The inspiring story of Medak's women farmers
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Posted By Shweta Kumar
On Feb 19, 2010
Categories:
Social Justice V/s Charity,
People,
Employment,
The inspiring story of Medak's women farmers
Read More..
Posted By Shweta Kumar
On Feb 19, 2010
Categories:
Social Justice V/s Charity,
People,
Employment,
The inspiring story of Medak's women farmers
Written by Shobha Warrier
Twenty bullock carts decorated with paintings, colourful festoons, flowers, spikes of various crops and painted pots full of seeds of many varieties, moved along the streets of Pastapur, a small village in Medak district, in Andhra Pradesh to the accompaniment of drums, music and dance by men and women in colourful dresses. The mood was that of gay abandon and celebration.
The bullock carts, called 'mobile seed banks' started their month long journey on Pongal day (January 14), and ended on Shivaratri (February 12). In 30 days, the carts had covered 70 nearby villages across 60 to 80 kilometres. The procession on February 13 was the culmination of their successful journey.
It was not just another festival or just another journey; in a sense, the mobile seed banks celebrated the liberation of the Dalits from the clutches of the rich upper caste landlords and their total dependence on them for seeds to sow in their small pieces of land. It was also the celebration of empowerment of Dalit women as they went around with the seeds, and women videographers who showed what they had documented to the other villagers.
Let us listen to what Saruppamma, a Dalit woman from the Edakulapalli village has to say about her month long journey on her bullock cart to 30 villages. Saruppamma has two acres of land now and with the earnings from her land, she has married off her two daughters and one son. There was a time Saruppamma had only one sari. She could not even afford one meal a day. There was no cultivation in her barren land. Today, she has many saris, two acres of land that gives her enough money to feed her family and buy a flat in the town, and buy insurance policies for the entire family.Saruppamma talks about her mobile seed bank, "This is the 11th year that I am going around with the seeds we have collected. I have 40 to 45 varieties of seeds and because of my success, other villagers also listen to me. I don't use any hybrid seeds, I don't use any fertilizer or pesticide. I use only panchagavya (low cost organic input for both crops and animals) and that is enough to keep my soil fertile. So, I show my seeds and tell others to use only organic seeds. There was a time hybrid seeds had come here and spoilt our soil. Not any more. I tell the villagers that sowing organic seeds is like praying to Mother Earth. I have seen a lot of change in these many years."
Saruppamma's story is not an isolated case; there are thousands of such Saruppammas in Medak district
(Written by Shobha Warrier)This article was originally published in www.rediff.com and appears on idishoom to encourage citizen action for social justice.
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Posted By Shweta Kumar
On Feb 19, 2010
Categories:
Social Justice V/s Charity,
People,
Employment,
The inspiring story of Medak's women farmers
Read More..
|
|
Posted By Shweta Kumar
On Feb 19, 2010
Categories:
Social Justice V/s Charity,
People,
Employment,
The inspiring story of Medak's women farmers
Written by Shobha Warrier
Twenty bullock carts decorated with paintings, colourful festoons, flowers, spikes of various crops and painted pots full of seeds of many varieties, moved along the streets of Pastapur, a small village in Medak district, in Andhra Pradesh to the accompaniment of drums, music and dance by men and women in colourful dresses. The mood was that of gay abandon and celebration.
The bullock carts, called 'mobile seed banks' started their month long journey on Pongal day (January 14), and ended on Shivaratri (February 12). In 30 days, the carts had covered 70 nearby villages across 60 to 80 kilometres. The procession on February 13 was the culmination of their successful journey.
It was not just another festival or just another journey; in a sense, the mobile seed banks celebrated the liberation of the Dalits from the clutches of the rich upper caste landlords and their total dependence on them for seeds to sow in their small pieces of land. It was also the celebration of empowerment of Dalit women as they went around with the seeds, and women videographers who showed what they had documented to the other villagers.
Let us listen to what Saruppamma, a Dalit woman from the Edakulapalli village has to say about her month long journey on her bullock cart to 30 villages. Saruppamma has two acres of land now and with the earnings from her land, she has married off her two daughters and one son. There was a time Saruppamma had only one sari. She could not even afford one meal a day. There was no cultivation in her barren land. Today, she has many saris, two acres of land that gives her enough money to feed her family and buy a flat in the town, and buy insurance policies for the entire family.Saruppamma talks about her mobile seed bank, "This is the 11th year that I am going around with the seeds we have collected. I have 40 to 45 varieties of seeds and because of my success, other villagers also listen to me. I don't use any hybrid seeds, I don't use any fertilizer or pesticide. I use only panchagavya (low cost organic input for both crops and animals) and that is enough to keep my soil fertile. So, I show my seeds and tell others to use only organic seeds. There was a time hybrid seeds had come here and spoilt our soil. Not any more. I tell the villagers that sowing organic seeds is like praying to Mother Earth. I have seen a lot of change in these many years."
Saruppamma's story is not an isolated case; there are thousands of such Saruppammas in Medak district
(Written by Shobha Warrier)This article was originally published in www.rediff.com and appears on idishoom to encourage citizen action for social justice.
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