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Honey bee publish details |
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Agro-Biodiversity |
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Sattvik 2005 |
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Around 22,000 visitors thronged the campus of the Indian Institute of Management, on 10 and 11 December 2005, when the third Traditional Food Festival Sattvik was organized by SRISTI, NIF, GIAN and IIM. The venue was an enchanting spectacle, with a wide spread of culinary delicacies on either side, even as the center space was devoted to grassroots innovations. The festival posed certain fundamental questions about the kind of foods we consume and how we could make it more healthy and nutritious. In the process, could we also ensure that the poor farmers who cultivate such healthy food grains get a fair share of the profits? The food festival aims to generate market based incentives for such lesser known, organically grown crops and their varieties. After all, unless the urban consumers start demanding these grains, the income will never flow from our pockets to the small and experimenting farmers. In most cases, the grains grown by these farmers are not only more nutritious, but are also ‘compulsively’ organic, because many of the farmers cannot afford to use any chemical growth promoters or pesticides.
Over 60 farmers, including many women, as well as entrepreneurs, Civil Society Organizations like Gantar, Paryavaran Shikshan Kendra and Gujarat Gram Vidyapith, and others utilized this opportunity to display and sell their ideas and produce. The farmers mostly came from the dry regions of Gujarat, like Kutch, Banaskantha, Panchmahal, and Surendranagar. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were the other states represented.
The festival also provided an opportunity to spread the message about healthy food. The tribal people from Panchmahal district gave the urban consumers a rare treat of kumbh aur shuri ki bhaji. At the Gujarat Vidyapith stall eatables like dry fruits laddoo, bavte ka laddoo and Khajur ka sharbat were sold and the advantages of such types of food were also explained. The Paryavaran Shikshan Kendra did brisk business with the muthiya of Moringa oleifera and a novel preparation - sharbet made from cactus (Euphorbia caducitolia). It definitely opened our eyes to the nutritious potential of what is otherwise considered an inhospitable plant. In Saurashtra, the plant is beleived to have medicinal value, specially for increasing haemoglobin in the blood. The delicacy was lapped up by the crowds and the sales of this beverage generated around Rs. 10,000 over the two days.
At the Kishor Vataliya stall, the Farali Khichu and soup of kalathi (Dolichos biflorus), was doing brisk business. The Arya Sanskriti stall came up with an interesting idea of selling rain water, and drew many visitors. At the Akhand Jyot Foundation Stall, the attractions were methi (Trigonella foenum-graecum) thepla, Vegetable pancake and Bhaidaku of Echinochloa colonum. At the Swagat stall, different delicacies made of maize were available, including soup, samosa and halva.
The stall set up under Canadian International Development Agency, Guelph, implemented by IFPRI and IIM A attempted to create awareness about the nutritional value of traditional varieties of grains like minor millets and maize from Dahod (Gujarat) rice varieties from Faizabad (UP) and bajra (Pennisetum typhoides) from Sikar (Rajasthan). The rice varieties on display included Kalanamak, Lalmati, Dhaniya, Kanakjir, Bengal Juhi, Baghari, Dehula, Erri and Muthmuri. A detailed nutritional analysis of each of the grains was made and this information was provided to the consumers. Minor millets included bavto (Eleusine coracana), kodi (Paspalum scrobiculatum), and kang (Setaria italica). There were many enquiries about availability of these different varieties and many consumers expressed an interest in buying them.
The festival not only provided an opportunity for the farmers to directly sell their produce and eliminate the middlemen, but also gave them an exposure to urban markets, the demands of urban consumers and the market potential for organic products. According to Arvind Paramar of Kuchch Sajiv Kheti Manch, who had brought 18 farmers to the festival, “All the grains were sold and we also got a lot of contacts about people who are interested in buying our produce. So that is a definite benefit we got. Moreover, it was the first time farmers from a dryland area were going into the city to market their products. It has given them a sense of confidence about themselves and their produce.” According to Jivrajbhai from Sarjan Bodeli, “We were able to get many farmers, including women farmers from the tribal areas. They got to know a lot about organic farming, on how to market organic products etc. It was a learning experience.” Alabhai, a farmer from Kutch, who had put up five stalls at the festival is also extremely happy with his business. “We got to see for ourselves the demand for organic products in urban areas. All our products are organic, but when we sell them through outlets in the city, we don’t make such profits. Through this festival, we got to see how much profit we can actually make. There needs to be more transparency in the outlets which sell organic produce in the urban areas. The farmers, urban outlets and consumers should come together on a common platform and we must try to ensure that farmers get a fair share of the profits.” According to Mukesh Ravel from YUVA, who brought four farmers to the festival, “Such opportunities are definitely needed for farmers to get to know how to sell their products without any middlemen. If the festival was organized over a longer period of time, the farmers can also bear some of the cost of the festival. Khimjibhai, a farmer, adds, “The festival has provided an opportunity for me to understand the market for organic produce. I have used this knowledge and set up a shop for organic produce in the village. Not only do I sell my produce, but I also procure from other farmers and sell it if the demand is high. The festival has helped me become an entrepreneur.”
Many non-governmental organi-zations had bought farmers and women’s groups to sell their products. The festival proved to be an income generating opportunity for them. According to Tanuben, from Gudala, who is part of a self-help group which has been selling pudina sharbet during the festival, “We have been able to get a lot of money. Some of it will cover our costs in coming here, the remaining, we will deposit in the bank and use for our childrens’ education or for some health emergencies.”
The festival also provided a platform for Gantar, an NGO working in Gujarat, to display some of their innovative teaching material, which aims to teach children without using books. The innovative toys include spelling games, umbrellas to teach astronomy and mathematics and math games.
The festival not only promotes the consumption of organic food, but also provides ways of growing organic food. Many herbal growth promoters with pesticidal properties, developed by the Sadbhav SRISTI Sanshodhan Labaratory were displayed and sold. The purpose was to promote organic cultivation not only in farms, but also in kitchen gardens. The SRISTI stall also sold literature on indigenous knowledge and practices, organic farming etc.
The festival also had its share of attractive practices for the children. Quiz competitions and antakshari ensured that children not only enjoyed the ocassion but also went home with attractive prizes. |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 16(4):8-11, 2005 |
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