objectives were to to promote cultivated and wild biodiversity in farms and forest home gardens; encourage seed saving and conservation of traditional crop varieties and provide networking and extension services. It was by the women, of the women but for the entire region, in fact for the entire ecological heritage of the Western Ghats. In the early days, founder Sunita was helped greatly by women of Neernalli village and by a lady seed-keeper and home-gardener Savithriamma. The first effort started in Neernalli. Here home-gardeners like Asha, Veda and Kamala were big sources of support.
Sunita and her team would go around villages and form small home-garden groups where seed exchange, seed-saving, skill-sharing and new methods of gardening were facilitated. The collective endorsed and celebrated existing home-garden practices and diversity especially traditional seeds, ethno-culinary cuisine and the unique Malnad culture. Slowly, but steadily the collective grew. In 2007, it was rechristened as the shorter, catchier, and meaningful Vanastree by an 82-year-old aunt of Sunita who visited Sirsi from Chennai. Because the word Vanastree includes forests, tree and stree, it was welcomed by the women. Vanastree now has a small office in Sirsi and a modest collection of seeds.
In the last six years, rural farmer Manorama Joshi, has played an active role. She mooted the idea that these women need economic incentives and Vanastree an ecologically-sensitive enterprise component. Thus began the ecologically-sensitive livelihood programme. Manorama and her team used to produce vegetable colours for Holi. Thanks to Vanastree’s initiative in organising their efforts, the production which was 240 kg five years ago has now grown to four and a half tonnes marketed across eight Indian cities by Pune-based Eco Exist.
Seed groups and documentation
Besides Sunita and Manorama, other Vanastree trustees are marketing consultant Mala Dhawan, and self-taught mediaperson Shailaja Goranmane. Today, Vanastree’s accomplishments are focused on seed groups and documentation, but they have also provided services like training, networking and helping to establish conservation-oriented enterprise. So far 120 vegetable and 60 flower varieties have been documented; 5,000 packets of organic, open-pollinated seeds distributed; 11 biodiversity melas/festivals and exhibitions held; and women from various communities, religions and economic classes are being reached out to through seed exchange groups.
Other activities include forming a decentralised regional seed bank and one in Sirsi town; supporting collective members in creating a variety of home-based conservation enterprises and services; production of value-added foods, craft and other produce; providing internships based on experiential learning and camps and eco home-stays.
There were over 50 different products from Vanastree like seeds, farm-produce (red rice, honey, turmeric), chutneys, podis, and also a unique Nelli booklet in CD version, with over 40 recipes from all over India and esp the Malnad and useful information on the gooseberry available at their latest Mela.
But of course the journey was tough. Many problems were encountered. Sunita says there is a strong though covert gender bias with regard to decision-making in resource access and use, as well as in forest conservation. ”Women want to protect their forests but there are certain vested interests (like timber mafia) coming in the way. Giving us hope, however, is the current, helpful DFO Manoj Kumar, the good rapport with Krishi Vigyan Kendra and the support of many local citizens,” reveals Sunita.
Meeting new challenges
Nevertheless, many challenges remain. Since Vanastree’s women farmers are scattered over a 40-km radius they need adequate office staff but right now there are two persons. So, they have to rely on interns and volunteers. They also could do with more cooperation from biodiversity management committees or BMCs and such agencies. Sunita adds: “In rural areas, modern facilities don’t come easy. For the first three years I had no landline or mobile phone. I would make a list of phone numbers I needed to call.
And every few days, I would cycle down to a phone booth and make these calls. Electricity is still erratic and Internet access sporadic. Today, things are much better but I don’t take anything for granted. However, crucial ground work, the backbone of this movement––can and does carry on without much of these facilities. Moreover, there is satisfaction in living amidst such a vibrant community.”
Though Vanastree is doing its bit, its trustees recognise there are larger issues to be dealt with. And those will need greater, countrywide and multilevel efforts. For example, more ecological refugees (people displaced by dam sites, selling off land) are reaching cities.
There are burning issues like food security, introduction of GM seeds, corporatisation of the country’s agricultural-research agenda, the controversial Seed Bill, etc. Massive and worrisome ecological changes are happening––for example, there has been no fruiting of the wild nellikai (amla or Indian gooseberry) from the past two years in Malnad.
The deeper political, social and economic issues need to be addressed to save the country’s ecological heritage, the trustees say.