October-December 2005

A Dialogue on People's Creativity, Experimentation & Innovation

Honey Bee Vol 16(4) October - December 2005

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Honey Bee Hums

Mobile tailor shops and cow urinecooking gas ..................................................... 14Combating worms in crops and cattle ......... 15Mountain trolleys and plant varieties ........ 16Herbal remedies for aches and pains .......... 17

News & Notes ................................................ 18

Lessons from India’s Children ................... 19

Dialogue ......................................................... 20

Contents

Managing livestock by-products in West andNorthwest Iran ........................ 6

Validating People’sKnowledge : The Role ofFormal Sciences ....................... 4

Celebrating life in Ladakh .... 12

The Web of Life

EditorAnil K Gupta

Editorial AdvisorsRiya SinhaVijaya Sherry Chand

Associate EditorDivya Sarma

Editorial Support TeamP Vivekanandan, Kirit K Patel, Dhaval Vyas, Ramesh Patel,Hema Patel, Shailesh Shukla, A S Reddy, Sumati Sampemane,Sudhirendar Sharma, T J James, T N Prakash, Vipin Kumar,Vikas Chandak, Dibyajyoti Bhuyan, Jyoti Capoor

Graphics and DesignUnnikrishnan, Goraiya Shailendra

IllustrationD T Padekar, Palash Graphics, Satpal Chhabra

Administrative TeamR P S Yadav, R Baskaran, Balaganapathy Mudaliar,Nisha Binoy, Bhoomi Shah, Devshi Desai

Editorial AddressHoney Bee, c/o Prof. Anil K Gupta,Indian Institute of Management,Vastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015, Gujarat, India.Phone: 91-79-26324927; Fax: 91-79-26307341

Email: [email protected]://www.sristi.org

Ini Karshakan Samsarikkatte (Malayalam)James T J,Peermade Development Society,Peermade, Idukki-685531, [email protected]

Loksarvani (Gujarati) andSujh-Bujh Aas Paas ki (Hindi)SRISTI, P O Box No. 15050, Ambawadi,Ahmedabad-380015. [email protected]@sristi.org

Num Vali Velanmai (Tamil)P Vivekanandan, 45, T P M Nagar,Virattipathu-625010Tamil [email protected]

Honey Bee Regional Collaborators

Aama Akha Pakha (Oriya)Dr Balaram Sahu,3R BP 5/2BP Colony,Unit-8,Bhubaneswar-751012,[email protected]

Hittalagida (Kannada)

Dr T N PrakashDepartment of Agricultural Economics,University of Agricultural Science,GKVK,Bangalore-560065,[email protected]

Sattvik 2005............ ................ 8

A corn farmer was consistently winning the award for the bestcorn at the state agricultural fair. One day, the local newspaperdecided to interview him. The reporter discovered that the farmerhad a habit of sharing his corn seed with his neighbours. Thereporter was surprised.

“How can you afford to share your best seed with your neighbours?After all they compete against you in the competition. Why doyou want to help them?” he asked

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picksup pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field.If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross pollination will steadilydegrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, Imust help my neighbours grow good corn.”

This is the story of the connectedness of life. Just like his corncannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves, our livescannot improve unless we touch other lives also. The welfare ofeach is bound up with the welfare of all.

Source: This story is taken from the book How to TalkWell, by James Bender (New York: McGraw-Hill BookCo., Inc., 1994). We thank Shailesh Shukla for bringingthis to our notice : Ed.

Published by Riya Sinha on behalf of Sristi Innovations, B-4, Ravi Niketan, Nehru Park, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015.Printed at M/s Bansidhar Offset, Ahmedabad

Will you stand by the IPRs of peasants ?


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The asymmetry in access to resources, institutions and technologiesbetween urban and rural areas is enormous. Therefore, many creativepeople in the rural areas are unable to fully exploit their potential,not because they don’t have ideas or the persistence to pursuethem, but because they lack an appreciative peer group. The ideaof setting up one lac (0.1 million) Common Service Centres in asmany villages proposed by Government of India can have revolutionaryimplications, if its full potential is realized. Let me share some ofthe possibilities that can make this effort truly transformative.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications candefinitely reduce the digital divide, provided the institutional contextsin which knowledge evolves is properly appreciated. Three barriersoften impede learning: language, literacy and localism. SRISTI andIIMA had developed perhaps the first multi language, multi mediadatabase of innovations in 1997 to overcome these barriers, but notmuch has happened after that. High transaction costs impede theaccess to digital knowledge, innovation and opportunity base. Aculturally sensitive interface can overcome some of the inhibitionsthat people may have in accessing them. The major challenge is tocreate an institutional structure around the Village Level Entrepreneur(VLE), who will run the Common Service Centers so as to generatesocial capital. VLEs can contribute to this cause by taking severalinitiatives (a) build a database of social enterprises like voluntaryblood donors which can be linked with services likeindianblooddonors.com (b) create a database of skills of differentkinds in the village including cultural strengths to promote networkingfor commercial and non-commercial purposes (c) mobilizing collectiveaction for management of common property resources (d) make adatabase of people from the village working outside who can act asmentors to budding entrepreneurs, knowledge holders and students(e) create a platform for barter exchange of various kinds of productsand services in order to generate horizontal village to village network(f) develop a pool of tutors who can provide tuitions to the childrenwho are first generation learners and (g) provide opportunities forvoluntary work within the village for people from any where in theworld who would like to contribute towards societal upliftmentprocesses.

Many of these activities will reduce asymmetrical opportunitieswhich often arise when new technololgies are used. Generally whennew opportunities appear, the people who are able to take advantageof it are not always the neediest ones. The gulf between the havesand have-nots may reduce in the above framework of the socialcapital.In terms of economic initiatives which a Village Level Entrepreneurcan take, the availability of the public information and governmentrecords in itself is unlikely to provide any substantial financial incometo the VLE. Some incentives which may motivate an entrepreneurto create social capital as a prelude to creating financial capital areI) Cross-subsidization: VLE can generate more revenue throughother activities, or for every service delivered in low paying or non-paying activity, she also gets incentives for taking up some morepaying activities or availability of the former give her a legitimacywhich generates demand for other services. II) Access to a largedata base of green grassroots innovations, which not only provides

information about innovations but can also serve as a trigger forideas and innovations. The database can trigger demand for goodsand services offered by grassroots innovators and traditionalknowledge holders. There is also an oportunity for lateral learningand pooling of best practices and building value chain across villagesor sectors. III) Social capital built through provision of sociallyuseful but less paying activities may motivate people to try out theother more paying services. Innovations can also help in pullingother people to the kiosk.

In addition, the livelihood prospects for these VLEs can be improvedin the following ways : i) providing link with major e-commerceplatforms to auction their goods and services, ii) encouraging majorretail chains to use these kiosks as distributed retail points, iii)helping major procurers of rural produce procure their raw materialand value added products through CSC. For instance, linkage withcourier services which carry suitable packaging boxes might generatedemand for locally processed foods, nutraceuticals and a wholerange of organically produced materials, or hand made things. iv)innovators could get orders for their products and might be able tocompete better against providers with vast distribution network.Special recognition can be given to those who promote sales ofdecentralized knowledge based products and services; v) marketresearch companies can develop panels of respondents at CSCs togauge changing perceptions, attitudes, preferences and purchasedecisions; vi) VLEs may provide bundling and dissemination facilitiesfor workers and artisans to help them in mobility and pooling ofservices vii) insurance, tele-medicine, bulk-repair service providers,etc., will also get new opportunities of reaching rural masses. TheseCSC could generate incentives for people to seek what PresidentKalam says Urban facilities in Rural areas (though I hope he doesnot want urban pollution, chaos, self-centeredness and lack of respectfor common properties to come into rural areas).

These initiatives can go a long way in empowering village levelentrepreneurship. Creativity in business processes need to matchcreativity in technological innovations. For grassroots innovators,the one lac Common Service Centres offer enormous opportunityfor scaling up their businesses. Linkage with auction platformslike E-bay will provide global opportunities. The next frontier inthe innovation movement is broad-basing market access and improvingthe income earning opportunities for innovators and otherstakeholders. Only when rural products are bought by all of uswill income flow from our hands to them. The collaborative modelwill have to be developed so that rural producers compete notamong themselves as much as with others entrenched interests.ICTs have the potential to invert the metaphor of Gandhiji's threemonkeys. They can bring the unseen and unheard into publicfocus and give voice to the disempowered. I hope that the readerswill suggest many more ideas for using ICTs for empoweringknowledge rich, economically poor people with particular emphasison knowledge based value chain development.

EditorialUnfolding Entrepreneurial Potential in Millions of Villages: Can Digital Networks Help?

Anil K Gupta



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ustainable agriculture strives to integratemodern sciences like biotechnology withtraditional farming wisdom. In recent years,

there has been a tremendous focus on the use ofgreen pesticides, but the relevance of indigenousknowledge in sustainable agriculture is notunequivocal. A logical strategy would be theintegration of recognized bio-agents withindigenous knowledge. Bio-agents like plantgrowth promoting rhizobacteria, animal productlike milk, plant extracts such as leaf proteins andTrichoderma spp. reduce diseases in many plantspecies through the manipulation of the hostplant’s physical and biochemical properties.

Gupta (1992) has strongly emphasized the use ofmilk as Local Traditional Knowledge (LTK) formanaging disease in crops. Milk has beendescribed as natural inhibitor for managing plantviruses with better sticking and spreading qualities(Cook, 1957; Agrios, 1988; Singh and Yadav,1999; Vyas and Kumar, 2002; Arun Kumar et al.,2002 and Nene, 2003). Milk has been effectivelyused for controlling powdery mildews (Bettiol,1999). Fungitoxicity of goat milk against M.phaseolina was studied by Raja and Kurucheve(1997). They found that goat milk significantlyinhibited growth of M. phaseolina. Applicationof skim milk powder and warm water isrecommended for managing common bunt(Tilletia caries) in winter wheat (Winter et.al.1997). Milk and its components have beenreported as possible inhibitors of virusmultiplication in Tobacco Mosaic Virus in tomato,pepper and tobacco; Urdbean Mosaic Virus,Potato virus Y in potato and sugarcane mosaicvirus in sugarcane. (Hare and Lucas,1959, Shands,Webb, and Schultz, 1962, Denby and Wilk, 1965,Singh, Srivastava and Singh, 1985)

Experiments undertaken in Central Arid ZoneResearch Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, to validatethe practice have shown positive results. The

following paper describes two suchexperiments: "Antagonistic effect ofraw cow milk and Gliocladium virensagainst downy mildew of Pearl millet"and "Effect of Raw Cow Milk andTrichoderma viride in themanagement of leaf curl disease ofchilli".

Use of Raw Cow Milk (RCM) andGliocladium virens against downymildew of pearl millet

Downy mildew (DM) or green-eardisease of pearl millet, caused bybiotrophic fungus Sclerosporagraminicola is a major constraint inimproving productivity of millet. Theinfected plants develop severe diseasesyndrome and succumb even beforereaching maturity. Instead of normalinflorescence, malformed ears areproduced , which bear hypertrophiedand distorted flowers. Diseaseresistant cultivars, chemical seedtreatment and cultural practices areoften used for its management.

A field experiment was conductedduring the rainy season in a DMaffected plot at CAZRI. ‘Nokha-local’, a DM-susceptible cultivar wasused. The experiment was conductedwith five treatments: seed treatmentwith RCM for 18 hrs in 1:1 ratio atthe room temperature; seed treatmentof Gliocladium virens (6g/kg seed);soil treatment with G. virens (10 g/m2); seed treatment of RCM + G.virens and G. virens in soil; and control(no soil and seed treatment) in arandomized block design with threereplications. Each plot measured 3m

X 2m, with 4 rows and each rowhad 20 plants. The crop was fertilizedwith Di Ammonium Phosphate (@40kg/ha) as basal dose. No insecticideor weedicide was applied. DMincidence records were taken twice,30 days after sowing (DAS) and atsoft dough stage (60 DAS) duringrainy season. Fresh weight/dryweight ratio was analyzed for all thetreatments along with 1000 seedweight.

DM management requires reducingprimary inoculum from seed and soiland secondary infections betweenplants during the crop growth. G.virens appeared to have an edge overthe RCM in reducing the DMincidence. Gliocladium spp. appliedas soil or seed treatments, grow readilyalong with the developing root systemof the treated plant and protects theroots from initial infection(Howell,2003). In terms of diseaseincidence and protection over control,RCM seed treatment (12.6%) seemsto be on par with soil treatment by G.virens (57.4 % protection). However,a combination of all three treatmentsdid not show significant differencefrom G virens seed treatment fordisease incidence and control. Resultsindicated some additive effect of RCMprobably through induced resistance(Arun Kumar et al.2002). The aminoacid proline and potassium phosphate

Validating People’s Knowledge : The Role of Formal Sciences

S

Local Knowledge

Raw cow milk seems to be aseffective as G.virens in

controlling disease incidence.

Arun Kumar, R Raj Bansali and B L Gajja, Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI),Jodhpur1

The use of milk to control different virus among plants has been widely reported as Local Traditional Knowledge(LTK) in different parts of the world. The challenge before formal science is to validate these practices and engagein active dissemination of them, to promote sustainable agriculture

1 This article has been written based on the following papers : Use of raw cow milk and Gliocladium virens against downy mildew ofPearl millet, by Arun Kumar and R Raj Bhansali and Use of Raw Cow Milk and Trichoderma viride induced Management of LeafCurl Disease in Chilli by Arun Kumar and B L Gajja.



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in the milk are known to boost immune system inplants (Bettiol, 1999; Nene, 2003).

Effect of Raw Cow Milk and Trichoderma virideinduced management of leaf curl disease inchilli

Chilli crop occupies a cultivated area of 0.915million ha. It forms 16 % of the total export ofspices from India. It is widely cultivated inRajasthan, particularly in the arid region of Jodhpur.However, the average yield of chilli in India isvery low (0.8t/ha) compared to other chilliproducing countries like Korea and Indonesia,where it ranges from 2 to 3 t /ha. The popularcultivars of chilli are susceptible to leaf curl disease,which is responsible for the low yield of chilli inthe area. In about a decade, the yield of chilli inJodhpur region has reduced by 28 per cent.

Leaf curl disease is caused by Tobacco Leaf CurlGemini Virus (TLCuV). The affected leaves showcurling, puckering and distortion with blisteringof inter-veinal areas and shortening of internodes.In severity, axillary buds of affected plants arestimulated to produce clusters of leaves of reducedsize with fewer flowers and fruits. The diseaseis transmitted by insect vectors like white fly(Bemisia tabaci) and thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalisand Polyphagotarsonemus latus). Pesticides havenot been effective in controlling this disease.Moreover, the disease resistant cultivars performpoorly on yield and other growth parameters.

An alternative disease management technology(ADMT) was developed which combines localtechnical knowledge with modern bio-controlagents. The technology involved seed treatmentwith raw cow milk for 24 hours in 1:1 ratio (RCMdiluted to 50% by adding water) at the roomtemperature, and treatment of soil withTrichoderma viride (6 g/kg of seed) followed bydipping of nursery-raised saplings in raw cow milkfor 20 minutes before transplantation. The ADMTwas introduced in the farmers’ fields in somevillages in Jodhpur district. It resulted in 46 to60% protection of LCD over farmer’s practicewith improvement in yield and quality of fruits.

An impact evaluation of this practice was carriedout in Jodhpur region. Two categories of farmers,the participant group, which hosted demonstrationof the technology on their farms and the controlgroup, randomly selected from the area werestudied. It was found that the application of newtechnology successfully managed LCD in chilli.The cost of pesticides used under FP was around

5 %, which was reduced to 1.14 percent under ADMT. The yield increasedby 25.4 %. The increase inemployment generation due to ADMTwas 12.5 per cent

Farmers innovations do matter. Simplesolutions need not be ignored, justbecause of their simplicity. Honey Beepublished an editorial about thefarmer's practice of dipping hands inmilk before sowing tobacco seeds in1992 (HB 3(2)). The practice was first

brought to our attention by Dr. Chari.In HB 3 (3&4) (1992) Dr. Chari andDr. Nagarajan have written more onthis practice and Dr. Joshi has alsocommented on this practice of thefarmers in HB 4(4) (1993). Dr. ArunKumar has also written about theresults of a field trial on the efficacy ofmilk for controlling leaf curl diseasein chilli in HB 9 (3) (1998).

Has any Government of India evercommunicated this solution to farmersthrough the vast extension machineryor public broadcasting system whichthey have at their disposal? How manymore farmers must commit suicide dueto ineffective chemical pesticide andincreasing cost of cultivation ? Ed.

Integration of local traditionalknowledge and bio-controlagents resulted in better

protection from Leaf Curldisease compared to farmer's

practices.

References

1 . Arun Kumar and Vyas, N. L. 2003, InNarain, P. Kathju, S., Kar, A., Singh,M.P. and P.Kumar.(eds) Human Impacton Desert Environment, CAZRI andScientific Publishers, Jodhpur. pp. 348-352.

2 . Arun Kumar and Vyas, N. L. 1998,Honey Bee, 9: 14.

3 . Arun Kumar, Raj Bhansali, R, and Mali,P.C. 2002, Proc. Asian Congress ofMycology and Plant Pathology, 1-4October 2002, Mysore. pp.167.

4 . Agrios, G.N. 1988, Plant Pathology,Academic Press, Inc., California. pp.662

5 . Bettiol, W. 1999, Crop Protection.18: 489-492.

6 . Bhansali, R. R. and Arun Kumar. 2002,In Trivedi, P.C. (ed.). Plant PestManagement, Aavishkar Publishers,Jaipur. pp. 221-228.

7 . Cook, J. G. 1957, Virus in the cell. DialPress, New York.

8 . Denby, L. G. and Wilk, J. M. 1965, Res.and Farm. 10: 1.

9 . Gupta, A.K. 1992, Honey Bee, 3: 2-3.10. Hare, W. W. and Lucas, G. B. 1959,

Plant Disease Reporter 43: 152-154.11. Howell, C.R. 2003, Plant Disease, 8:

4-10.12. Katan, T. and Bashi, E. 1981, Plant

Disease. 65: 798-800.13. Mali, P.C., Arun Kumar and Verma, S.K.

2005, Screening of chilli cultivarsagainst leaf curl disease and theirbiochemical component. Annals of AridZone (In Press).

14. Mukhopadhyay, S. and Chowdhury,A.K. 1986, In Raychowdhury, S.P. andVerma, J.P (eds) Review of TropicalPlant Pathology, Vol. III, Today andTomorrow Printers, New Delhi. pp.481-520.

15. Mitchell, A. 2003., CaliforniaAgriculture. 57: 36.

16. Nene, Y.L. 2003, Asian Agri-History.7: 185-201.

17. Raja,J and Kurucheve,V.1997, PlantDisease Research, 12: 11-14.

18. Samadia, D.K., Vashishtha, B. B. andRaturi, G.B. 2004, In Kumar, S., Joshi,P.K. and Suresh Pal (eds), Impact ofVegetable Research in India, NCAP,ICAR, New Delhi. pp. 101-114.

19. Shands, W. A., Webb, R. E. and Schultz,E. S. 1962, American Potato Journal.39:36-39.

20. Singh, A. K., Srivastava, S. K. and Singh,A. K. 1985, Indian Journal of Mycologyand Plant Pathology, 15: 311-314.

21. Statistical Absract-Rajasthan. 2002.Directorate of Economics and Statistics,Rajasthan, Jaipur, India, pp. 385.

22. Vyas, N.L. and Arun Kumar 2002., InPastakia, A., Kothari, B. and Chand,V.S. (eds) Farmer-led ParticipatoryResearch-Cases from Western India,.Books for change, Bangalore. pp.24-35.

Full references are available on the websiteand can also be provided to readers onrequest.



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nimal Husbandry has been practiced inIran for more than 9500 years (Hunterand Whitten, 1976). Over this period,

Iranian stockbreeders have accumulated a lot ofknowledge in this field. The authors have alreadycompiled two books in on this subject (AmiriArdakani and Emadi, 2003 & 2004).This paperdiscusses Iranian stockbreeders’ experiences inthe area of post-production management of somelivestock by-products such as manure, bone,horn, hoof, blood and fat.

Manure

Manure is considered to differ in their nature andproperties depending on the animal, its food rationand nutrition quality. Since poultry manure isconsidered very strong, it is never used single.3

Manure of donkey, sheep , horse andmule are “warm” and cow’s manureis “cool”.

Fresh animalmanure should notbe used, because itproduces wormsand damages treesand their roots.When manure isallowed to decay,the weed seeds inthe manure growout and are killed.The larvae of theinsects which might be survivingalso die owing to high temperatureand moisture.

Local people are very careful aboutthe rate, time and pattern of usage.Pomegranate gardeners apply about

20 tons of manure perhectare of soil, beforeestablishing gardens.Around 50 kgs ofdecomposed manureper hectare is used invineyards (AmiriArdakani and Emadi,2002). In some areas,farmers graze live-stock directly on thefallow land, and penthe live-stock

within the farm, or feed live-stockwithin arable farmlands. Thismethod was widely prevalent inNorthern Iran and some farmers alsopay galesh shepherds and providethem food and water, inexchange for grazing their sheep onthe farm.

Similar practices are common in severalparts of India.

Providing Energy

In the North Western parts of Iran,they make a flat and sunlit dungchamber outside the house premisesto keep their winter fuel. Thechambers are burnt after two or threeyears as it is believed that the dungwould be a good shelter for diseasecarrying insects.

Managing livestock by-products in IranMohammad Amiri Ardakani1 & Mohammad Hossein Emadi2

1 M. Sc (Agricultural Extension) and field researcher in Kohgiluyeh &Boyrahmad province, Yasuj, Iran, E-mail:[email protected].

2 Ph.D. (System Agriculture and Rural Development, U. W. S. Australia), Researcher of Rural Research Center (RRC), Ministryof Agricultural Jihad, Tehran, Iran, E-mail: [email protected].

3 The findings of recent research confirm this fact. In one Ton of pigeon manure, there is 3.5 kg of nitrogen. The value ofpigeon’s manure is twice as much as hen’s manure and 8 times as much as cow’s manure. (Emami, 2001).

A

The experiences of Iranian stockbreeders are a rich source of knowledge about optimum utilization of livestockby-products.

Making fire using animal manure for bread-baking, Sarrood region, Kohgiluyeh &Boyrahmad province

Manure is believedto vary according

to the kind ofanimal. The

manure of donkey,sheep, horse and

mule areconsidered "warm"and that of cow isconsidered "cool".

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People's Knowledge



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Other Uses

Manure is also used singly or in combinationwith other substances to control pests anddiseases in plants. Threshed bitter gourd(colocynth), vine wood ash and cow dung isused to kill aphids and mites. Some farmersleach their seeds in cow’s urine or gall, toprotect them against terrestrial pests. Camelurine can be sprayed on clothes to killmoth. In some rural regions, the smoke producedby burning manure is used to repelstinging mosquitoes (Amiri Ardakani &Emadi, 2002).

Dung is also used in the treatment of humandiseases. In some villages of Sepidan County,women utilized newly-born foal’s dung, referredto as “korari” and lactating donkey’s milk forthe treatment of whooping cough, referred toas “seh koffa”.

In some villages, Kuhgiluyeh andBoyerahmad provinces, they usedung for plastering a special typeof silo, “lup”4. It is also used formaking bricks.

In the medieval ages,bowls made of cow’sdung were used forcultivation to shortenthe ripening period ofsummer crops (Heravi,1977, p 249). In somewestern Iranian areas,they make vessels ofdifferent shapes and sizes, locallyreferred to as “kelareh” or carryinggarbage and feed stuff.

In Orissa, cow dung is mixed withash and applied over mud pots. Ithelps in keeping food fresh duringthe summers (HB 16 (2), 2005)

Bones

Farmers bury animal bones, bothlivestock and flock, in the soil, tofertilize it. Some farmers in Neiriz andEstahban in Fars Province, burnanimal bones in different parts of theorchard when fig trees start fruiting,to fumigate the trees. Farmers ofBavanat in Fars Province follow thesame practice in cucumber farms, atblooming and fruiting time.

Horn and Hoof

Gardeners of Meybod, whenpreparing the land for making agarden, apply a mixture, whichincludes bones, horns and “kowshak”(accumulation of sheep’s hoof andtrotters) to the soil as the initialfertilizer.

In Iranian traditional medicine, cow’shorn and some of its by-products,are used for deworming. Dry cowhorn is taken with honey to controljoint worms (Ali Aghai and MirNezami Ziabari, 1999, p 102) .

Blood

In Meymandinezhad’s words, duringthe Parthian era, Iranian interred theirswords in a shield filled with the blood

of wolf, hog, bull andram, when concludingpeace treaties. (Olfati,1995, p 661).

Farmers use the wastematerials of theslaughtered live stock,including blood andexcretion, to fertilize thesoil. In most of rural

areas, after slaughtering and skinningthe livestock, they bury rumen andother remaining entrails like testes andspleen, in gardens as they are notpermitted to be used as a food.

References1 Aghai, M. and Mir Nezami Ziabari, H.

(1999), Honey-Therapy; Honey and itsproducts (Honey, pollen, royal jelly andtheir properties), Tehran: Nourpardazan.

2 Amiri Ardakani, M. and Emadi M. H.(2004), Application of IndigenousKnowledge in Animal Health; Ethno-veterinary Medicine , Tehran, Bureaufor the Studies and Programming,Deputy of Extension and FarmingSystem, Ministry of Agricultural Jihad.

3 Amiri Ardakani, M. and Emadi M. H.(2003), Indigenous Knowledge andAnimal Husbandry; Iranian Practices,Tehran, Bureau for the Studies andProgramming, Deputy of Extension andFarming System, Ministry of AgriculturalJihad.

4 Amiri Ardakani, M. and Emadi M. H.(2002), Indigenous Knowledge and plantProtection; Lessons and Examples,Tehran, Bureau for the Studies andProgramming, Deputy of Extension andFarming System, Ministry of AgriculturalJihad.

5 Emami, L. (2001), What are differentkinds of Citrus Fruits Fertilizers,Keshavaerz Monthly, Issue 256, Apr.,22nd Year, pp 52-53.

6 Heravi, Gh. (1977), Ershad-ul-Zira’aCompiled by Moshiri, M, Tehran,Amirkabir Publications, pp 249.

7 Hunter, D. and Whitten. (1976).Encyclopedia of Anthropology, NewYork: Harper &Row, p. 131.

8 Olfati, H. (1995), A History ofAgriculture and Animal Husbandry inIran, (V1), Tehran: AmirkabirPublications pp 661..

Manual wool-spinning, Sarrood region,Kohgiluyeh & Boyrahmad province

Accumulating/decaying animal manure, Sarroodregion, Kohgiluyeh&Boyrahmad province

Camel Urine issprayed on

clothes to killmoth. The smoke

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4 Lup is a sort of silo for keeping crops. Lup is woven of palm tree leaves or tender twigs, like straw mat. After filling theLup with crops, to protect it against some birds and rodents, they plaster it with a mixture of cow’s manure and soil.



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round 22,000 visitors thronged thecampus of the Indian Institute ofManagement, on 10 and 11 December

2005, when the third Traditional Food FestivalSattvik was organized by SRISTI, NIF, GIANand IIM. The venue was an enchanting spectacle,with a wide spread of culinary delicacies on eitherside, even as the center space was devoted tograssroots innovations. The festival posed certainfundamental questions about the kind of foods

we consume and how we could make it morehealthy and nutritious. In the process, could wealso ensure that the poor farmers who cultivatesuch healthy food grains get a fair share of theprofits? The food festival aims to generate marketbased incentives for such lesser known,organically grown crops and their varieties. After

all, unless the urban consumers startdemanding these grains, the incomewill never flow from our pockets tothe small and experimenting farmers.In most cases, the grains grown bythese farmers are not only morenutritious, but are also ‘compulsively’organic, because many of the farmerscannot afford to use any chemicalgrowth promoters or pesticides.

Over 60 farmers, including manywomen, as well as entrepreneurs,Civil Society Organizations likeGantar, Paryavaran Shikshan Kendraand Gujarat Gram Vidyapith, andothers utilized this opportunity todisplay and sell their ideas andproduce. The farmers mostly camefrom the dry regions of Gujarat, likeKutch, Banaskantha, Panchmahal,and Surendranagar. Rajasthan, TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh were theother states represented.

The festival also provided anopportunity to spread the messageabout healthy food. The tribal peoplefrom Panchmahal district gave theurban consumers a rare treat ofkumbh aur shuri ki bhaji. At the

Gujarat Vidyapith stall eatables likedry fruits laddoo, bavte ka laddooand Khajur ka sharbat were sold andthe advantages of such types of foodwere also explained. The ParyavaranShikshan Kendra did brisk business

with the muthiya of Moringa oleiferaand a novel preparation - sharbet madefrom cactus (Euphorbiacaducitolia). It definitely opened oureyes to the nutritious potential ofwhat is otherwise considered aninhospitable plant. In Saurashtra, theplant is beleived to have medicinalvalue, specially for increasinghaemoglobin in the blood. Thedelicacy was lapped up by the

Sattvik 2005

A

Sattvik 2005, the third Traditional Food Festival opened the eyes of the urban consumer to the nutritive valueof traditional and organically grown grains, while simultaneously providing a platform for the rural producersto directly sell their produce in the urban market. The purpose was also to test the consumer response to differentvarieties of minor and major crops so that market based incentives could be generated for conservation of agro-biodiversity.

Visitors at the traditional food festival

Agro-biodiversity



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crowds and the sales of this beverage generatedaround Rs. 10,000 over the two days.

At the Kishor Vataliya stall, the FaraliKhichu and soup of kalathi (Dolichosbiflorus), was doing brisk business.The Arya Sanskriti stall came up withan interesting idea of selling rainwater, and drew many visitors. At theAkhand Jyot Foundation Stall, theattractions were methi (Trigonellafoenum-graecum) thepla, Vegetablepancake and Bhaidaku ofEchinochloa colonum. At the Swagatstall, different delicacies made ofmaize were available, including soup,samosa and halva.

The stall set up under CanadianInternational Development Agency,Guelph, implemented by IFPRI and

Recipe Contests : Rewarding Culinary Creativity

The recipe contest was organized on Dec 9, 2005 at the IIM A campus. The recipes were supposed to encourage the use ofthe lesser known and consumed food grains and minor millets such as kui (Carvia callosa ), kodri (Paspalum scrobiculatum),banti, bavto (Eleusine coracana) and kang (Setaria italica). The purpose was to help the revival of traditional, diverse foodand create awareness about the nutritional benefits of minor millets and uncultivated plants. We believe that the housewiveswho use these recipes have played a major role in the conservation of the grains and vegetables involved in the recipes, andneed to be recognized and rewarded.

The entries were judged by Ms. Ambarben Trivedi (HoD of Health andNutrition, NC Bodiwala College), Mr. B.B.S. Chauhan (Chief Chef, HotelInder Residency), Ms. Smithaben Dave (Lecturer, SLU Women’s College)and Ms. Kavitaben Phatak (winner of the recipe contest for the last twoyears). The recipes were judged based on the taste, nutritional value,method of cooking, knowledge about medicinal use and presentation.

One hundred and eighty two people submitted 334 entries by post. Ofthese, 65 people were present at the venue on the allotted day and betweenthem prepared 140 traditional dishes. A leading Gujarati daily helped usmobilize participants for the contest.

Through the competition, we were able to document the use of 59 cropsof which 18 were grains and 41 were vegetables. The most commonlyused grains were makkai (Zea mays) (69), jowar (Sorgham vulgare) (67)

and kodri (Paspalum scrobiculatum) (63). The least common grains were Kali (Oryza sativa), Jov (Hordeum vulgare) andMoth(Vigna aconitifolia) , each of which were used once. Among the vegetables, the most commonly used were tamarindflower (Tamarindus indica) used ten times, followed by Methi (Trigonella foenum-graecum) used seven times, and sargavo(Moringa oleifera) and palak (Spinacea oleracea) used five times each. The least common vegetables were padma (Nelumbonucifera), Apple (Pyrus malus) , Gulab na ful (Rosa damascus) , Punrnava na pan (Boerhaivia diffusa), used once each.

The first prize was bagged by Hema Mehta from Ahmedabad, who prepared a nutritious pancake using kodri. The recipe wasaesthetically presented and involved the use of very little oil. The second prize went to Ekta Parikh, also from Ahmedabad whoprepared a special katli using 35 medicinal plants and the third prize went to Sheetal Shah, from Baroda, who made kodri kitikiya. Ms. Sheetal Shah remarked that when she had first read about the contest in the paper, she thought there must havebeen a misprint, because she could not believe that the minor millets and uncultivated grains could be used in the recipes. Shethen consulted her mother and learnt about the uses of these grains and the recipe which won her the prize.

Farmers selling their produce to theurban consumers Multimedia Innovation Kiosk



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Exhibiting Grassroots Creativity

The Innovation Exhibition set up by GIAN andNIF was a major attraction at the festival. Thiswas an opportunity to display many grassrootsinnovations. Interestingly, when we hadorganized an exhibition of only the grassrootsinnovations, it drew far fewer visitors. Theblend of culinary and technological creativityseems to have worked.

Vinod Gajjar, who has developed innovativetongs to hold hot vessels was able to sell about220 pieces. Mr. M M Ahuja, the entrepreneurwho has licensed the water cooler developed

by Arvindbhai Patel, has received 50 enquiriesfrom people who were interested in orderingthe product. He expects that at least 10 per centwill materialize into orders. Mr. MansukhbhaiPrajapati has received orders worth Rs. 20,000for the earthen container for keeping vegetablesfresh and orders worth Rs. 10,000 for theTeflon coated earthen pan, an interesting useof modern technology for traditional objects.Mr. Panchal was able to sell 50 pieces of themotorized phirkee, which can be used to windstrings while flying kites. He considers this tobe a good sale, specially since the kite festivalwas still more than a month away, during thefood festival. He has also recived enquiriesfrom around 100 people. Mr. SakarbhaiPrajapati’s health care chair, which helps peopleexercise, was another popular attraction, andhe ended up selling not only the two chairs hehad brought for demonstration, but 10 morepieces to people who contacted him after havingseen his chair at the exhibition.

IIM A attempted to create awarenessabout the nutritional value oftraditional varieties of grains likeminor millets andmaize from Dahod(Gujarat) ricevarieties fromFaizabad (UP) andbajra (Pennisetumtyphoides) from Sikar(Rajasthan). The ricevarieties on displayincluded Kalanamak,Lalmati, Dhaniya,Kanakjir, Bengal Juhi, Baghari,Dehula, Erri and Muthmuri. Adetailed nutritional analysis of eachof the grains was made and thisinformation was provided to theconsumers. Minor millets includedbavto (Eleusine coracana), kodi(Paspalum scrobiculatum), and kang

(Setaria italica). There were manyenquiries about availability of thesedifferent varieties and many

consumers expressedan interest in buyingthem.

The festival not onlyprovided anopportunity for thefarmers to directly selltheir produce andeliminate themiddlemen, but also

gave them an exposure to urbanmarkets, the demands of urbanconsumers and the market potentialfor organic products. According toArvind Paramar of Kuchch Sajiv KhetiManch, who had brought 18 farmersto the festival, “All the grains weresold and we also got a lot of contacts

The stall set up by IIMA and IFPRI under a CIDA Project

Women's groups doing brisk business at the stalls

“The festival hasprovided an opportunity

for me to understand themarket for organic

produce. I have used thisknowledge and set up a

shop for organic producein the village", says

Khimjibhai.

Exhhibition of Green Grassroots Innovation



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Inviting Ideas

Another interesting feature of the food festival was the idea contest, conducted byGIAN and NIF for all the visitors. The contest encouraged all the visitors to come upwith innovative ideas and solutions for day-to-day problems and share it with us.Through the contest we have been able to generate some interesting ideas. One idea,given by Ashish Gajjar, was for the installation of mini-speakers in helmets, to makedriving more pleasurable. Tusharbindu Tapuldhar suggested that tooth-brushes be madeof small length which can be fixed to the fingers. This not only helps us get a bettergrip while brushing, but also saves on the usage of plastic, which would otherwise beused to make a longer grip. Narendra Vansjatra suggests that copper coils can beattached to the bottom of cooking pans, so that water can be heated, even as thecooking is in progress.

Another idea for institutional improvement was the creation of a sarpanch networkamong villages, to promote organic farming and the cultivation of traditional varieties.The idea was suggested by Hemchandre Barat. Shashikant Gupta suggested that adirectory of all organic farmers be prepared, so that people have easier access tothem.

Alabhai, a farmer from Kutch, whohad put up five stalls at the festival isalso extremely happy with his business.“We got to see for ourselves thedemand for organic products in urbanareas. All our products are organic,but when we sell them through outletsin the city, we don’t make such profits.Through this festival, we got to seehow much profit we can actuallymake. There needs to be moretransparency in the outlets which sellorganic produce in the urban areas.The farmers, urban outlets andconsumers should come together ona common platform and we must tryto ensure that farmers get a fair shareof the profits.” According to MukeshRavel from YUVA, who brought fourfarmers to the festival, “Suchopportunities are definitely needed forfarmers to get to know how to selltheir products without any middlemen.If the festival was organized over alonger period of time, the farmers canalso bear some of the cost of the

festival. Khimjibhai, a farmer, adds,“The festival has provided anopportunity for me to understand themarket for organic produce. I haveused this knowledge and set up a shopfor organic produce in the village. Notonly do I sell my produce, but I alsoprocure from other farmers and sellit if the demand is high. The festivalhas helped me become anentrepreneur.”

Many non-governmental organi-zations had bought farmers andwomen’s groups to sell their products.The festival proved to be an incomegenerating opportunity for them.According to Tanuben, from Gudala,who is part of a self-help group whichhas been selling pudina sharbet duringthe festival, “We have been able toget a lot of money. Some of it willcover our costs in coming here, theremaining, we will deposit in the bankand use for our childrens’ educationor for some health emergencies.”

The festival also provided a platformfor Gantar, an NGO working in Gujarat,to display some of their innovativeteaching material, which aims to teachchildren without using books. Theinnovative toys include spelling games,umbrellas to teach astronomy andmathematics and math games.

The festival not only promotes theconsumption of organic food, but alsoprovides ways of growing organicfood. Many herbal growth promoterswith pesticidal properties, developedby the Sadbhav SRISTI SanshodhanLabaratory were displayed and sold.The purpose was to promote organiccultivation not only in farms, but alsoin kitchen gardens. The SRISTI stallalso sold literature on indigenousknowledge and practices, organicfarming etc.

The festival also had its share ofattractive practices for the children.Quiz competitions and antakshariensured that children not only enjoyedthe ocassion but also went home withattractive prizes.

The SRISTI stall displaying publications

about people who are interested in buying ourproduce. So that is a definite benefit we got.Moreover, it was the first time farmers from adryland area were going into the city to markettheir products. It has given them a sense of

confidence about themselves and their produce.”According to Jivrajbhai from Sarjan Bodeli, “Wewere able to get many farmers, including womenfarmers from the tribal areas. They got to knowa lot about organic farming, on how to marketorganic products etc. It was a learning experience.”



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Celebrating life in Ladakh

Mr. Sonam Wangchuk, Founder of Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) and AshokaFellow, who has been responsible for revolutionary changes in the education system in Ladakh, visited the IndianInstitute of Management, Ahmedabad to interact with the students as part of their course Indian Social and PoliticalEnvironment. In an exclusive interview to the Honey Bee, he speaks about the Ladakhi way of life

Can you give us a picture about survivalconditions in Ladakh ?

People often call Ladakh, the moonland. WeLadakhis feel very proud about it, but it is notonly the beauty of the moon. It is also just like themoon. It is a trans-Himalayan mountain desert,where almost nothing grows on its own, at leastnothing for human consumption. If you seeLadakhi villages, they are like oasis in the desert.This is one place, where human beings havecontributed to vegetation rather than degradingit.

What are the cultural institutions which havehelped survival in such difficult conditions?

There are two ways of coping : One is by havingmore resources, the other by needing lessresources. In Ladakh, we need less resources.Nothing is ever wasted there. For instance, a

Ladakhi woolen dress goes through five differentstages. First, it is used only for formal occasions.As it gets older, it is used for daily use. As it getsmore older, it is used as a second layer of clothing,under the normal dress. As it gets more older, it is

cut up and used as a duster. As it getsmore older, it is used in the fields tomake the sluice gates for the canals.Finally, it disintegrates and becomesmanure in the field.There are other institutions which helpus survive. We have something calledphaspuns . These are small groupsof eight to ten families. These familiessupport each other during times ofbirth, death, marriage etc. Theyprovide logistical support and alsocontribute money. If it is my son ordaughter’s wedding, it is not like Ihave to save up for it all my life. Idon’t need to contribute at all. In away I do, because I contribute to allthe weddings, and at the end of it, itall comes back to me for mychildren’s wedding.

In farming, wehave aninstitution calledlangde. Acalendar is madeduring thefarming season.The farm at thelowest end of thevillage is chosenfirst. On aspecific day, allthe familieswhich havel a n g d erelationship withthis family cometo the farm withtheir animals and

get involved in the activity. Once, itis over on one farm, they move tothe next farm. In this way, we benefitfrom the other’s labour also as wellas the animals which the others own.

Farming itself takes place in a villagepicnic kind of atmosphere. The westmight have invented the tractor, butwe have invented our own innerresources. We have a song for everyactivity. And everyone in the villageis involved in the activity. Farmingwith tractors can still be drudgery,farming without tractors can stillbe fun.

There are also other cultural survivalstrategies. Our summers arecomfortable, but winters can be aharsh. So our forefathers kept a lotof festivals for the winter. Childrendo not mourn the harshness ofwinter when they look forward tothe colors of the festivals. A fewyears ago, when Ladakh was opento tourists. The monks in themonastery decided that if thefestivals were shifted to summer,then the tourists will come and therewill be more income. Suddenly therewas nothing to look forward to inwinter. And the Ladakhis did notattend the festivals in summerbecause they had to work on thefarms. The tourists also stoppedattending the festivals or regrettedthat they attended them, when theyrealized that the locals were notpresent. So gradually, the festivalsshifted back to the winters.

We also have an interesting traditionof keeping water sources clean. It isbelieved that if you dirty the water,you will get some diseases. As a child,I always questioned this idea. Now,we have a lot of people who camefrom the plains, they did not growup with these stories. And they starteddirtying the water. Obviously nothing

SECMOL can be contacted at P O Box 4194101, Leh, Ladakh. Ph : 91-1982-226115 e-mail [email protected]

Students at IIMA enthralled by the lecture given byMr Sonam Wangchuk (inset)

Interaction



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happened to them. But the people downstreamstarted getting all sorts of diseases

Are memberships in these institutions voluntaryor ancestral?

It is ancestral. Sometimes, when a family movesinto a new area, they choose their langde or phaspun.It is semi-religious. Phaspuns are like brotherhoodsunder a god. I say god with a small ‘g’ becausethere are numerous small gods and goddesses. Itis like decentralized ‘gods’.

How have these institutions reacted to modernforces like urbanization ?

They are stressed, but in some cases, interestingly,they have resurrected. In cities like Leh, you willnot have institutions like langde but they do flourishin the villages. And phaspuns are also quite strong.

Can you tell us something about creativity amongchildren in Ladakh?

In Ladakh, the children also have the capacity tobe satisfied with whatever little that they have.One American lady was simply amazed when shesaw a child playing with her handkerchief. Shesaid her nephew in the US would need at leastfour or five toys to keep himself occupied at anypoint of time.

We also have a strong tradition of story telling.Interestingly, we believe that the stories have tobe told to children only in the winter and must bestopped at the sight of the first spring green. Inever understood the practice. But then I realized,that we needed the stories to take us through thewinter. In summer, there was work to do, so youcould not spend time on stories.

What is the status of the traditional knowledgesystems in Ladakh ?

We have a system of medicine, based on theTibetian system of medicine. It is also a fairlypopular system and even the district hospital inLeh has a department for this system of medicine.The training was initially through apprenticeship,but now we also have some institutes offeringtraining.It is my belief that we can progress onlywith a synthesis of the old and the new. If youtake construction for instance, the design andaesthetics and some materials used in the oldentime was very effective, but they never thoughtof harnessing solar energy, with the use of glass.Our buildings combine both these systems.

How do you think these systemsof knowledge should be integrated,so that children learn them informal schooling systems ?

Children have to learn them despiteformal schooling systems. Formalschool can only teach about half ofwhat you need to know. And inLadakh, it was only teaching about aquarter of that half. Parents stoppedgetting involved in their children’seducation, because they felt that theycould learn nothing new from theiruneducated parents. But parents canactually teach children a lot.Sometimes, the only way the schoolcan contribute to education is byremaining shut. For instance, theschools stay open in the summerseason, when there is so much thatthe children can learn from thefarms. The way to ensure thatchildren learn about agriculture isnot by starting agriculture classesfor them, but just to remain closedfor a month in the summer, whenthe children can automatically learnfrom the fields.

How much has SECMOL managedto achieve in the seventeen yearsof its existence ?

We started giving tuition classes tochildren to make them pass. But werealized that the problem wassystemic. Ladakhi children wereforced to study in Urdu, a languagealien to them till Class 8 and thenswitch to English, another alienlanguage. The teachers werethemselves not trained properly. Inmost cases, they were not locals andregarded Ladakhis as primitivepeople. The text-books were notrelevant. Imagine teaching F for fan,when the temperature is -20 degreesCelsius. Is it any wonder then that95% of them failed. The wonder ishow the 5% passed.

We didn’t start with radical demands.We demanded that children beinstructed in English itself, rather thanUrdu and then English. We started

forming Village EducationCommittees to get the communityinvolved in education. This isrecommended in the New EducationPolicy of the Indian Government, butno one had actually bothered toimplement it. With the help of theLadakhi Hill Council, we were ableto launch Operation New Hope. Westarted with teacher training andcapacity building, the redesigning oftext books to make them more relevantand the involvement of thecommunity in the school. Previously,the only involvement of thecommunity was in stealing the doorsand windows of the school. Now, agovernment residential school inDubruk was built entirely by thecommunity members. Each personhad to contribute at least one day’svoluntary labour for the building. Sothe results are not only in terms of anincreased pass percentage but interms of greater communityownership of the school.

What were the problems faced inmobilizing funds for SECMOL?

When we started SECMOL, we werejust a bunch of college graduates. Wedid not know what to do. We made,what could be called a brave or afoolish decision. We borrowed about40,000 rupees at a very high rate ofinterest. And then, we went aboutputting up cultural performances forthe tourists in Ladakh. Within fourmonths, we were able to repay the40,000 and we also had an additionalone lakh rupees.

In recent years, with the Ladakhiseparatist movement, we have hadfewer tourists. So we can’t generatefunds only from there. So we had toget funds from donors. But we havenever compromised on our ideas forthe sake of funds and we have neverbeen put in such a situation either,which is lucky for us. We of coursenever take money from theGovernment, because if you aretrying to reform a system, you cannottake money from the system.



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Nam Vali Velanmai(Tamil Version of Honey Bee)P Vivekanandan, 45, T P M NagarVirattipathu-625010, Tamil Nadu.Email: [email protected] [email protected]: 0452-2380082

Mobile Tailor Shops andCooking Gas from Cow Urine

Honey Bee

16401 Increasing Milk Production

Mr. Krishnan was the owner of a jersey crossbred cow, which yielded 8 liters per day. After itwas afflicted with fever, the cow refused to takefeed and the yield fell to 1 1/2 litres. Mr. Krishnanconsulted Mr. Vivekanandan, the regional collaboratorof the Honey Bee network, to find a solution tothe problem.

Mr. Vivekanandan came up with a formulation basedon his knowledge of local practices followed inPalamedu village in Madurai District. Chinni (Acalyphafruticosa), a pinch of salt, dry ginger (10 g) andpulp taken from sheath of Sottrukatralai (Aloevera) is ground together to form a bolus. Thebolus was administered orally twice a day. Withintwo days, the cow started feeding and the yieldof milk increased to four liters per day. Within aweek, the yield was back to normal. When theremedy was tried on another cow, it improvedwithin two days.

Acalypha fruticosa is commonly used to treatindigestion. It is ground together with Kuttivelanthalai(Limonia acidissima) and used for bathing newborn children as it gives immunity against diseasesand also to protects the skin from fungal diseases.

It is used as tonic for the cattle in East Africa (Medicinalplants of East Africa. East african literature bureau,Kampala, Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam, 368 p., (1976))

16402 Control of Ash weevil in Brinjal

The young brinjal crop (upto two months) issusceptible to ash weevil attack. The young grubsinfect the foliage of the crop leading to reductionof photosynthetic area of leaf. Farmers ofSundararajapuram village burn the leaves of avaram(Cassia auriculata) in a mud pot and expose thecrop foliage to the fumes. This reduces the damagecaused by the pest.

Sundararajapuram village, Rajapaluyam Taluka,Virudhunagar District

It is used as a pesticide in KUMAONtribal community. (Pandey, G., G.C. Joshi,N.K. Pandey and K.C. Tewari (1995) -Ethnobotanical studies on the medicinalflora of Tarikhet block (KumaonHimalaya) District Almora, U.P., PartsI, II, III, =Aryavaidyan, 8, 3, 159-164).

16403 Biogas through CowUrine

George David Raj has been using thegas emanating from cow urine forcooking purposes for the last threeyears. George stumbled on this ideawhen he was constructing a bio-gasplant. He made a pit to drain the cowurine and covered it with a cementslab to avoid the odour and insect

breeding. When he opened the pit, hefelt strong odor. At that time he wassmoking and put the cigarette butt alongwith paddy straw over the pit. The

straw burst into flame. This suggestedthe possibility of using cow’s urineas cooking fuel.

Cow urine is directly drained fromthe yard into a 11 feet deep tank. Whenthe tank is nine feet full, the excessurine is let off through the two outlettanks on either side into the garden,where it is used as manure. The gasformed from the urine is stored inthe extra space in the tank and isconveyed through a regulated valvemechanism, directly into the kitchen.

George David Raj, Kollan vilai, PoovanKodu Verkilambi Post, KanyakumariDistrict.

16404 Mobile Sewing Machines

Mr. Arumugam and Mr. Siva are tailors,who take the sewing machines tothe doorstep of the community. It isusually difficult to transport the legoperated sewing machine from place

to place and the smaller hand operatedmachine is also not convienient. Sothey fixed the sewing machine to abicycle.

An iron strip is fitted to the triangularsection of the bicycle. The sewingmachine is attached to the iron strip

Contd... on page 17



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Loksarvani(Gujarati version of Honey Bee)Ramesh Patel, Editor, c/o SRISTI, Post Box No.15050, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380015.Email: [email protected] Ph: 079-27913293

16405 Control of worms in cotton, brinjal,sesame, and chilli.

Nagjibhai Jagobhai Bharvad was facing a problemwith worms in his crops, specially during themonsoons. Since chemical pesticides were noteffective in overcoming the problem, he developeda herbal formulation. 20 kg of congress grass(Parthenium hysterophorus), 5 kg of aakda (Calotropisprocera), 5 kg of arni (Clerodendrum phlomidis),250 g of neem leaves ( Azadirachita indica) and250 gms of datura (Datura metal)leaves are mixedtogether in 200 liters of water. The mixture is leftfor 24 hours and then sprinkled on the fields. It issprinkled again after a four day interval. He reportsa 70 to 80% control of worms through this method.

Nagjibhai is known as a herbal healer in the villageand has some knowledge of Ayurveda also. Hetried out this remedy for the first time in 1997when he had a problem with whitefly in his blacksesame fields. He found it to be successful andthen tried it with the other crops also.

Nagjibhai Jagobhai Bharvad, Vill. Sagwa, Tal.Modasa, Dist. Sabarkantha

Parthenium hysterophorus has worm repealing properties.It is also used to control worms in Mexico and Cuba. Haque,Ke, Roy LPK and Dutta CP 1984,J Indian Chem Soc 61 (1)pp 92. Gil BA, Castillo RM, Mata LG, Lexay EM, FernandezDF 2000, Estudio Preliminar de Sus Propiedades. Rev CubanaPlant Med 5 3 pp 123-124. Nandakumar NV, Devi YP,Swami KS and Majumder SK 1980, Comp Physiol Ecol 5 :

296-297.

16406 Banyan Branches to promote flowering.

According to traditional knowledge of the tribalpeople in Dang district, the branches of Banyantree (Ficus benghalensis) promote flowering inplants. Tulasyabhai Somabhai Bagul has adoptedthis practice. About 500 gms of tender branchesof banyan is mixed with two liters of water. Thismixture is sprayed on the plant using a sprayer,during the flowering stages. He has been practicingthis in his fields for urad and paddy crops.Tulasyabhai is known as a bhagat in the village.He also has knowledge of veterinary practices.

His father was also a bhagat and helearnt this practice from him.

16407 Combating aphids infruits and vegetables.

Aphids cause extensive damage tofruits and vegetables, specially duringthe flowering stages. They suck out

the sap from the flowers and causethem to dry up. Mohanbhai LalabhaiJala uses the tender leaves of kerda(Capparis decidua) to overcome thisproblem. Five kgs of tender leavesof kerda is boiled in seven litres ofwater. The mixture is sprayed on thecrop three to four times. The mixtureis effective, not only against aphids,but also other sucking pests.

Mohanbhai came across this practicewhen he visited Nashik eight yearsago. He has since then been using itin his own fields with good results.

Mohanbhai Lalabhai Jala, At Kalasar,Post Zaravat,Taluka Mahmedabad,Dist. Kheda.

16408 Combating worms incattle

Worms can cause serious problemto the cattle, particularly to thecalves in the monsoon. It causesweakness, debility, enlargement ofthe stomach and constipation. Ifnot attended to immediately, it canlead to death of the cattle.

About 500 gm of kowcha (Mucunapruriens) seeds and 50 gms of theroots of ingoria (Balanitesroxburghii) are mixed togetherin 200 gms of water. The mixtureis fed to the cattle once a dayfor three days. The worms arekilled and passed out from thebody.

This pratice was shared with us byLate Bojabhai Rajabhai Dhabi. Whenwe visited the area again in March2005 to verify the practice, Bojabhaiwas no more. His son Ramjibhaitold us that he was also using thispractice and has also tried it outwith good results on other cattle inthe area.

Late Bojabhai Rajabhai Dhabi, Vill.Dhantral, Tal. Kedbrahma,Sabarkantha

Kowcha seeds are used in Virgin Islandsand Trinidad and Tobago. Joshi, MC:Patel, MB: Mehta PJ: Bull Med EthnobotRes 1 : 8-24. Sebastian MK and Bhandari,MM (1984) : Medico-ethno Botany ofMOunt Abu, Rajasthan, India : JEthnopharmacology 12 2 : 223-230. Oakes,

AJ and Morris , MP (1958) : The WestIndian Weedwoman of the United StatesVirgin Islands. Bull Hist. Med. 32 : 164.Ayensu, ES : (1978) : Medicinal Plants ofthe West Indies. Unpublished document,Office of Biological Conservation.Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

Ingoria is also used in veterinary medicinein parts of India. Singh, A and Kohli JD(1956) : A plea for research intoIndigenous Drug employed in Veterinary

Practice. Indian Vet J 32 : 271-280

Combating worms in crops and cattle



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Hittalagida(Kannada version of Honey Bee)T N Prakash, Editor, Hittalagida,Department of AgriculturalEconomics,University of Agricultural Science,GKVK, Bangalore-560065, Karnataka.Email: [email protected]@yahoo.com Ph: 080-23620025

16409 'Trolleying' across mountain riversand streams

Narayana Bhat, a retired teacher and his brotherMahalingeshwar Bhat have developed anindigenous trolley to cross rivers and streamsin hilly areas. The innovators were finding itdifficult to cross the streams near their houseduring the rainy season. One had to use a boator a manual bridge. To overcome this problemthey designed a trolley.

The trolley consists of wire ropes of 2-3.75inches thick, a pulley and four wheels. Arotator can move the trolley. As the user rotates

the rotator, the pulley causes the wheels tomove forward, and helps the user cross theriver. Around 25 families in the area are usingthis trolley.

Mahalingeshvara Bhat & Narayan Bhat,Nandhrodu Urmbudi House, Kumbdhaje VillageYethadka (P) via Perdala Kasaragod –671551

16410 A new medium for paddy cultivation

Mahalingeshwar Bhat, has been cultivatingaromatic paddy in his houseyard, using themedium of paddy husk, arecanut husk and soil.He came up with this idea because there was

a lot of space in the back yard ofhis house which was used onlywhile processing paddy.

A two inch layer of arecanut huskis spread on the field. A mixtureof urea, potash, sheep manure andpaddy husk is mixed with soil at

a ratio of 1:3 and applied over thearecanut husk. The seeds are sowndirectly in this medium. There isno transplantation The yield obtainedthrough this method is 160 kg/ 7guntas (12 quintal per acre). Thismethod can be used by farmers tofulfill their domestic requirements.

Nandhrodu Mahalingeshwara Bhat,Nandhrodu House, KumbdhajeVillage, Yethadka (P), Via PerdalaKasaragod –671551

16411 Pepper grafting tocombat root rot

In order to overcome the root rotdisease in pepper, RavishankarAmdalu has grafted the normalpepper plant to Piper longum(hippali) plant. While normal pepperis very prone to this disease, Piperlongum shows more resistance.

The peppert h u sacquires ther e s i s t a n tcharacteristicsof Piperl o n g u m .T h i sm e t h o davoids the

use of chemicals to combat the rootrot disease.

Ravishankar Amdalu, Madanthyaru(post), Belthangadi (Tq), DakshinaKannada (Dist)

Root rot of common pepper (Piper nigrum)is caused by Phytopthora capsici. Piperlongum has shown antifungal effect butefficacy against Phytopthora capsici hasnot been reported. (Ke Hu, Aijun Dong,Hongwei Liu, Huisheng Feng, Qishi Sun,Xinsheng Yao.1999. Bioactivity ofTraditional Chinese Herbal MedicinesAgainst Pyricularia oryzae. PharmaceuticalBiology (Formerly International Journal of

Pharmacognosy), 37(3): 225-230).

16412 A new variety of sugarcane

Mahaveer Annasaheb Udhgave, hasdeveloped a new variety of sugarcane,which is disease free and highyielding. He had encountered a

problem with mite in the regularvariety of sugarcane. He hadobserved that a wild plant garagagrowing by the riverside had goodresistance to both floods and dryweather and was also free fromdiseases. He grafted this plant to thehigh yielding variety of sugarcane.The CO-671-80/1 feet is crossed withgaraga. The newly developedvariety ‘Chandraprabhu’ gives a yieldof 120 to 140 tonnes per acre. Theinnovator has been using it for thelast four years. He has been growingthis variety for the last four years.He has grown 282 plants which are100 feet and 1120 plants which are400 feet.

Mahaveer Annasaheb Udhgave, Sadhalaga(Post), Chikkodi (Tq), Belgam(District)

Mountain trolleys and plant varieties



17

Ama Akha Pakha(Oriya version of Honey Bee)Dr Balaram Sahu, Editor, 3-R-BP-5/2,B P Colony, Unit-8, Bhubaneswar-751012, Orissa.Email: [email protected].

16413 Herbs to battle arthritis

Arthritis is a common problem encountered bypeople after the age of forty. It is caused due tothe hardening of elastic tissue or the depositionof uric acid in the knee joint. Villagers in Orissause the Sujana plant (Moringa oleifera) to treatarthritis. The leaves are removed from the tender

branches, and the branches are cut into smallpieces. These pieces are boiled in water till thewater is reduced to half its original volume.Generally about 50 gms of the green branches isboiled in 500 ml of water. This water is thencooled. One glass of this water is takencontinuously for 10 days and is effective againstarthritis.

Sanatan Mahanta, Village R.M Sahi, District Keonjhar

Moringa oleifera is used as a source of vitamin C, colds,boils, fever, joint pain, gout. (http://www.niam.com/corp-web/mediplnt.htm).It is used to cure arthritis and sore throatamong GOnds and Bharias of Patalkot valley. (http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Acharya12.html).

16414 Value addition to traditional practices

Infestation of blood parasites is a serious problemamong cattle. The parasites can cause high fever,passing of urine with blood and sometimes evensudden death. Farmers use the dry powderedleaves of chiretia plant (Andrographis paniculata)

to treat this condition. This practicewas observed by Dr. Ashok Ku Palei,a junior veterinary officer workingwith the Veterianary Hospital atSundargarh. He also noticed that thistreatment was leading to recovery in70 to 80 % of the cases. He studiedthis method and made somemodifications. He formulated amixture where an equal proportion ofchireita leaf powder and boric acid(40 gms each) is mixed with 100 gmsof jaggery. This mixture is given oncea day to the affected cattle for 10days. The recovery rate improved toalmost 100 %. Dr. Palei believes thatthe mixture serves a preventivefunction.

Dr. Ashok Ku. Palei District Sundargarh (Itwould have of course been ideal and true tothe philosophy of the Honey Bee network, ifDr. Ashok Palei had also noted the names ofthe villagers from whom he had learnt thispractice. Ed)

Andrographis paniculata is said to possessastringent, anodyne, tonic and alexipharmicproperties and helps in arresting dysentery,cholera, consumption, influenza, bronchitis,piles and gonorrhoea. (Alagesaboopathi,C., P. Dwarakan and V.S. Ramachandran1999,Ancient Science of Life 19, 1/2. pp 28-30). The decoction of the whole plant wasgiven to cure impure blood in certain partsof India. (Goel AK, Mudgal V 1988, J TaxBot 12.pp 329-335). The macerated leavesand juice together with certain spices, suchas are made into pills and prescribed forrelief from gripe and other stomach ailmentsin infants. (Balu, S., C. Alagesa Boopathiand V. Elango 1993, Ancient Science of Life12, 3/4, 399-402.)

16415 Traditional tooth therapy

The bark of Bakula (Mimusopselengi) is used by farmers to treattoothache. The bark is collected,dried and powdered. About 40 gmsof this powder is added to 300 to 400ml of water. About 10 to 15 gms ofalum is added to it. This mixture isthen used to wash the mouth. Thebark can also be made into a pasteand applied with alum around thegums.

Biswanath Pradhan Village JakeikalaBanaigarh Block.

Mimusops elengi is an active ingredient ofmany Ayurvedic oral care products. It is usedfor the treatment of dental problems andmaintaining oral hygiene Mimusops elengisolution is effective against toothache, as wellas in cases of Ozena and for healing wounds.(Dixit, R.S., M.R. Uniyal and O.H. Mishra(1976) - Keshar and kunkum in Ayurveda

and their identity, JRIM 11, 2, 121-124.)(Mitra, C.R. and G. Misra (1967) -Constituents of fruit and seed of Mimusopselengi, Phytochemistry 6, 453.) A powder ofMimusops elengi along with alum andcommon salt is also effective againstpyorrhea. http://www.

chakrapaniayurveda.com/bakula.html

at an appropriate position. A foldableseat can also be attached to thecycle, so that the person can sitand use the machine. The machinecan be assembled for a cost of Rs.10,000, which includes a newsewing machine and a new bicycle.It is found to be very useful in thetsunami affected areas, both to reachout to people and as a source ofemployment.

Mr R.K.Siva / Mr Arumugam, TeluguStreet, Dharasuram P O,Kumbakonam Taluka, ThanjavurDistrict

Contd... from page 14

Herbal remedies for aches and pains



18

News & Notes

News from the GIANs

The different units of Grassroots InnovationAugmentation Network (GIAN) have been activelybridging the gap between innovation, investmentand entrepreneurship. There have been numerousenquiries from entrepreneurs across the countryand even from abroad for the grassroots technologiestaken for incubation.

GIAN West

Mr. Vinod Gajjar has been awarded a design patentfor his innovative tongs to hold heavy vessels.The tong was initially developed by Mr. ArvindbhaiPatel for holding hot and heavy vessels and wasfurther modified by Mr. Gajjar.

An entrepreneur from Hyderabad who is planningto set up an oil extraction unit in Andhra Pradeshwas interested in the oil expeller, and has placedan order for three machines. The innovator hasbeen able to implement some of the modificationsmade in the previous prototype and deliver a moreefficient machine.

The bicycle hoe technology has been transferredto an entrepreneur Mr. Subash Jagtap, who hassold 150 units of the product. GIAN is helpingthe innovator develop a motorized version of themachine.

Mr. Paresh Panchal of Ahmedabad has modifiedthe bamboo splint making machine developed byUsman Shekhani, by attaching a hand operateddriving wheel. This increases the cutting capacityto 5000 splints per hour. A motorized version ofthe same was further developed having a capacityof 50,000 splints per hour. GIAN NE is lookinginto the possibility of diffusion of this technologyin the North East, where most of the bamboo splintmaking takes place.

The Defense Research Development Organization(DRDO), Kanpur has enquired about a manuallyoperated washing machine, with minimal use ofwater. GIAN has identified an innovator, KamalKumar Agrawal, from Raipur, who has minimizedthe use of water by using compressed air, and iscurrently trying to integrate this design with thecycle-operated washing machine developed byRemya Jose.

GIAN North

The Rajasthan Government Departmentof Science and Technology has showninterest in various technologies andhave acquired samples for showcasingin different villages, to facilitatetechnology diffusion. These innovationsinclude Tile Making Machine, ManualWood Cutting Machine, Bamboo Fan,Manual Milking Machine, BicycleSprayers, Innovative Tong, Low CostEgg Incubator, Unique Handicutter,Septic Tank Baffle System andhand pump with additional outlet foranimal water tank

Texas Instruments has shown interestedin the Mobile Phone Operated Switchfor Irrigation systems developed byPrem Singh Ambala after watching itfeatured in NDTV. Texmo Industriesin Coimbatore are also interested inthis technology and in the groundnuttrench digging machine.

Mr. CV Rao, Convener of the EnergyConservation Mission at the Instituteof Engineers, Hyderabad has showninterest in low cost power generatorbased on cycle and GIAN (West) iscurrently co-ordinating with him fordesign modifications.

A leading fire-cracker manufacturerfrom Gujarat, Ambica Trading Co. hasordered custom made pieces for theremote operated Electrical Device forigniting fire crackers developed byBalaram Saini. The order has beendelivered. M/S Naveen Gram fromJodhpur have shown an interest inmarketing the improved multi-cropthresher in Rajasthan. They are alsointerested in setting up a formal companyin partnership with the innovator.

GIAN NE

GIAN North East has been receivingenquiries from abroad for differenttechnologies. There were enquiriesfrom France and England for the beautycare umbrella for UV protection, fromGhana, Sierra Leone, and Cameroonfor the tapioca peeling machine,Singapore and Chile for the areca nutpeeling machine, and from Turkey,Israel and Egypt for the pomegranate

de-seeder. One unit of the cassavapeeling machine has been sold in Kenyaand there have been enquires fromother African countries.

GIAN NE is in the final stages ofnegotiating the technology transfer ofareca nut peeling machine and paddythresher.

The bamboo splint making machinehas been sold NGOs and Self-helpgroups. Fourteen kits of the treadlepress have been sold in Assam. Thedual alarm system has been installedin ONGC fields and the innovator hashas received an order to install 40 moresuch systems in the field. NIF andGIAN are supporting him in this venturethrough the Micro-Venture InnovationFund.

Honoring Innovative Teachers

The Second Sir Ratan Tata TrustEducational Innovations Conferencewas held in Madurai, on 16 and 17 ofDecember, 2005. The conference wasorganized by Ravi J Mathai Center forEducational Innovation, IIM A, incollaboration with SEVA, Madurai. Sixtyseven innovative primary schoolteachers, from Government runPrimary schools, spread acrossTamilNadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra,Assam, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and UttarPradesh were honored during theconference. These teachers havedeveloped innovative approaches tosolving local problems related toeducation. The innovations includeclassroom tools for better understandingof subjects, raising donations forimproving school infrastructure,increasing enrollment and attendancein schools and truing to solve conflictsin local communities.

These awards are given annually toteachers who have tried novel waysof teaching children, making educationmore inclusive, or improving relationsbetween the school and the community.

The third National Search forEducational Innovations of PrimarySchool Teachers is on and the entriesshould reach Prof. Vijaya Sherry Chand,at Indian Institute of Management,Vastrapur, Ahmedabad.



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NATIONAL INNOVATION FOUNDATION, INDIA

National Innovation Foundation, constituted by the Department ofScience and Technology, Government of India, aims to recognise,respect and reward grassroots technological innovators and outstandingtraditional knowledge experts.

The competition: NIF solicits entries about unaidedtechnological innovations and traditional knowledge developedby individuals or groups comprising farmers, artisans, fishermenand women, slum dwellers, workshop mechanics, students, localcommunities etc., for managing natural and/or other resources.Innovations can be machines, gadgets, implements, or processesfor farm operations, household utility, transportation which enhanceefficiency, conserve or generate energy and reduce drudgery, makecreative use of biodiversity and plant varieties, generate herbalremedies for human or animal health or develop other new lowcost, sustainable green technology related to various aspects ofsurvival in urban and rural areas. Creative ideas for innovativetechnologies are also welcome. Communities developing People’sBiodiversity Register (PBR) or People’s knowledge Register (PKR)are encouraged to register/link their knowledge base with the NationalRegister at NIF.

The awards: The best three innovations and traditional knowledgepractices will be awarded Rs 1, 00,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000each in different categories. In addition, individuals and/or organizationsthat make extraordinary contributions in scouting grassroots innovationsand traditional knowledge may also get awards worth Rs 50,000,25,000 and 15,000 respectively. Other contributions will also beacknowledged. There will be several consolation prizes of Rs10,000 each in different categories depending upon the numberof entries and incremental inventiveness and potential social andenvironmental impact. Special awards will be given for innovationsand outstanding traditional knowledge of/for women. There will bespecial prizes to recognize outstanding innovations by/for peoplewith physical disabilities. Three most outstanding innovative ideasmay be given prizes of Rs 50, 000, 25, 000 and 15,000 in additionto consolation prizes of Rs 5, 000 each. The outstanding entrieswill also be widely publicized in the Honey Bee Newsletter andthrough other media. Summary and/or details of the selectedinnovative practices and traditional knowledge practices includedin the Register will be displayed at the websites of NIF with the

Prior Informed Consent (unless such knowledge is already in thepublic domain) of the innovators/knowledge providers.

Students: Young inventors and innovators are invited to sendtheir ideas or innovations for a special category of awards for them.These should be unsupervised, an outcome of their own creativity,without any support from their teachers or outsiders. Students are alsoencouraged to join SCAI at grassroots (Student Club for AugmentingInnovations) to help other innovators ([email protected]). Supervisedproject from engineering or other professional colleges will not beaccepted except under professional category. There will be prizesworth Rs 15, 000, 10, 000 and Rs 7, 500 for the best three entries andseveral consolation prizes of Rs 5,000 each in this category.How to participate?

Individuals or groups may send as many entries as possible onplain paper providing a) genesis of innovation, and b) backgroundof innovation and innovators. We will appreciate if every entry isaccompanied by full postal address, photograph and/or video of theinnovator and innovation. Herbal entries may be accompanied bydried plant samples to enable proper identification. The last date ofsending entries for the Fifth Biennial Competition is December 31,2006. The Sixth Biennial competition will be held during January2007 to December 2009.

Where to send entries?National Coordinator, National Innovation Foundation, Bungalow

No. 1 Satellite Complex, Premchand Nagar Road, Ahmedabad380015,Gujarat

Fax: (079)-2673-1903 email: [email protected],www.nifindia.org

Our Regional Collaborators : Various organizations and individualsacross the country assist us in recognizing grassroots innovators andtraditional knowledge holders. Our regional collaborators are PVivekanandan from SEVA, Tamil Nadu, T N Prakash from PRITVI,Karnataka, Balaram Sahu from Innovations Club, Orissa, T J Jamesfrom PDS, Kerala, Ranjan Mahapatra from SRISHTI, Orissa, ArunChandan from Makhir, Himachal Pradesh, Sundaram Verma fromRajasthan, Ramesh Mahajan from Maharashtra and Kamal Jeetfrom New Delhi and Uttaranchal.

The Fifth National Biennial Competition for Recognising and Rewarding GreenGrassroots Unaided Technological Innovations & Traditional Knowledge

C o - s p o n s o r s

IIM-A

CSIR

SRISTI

Honey Bee Network

IndiaInnovates.com : From Innovation to Enterprise

IndiaInnovates.com is a one-stop portal to involve professionals, students and other volunteers in thevalue chain of developing grassroots innovations into successful business ventures. The mission is tomobilise volunteers from around the world to harness the innovative potential of grassroots innovators,by providing a one-stop platform for technology incubation, Intellectual Propert Rights protection, financial and marketingsupport.

IndiaInnovates aims to develop an online community of like minded stakeholders, who are willing to share their professionalexpertise, on terms suitable to them, in order to serve grassroots innovations.

How you can help ?

If you are a management, financial, technical, design or legal expert, you can share your expertise in value addition,commercialization and diffusion of grassroots technologies. If you are a entrepreneur or venture capitalist, you can helpus convert innovations into enterprises. If you are none of these, your enthusiasm can still help our cause. If youhave the passion, we provide the platform.

Join us in this movement to make India Innovative.



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have been fortunate to visit India twice. Aftermy second visit in 1995, I returned to theUS on Christmas Eve. On arriving at my

nephew’s home, I experienced a tsunami of culturalshock. I could barely walk across the front room,so covered was the carpet with toys, all belongingto just two tiny children! Jake, aged 2, and Tess,6 months old, lived in a sea of gaudy plastic objects!

I had just returned from two months at a AshramShala in rural Gujarat, where each child, wore ona string round her neck, a key. This key opened asmall metal box – not much bigger than a laptopcomputer – which contained all her worldlypossessions: one change of clothes, a workbookor two, pencils, scraps of coloured paper, a fewpictures torn from magazines, and two or threeprecious treasures – such as a polished stone, orperhaps a brightly-coloured bird feather, a specialgift from someone dear.

Despite all their toys, my great nephew and niecewere bored. If the television wasn’t on, they wererestless; without attention from someone, theyfretted. My friends in India were never bored.They lived in a community comprising mostly childrenand some nearby adults. They invented things todo. Older girls carried younger children aroundwith them. There were no life-threatening dangersin or around the Ashram. Even the nearby roadhad only an occasional car – unable to speed, owingto the abundance of potholes.

The physical lives of these children would not beeasy. But their psychological lives would likely befar more stable and secure than those of theseAmerican children. Rural village life might demandhard labour and offer few tangible pleasures, suchas hot and cold running water, electricity, and apersonal automobile. But it would be full ofcompanionship, conversation, and mutual caring,and lots of spontaneous creative games amongboth children and adults.

That indelible culture-shock reminded me of another— not unlike the first, which took place in a singlemoment in Vadodara in Gujarat. The main avenuesthere are quite broad, often having six- to eight-foot unpaved verges on each side of the traffic

lanes. Some of these “sidewalks”became parking places for vendors’pushcarts. But some of these areaswere semi-permanent homes of thepoorest of the poor. While walkingalong such a street, I passed one suchabode – a gunny-sack “roof” supportedon three or four poles. Its rear sideabutted the six-foot concrete wall ofa nearby mansion. From the slightlyraised pavement, I could see over thewall into the spacious garden.On thelawn, a pair of young siblings playedon their hobby-horses and otherexpensive amusements – isolated fromthe world outside.

My attention turned to the scene onthe pavement. I noticed a toddler, abouttwo, wandering beyond the edges ofher burlap home to an area of driedgrass beside the road. There, shegathered several handfuls of the fuel,carrying it triumphantly back to herparents as her contribution to the firethat would cook the evening meal. Iglanced at her parents. There was alook of intense adoration on their faces.This tiny baby already was makingher contribution to the survival of herfamily. She had a gift to give and hergift brought, for her, love, respect,and appreciation.

Which of these children were luckier?In the first case, the “gifts” were fromparent to children, in order that thechildren be “amused” and feel – what?Loved? Satisfied? Pacified? In thesecond, the “gift” was from child toparent. The child’s “reward” was thetriumph of being able to contributeto the good of the family.

Each time I recall this story, I realizethat showering gifts on children hasa very different psychologicalconsequence from that of affordingeach child meaningful opportunities

to contribute to the welfare of othersThe point is, that “consumption” offersbut a shallow reward. The permanent,long-lasting rewards come from activeparticipation, from feeling appreciatedfor one’s spontaneous contribution tothe welfare of those around us. It ispresent in any shared endeavour, fromthe cooperative game-hunting of ourancestors, to playing together in asymphony orchestra or in a play.

Compassion and consumption are atopposite poles in the “reward centers”of the human brain – the first, like asecure rock of joy – the second, merecandy-floss. We should be gratefulthat some children, in some cultures,are still given the opportunity toexperience the first of these rewards,through meaningful engagement withthe people nearest to them.

This article was written for the special issue of Honey Bee on children's creativityand innovations. We were not able to carry it in the previous issue.

Lessons from India’s ChildrenMary E Clark

I

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My Word

Keeping the child in us alive andkicking

Here are some thought provoking questionsposed by children. Please write back to usif you can answer these questions and satisfythe curiosity of a child. These questionswere shared with us by primary school teachersduring the Second Sir Ratan Tata TrustEducational Innovations Conference, held

in Madurai, in December, 2005.

Can people who are blind from birthsee dreams in colour ?

Do animals feel they have brothersand sisters ? If they do not havethem, how do they take care of eachother in difficult times ?Questions shared by Akhtar Mehdi Rizvi, aprimary school teacher from Rajasthan.



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Privileged to help

This is Sapana Gupta. I am placed in Mumbaicurrently, where I work in marketing field. Ihappened to come in touch with SRISTI, when Iwas doing my MBA, and was reintroduced toHoney Bee and its purpose lately in a newspaperarticle. I think it is a commendable initiative and ifI could help/volunteer in any manner, I will behighly obliged.

I work with a company called eBay (Baazee.com).The company is involved in facilitating onlinetrading. I think some of the products that areavailable for licensing (hair oil, umbrella etc) havea good potential in retail market. The makers ofsuch products can themselves list their productson eBay.

(You can certainly volunteer, rather you are mostkeenly invited to help. Our innovators certainlydeserve you. Why not make an ecommerce platformfor SRISTI and NIF or may be develop businessstrategies marketing some of the innovationsabroad. Ed.)

Enquiry about herbal mosquito [email protected]

I read on p.15 of the September issue of Honeybeeabout two girls investigating plants used for JAGin Assam and then developing a mosquito repellant.I would like to get more complete informationabout the plants and so on.

Please send me the or give me a contact [ e-mail,tel address] for further contact.

(Your interest in the work of two of our youngawardees, Leena Talukdar and Sushanta Mahantais heartening. They were aware of the practice ofburning plants in JAG, and decided to investigatethe properties of the plants which used in JAG, tounderstand their usefulness. They conductedexperiments to investigate the mosquito repellantproperties of the different plants. They concludedthat Flemigia strobillifera plant is very effective inrepelling mosquitoes and is comparable to therepellents that are currently sold in the market.Their address is Leena Talukdar and SushantaMahanta, C/o Mr. Munin Mahanta Rajagaon, WardNo. 4, Morigaon - 782 105, Assam. Ed.)

Information on GrassrootsInnovation and TraditionalKnowledge

D. P. [email protected]

I read an article in Divya Bhaskar, aboutsome traditional menus which willbe shown during the presentation tobe held on 10-11th of December. Inthe article it is also mentioned thatknowledge about some 10000innovations can be found on internet/computer. I shall appreciate if youcould just let me know some link ofthe site.

(You can find the necessary informationat the site www.sristi.org/wsa. You willhave access not only to grassrootsinnovation from around the country,but also traditional knowledgepractices. You can also visit the sitenifindia.org. Ed)

Idea for company byinnovators

Rinsy [email protected]

I am quite amazed and thrilled withyour efforts to move the rural India.I am a finance professional with about9 years experience especially incommodities markets and wants toget into farming as a profession incouple of years. I am a strong believerthat no professions can be as satisfyingas farming. I am trying to accumulateenough capital for this venture.

I have an idea on handling the IPRissues related to the inventions andinnovations of rural India. We canform of a company that can registerall the patents in its name wherein theequity holders (in proportion to thevalue of the patent) will be original innovators. This company can alsoget into production in association withbulk manufacturers.

(I like your idea a great deal. Such acompany makes eminent sense. Pleasehelp us put together this company.

Thanks again for writing to us. Pleasevisit our websites and tell us how itcan be taken forward.Ed.)

Interested in Check Dam

[email protected]

I came across an article in Rediff Ithappens in India: “Meet India’srustic Knowledge providers” - by AartiMenon Carroll - December 17, 2005.I am interested in the innovation doneby Mr. Bhanjibhai Mathukiya aboutthe check dam that contains waterby the strength of the dam. At present,we are trying to build up our levees(dams) to protect the city from theravages of hurricanes. I think theycan use the technology that was usedby the Morarka Foundation at Siapuriin Rajasthan. I will apprecite it if youcould get me in touch with some oneat the Morarka Foundation.

(What an irony! Morarka invited Bhanjbhai to develop this dam , not the otherway round. Bhanjibhai, a fourth classdrop out, did what came to him best-innovate. His extension of principleof arches used in a railway bridge, intotally unrelated context became thebasis of his innovation. Will it not bewonderful, if his technologicalinnovation helps you in saving yourshores from hurricane.

Interaction with Honey BeeNetwork

Vivek [email protected]

I’m working with the organizationnamed Honeywell TechnologySolutions Lab (HTSL) at Madurai(Tamil Nadu). We are the Indian armof Honeywell Inc US. We regularlyinvite people from variousorganizations either in or aroundMadurai to share with us some of theirlearnings & experiences. During thesame session some of the folks fromwithin HTSL also share key learningsfrom the work they are doing.

I was wondering whether there areany individuals or organizations that

Dialogue

20



23

work with the Honeybee network/GIAN either inor around Madurai and if yes maybe we at Honeywellcould invite them to talk about the Honeybeenetwork, it’s activities. Also if there are anyindividual innovators that have been successfulcontributors/participants in the Honeybe networkwe’d love to have them visit us too.

(In fact the current coordinator of Honey Bee Networkis situated in Madurai. You can contact Vivekanandat seva madurai and also seek his help to invitesome of the innovators from nearby region. Theinnovators will also love to meet the technologicalminds of your company and may be the interactionwill be mutually useful.Ed.)

Volunteer for NIF

I volunteered for NIF early this year. I thought Iwill get in touch with you because I wish to getinvolved in the activities and deliver some usefulresults, which will keep me motivated. Also therewere a few people, mostly business schoolgraduates in US and some IT professionals in India,who were interested in contributing to NIF’sinitiatives after I had interacted with them duringmy business development activities. It would begood we could bring in volunteers from variouslocations and backgrounds to help us.

(I will be very happy to draw upon your spirit andtime and skills and social network and capital.Please let me know specific tasks in the businessvalue chain which you and your colleague can helpus in and we will start with the specific tasks. Ed.)

Interested in Loksarvani

Ashwinbhai R AjudiaJamkandorana (Gokuldam), District Rajkot.

I came across Loksarvani while travelling in abus. I read the magazine and for the last oneyear have been regular reader. I am a schoolprincipal in Dudhivadar taluka and during vacationI also interact with farmers and encourage themto read Loksarvani. Farmers have tried out manyof these practices in their fields and the resultshave been good. After all building a new roadtakes time. We have now formed a group offarmers who read Loksarvani and share thepractises and use them ontheir farms. I aminterested in promoting organic farming andvolunteering for SRISTI.

(I am very greatful that you have understood thevalue of Loksarvani and SRISTI and your letter isvery encouraging. Please give us the names andaddresses of the farmers who are experimenting with

practices published in Loksarvani intheir farms and the results of theseexperiments. Ed.)

Problem with innovation

I am a mango farmer who read aboutMr. Zafar Ahmed's idea of shaking thebranches of the mango tree to rid themof larvae. The mango hopper is a flyingpest which cannot be prevented fromreaching the branches again after it is

21

shaken off. Secondly, considering thesize of the mango tree, the suggestionseems impractical. Such ideas canmisinform and misdirect the readers.

(The farmer has suggested that thelarvae be shaken off when they areblack. The suggestion is technicallyright, although the labour involvedwill be enormous. Thenk you forsharing your thoughts with us andplease continue to do so. Ed)

A problem in search of a solution

PK TiwariManager, MCID - Bihar Regional Office, NABARD, [email protected]

There is a need for an innovation to reduce drudgery during the processingof Makhana. Makhana is a dry fruit widely used in North India, duringreligious fasting. It is found in Madhubani, Darbhanga, Purnea, Supauland Sitamarhi districts of Bihar.

The whole process right from planting the seeds to harvesting and finalroasting and splitting is highly labor intensive not at all economical in termsof man hours spent vis a vis output obtained. The harvesting is donemanually by fishermen, who dive under water and take out the seeds.Many of the fishermen get addicted to alcohol, to counter the intense cold.The roasting and splitting of Makhana seeds is very tedious and backbreaking work . The hot seeds are placed on a platter for splitting, forhours together, which damages the left palm of the worker. The wholeprocess, right from planting to roasting, needs to be re-engineered to notonly bring relief to the workers but also increase productivity.

(We request all our readers to ponder over this problem. Your ideas can becritical in alleviating the drudgery of many workers.Ed.)

Response to ‘A problem in search of a solution’, published indialogue column HB 16 (2).

P P JoshiLata Kung Building, Block No. 1, Near Zaobawadi Muni Garden,Thakurdwar, Mumbai 400002

P Vichare, of Ratnagiri desires to have a solution for repairing a roof ofRCC to make it water proof. Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) may beavailable in Ratnagiri area. Paint based on CNSL are used for painting thewooden surfaces of fishermen’s boats. A phenolic paint made from CNSLis water proof. Another method is the use of black coal tar mixed with tenper cent of old used motor car or cycle rubber tubes. The rubber in thetubes not only makes it water proof, but also crack resistant. Kindly sendmy letter to him and request him to write to me about the outcome. Anotherpaint material is Bhilawan Nut shell Liquid, which is used in making indelibleink. I would also like to know if any ne is interested in developing woodcharcoal gas from wild Acasia ferniciana. The wild acacia trees grow nearthe sea coast.

(We thank Mr. Joshi for sharing this solution with us and hope it would beuseful to Mr. Vichare.Ed.)

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October-December 2005