The Revival - Nashik

The Revival

A farmer’s training was in progress in the rural areas of Nashik district, Nifad village Maharashtra; conducted by a trained teacher from the Art of living, Agriculture Trust. Before teaching them techniques of switching from chemical to organic or Sri Sri natural farming, the teacher was subtly working on their mindset. “There are seven layers of existence for all beings, including plants Body, Breath, Mind, Intellect, Memory, Ego, Self/Soul.”

     “So the seven layers of existence need to be balanced to achieve happiness & health in life. Breath is the main source of prana. When prana is high, the state of well being is maintained.” The farmers were then initiated into Sudarshan Kriya, the powerful rhythmic  breathing technique that harmonizes body, mind & all the layers of existence. It was delightful to experience the positive change in their attitude & the elevated energy of the group.

      Many of them were prosperous grape farmers. This is a cash crop with high yields. They have forgotten that grapes can be grown without turning them carcinogenic through a plethora of chemicals. They first had to be shown a mirror of what they were doing. We encouraged them to start a change from a small patch of their land & assured them of support, both from the trainers in advice; biomaterials & training from the Art of Living Agriculture trust, Sri Sri Kissan Manch & Taru Naturals.

     Ruchi & I from Taru Naturals who are also  Art of Living agriculture teachers, were called to talk about the marketing angle. Ruchi assured them that already a market for organic produce is created in metro cities and she along with other interested parties would be available for marketing support.

        We explained how we are striving to build self-sufficiency across the value chain ecosystem for farm produce, Value added products and Market Linkages, to safeguard rural livelihoods and help to increase small-scale farmer’s income.        

              The location was an Ashram and an Ashram Shala (school) between river and grape fields. Local rice, chapatti, vegetables, dal or val beans was cooked on wood fire. Evenings were rounded off with Aarti. Then we were driven to the nearby village of Ugaon, to stay with a large family in a house. Their hospitality was the warmest I have ever come across. The children were assigned to take us around the clean and prosperous village. The young family boys run a provision store. The village had several well stocked medical stores. The chemist was an educated pharmacist but had to cater to the village requirements.

             Due to this, the store showed a sad loss of traditional food and medicines. These were replaced by processed foods & baby foods like Nestle, packeted junk foods and all the modern trappings. “What has happened to the simple Ragi, unpolished rice or rava kanji that used to suffice for baby cereals” I asked him. He agreed that instead of weaning children on simple khichdi, soaked chapattis, puffed rice or bananas; Cerelac and unhealthy biscuits have edged out these wholesome foods.

          The family has a Gau-shala (cattle shed) of Desi (Indian cows) a rare bonus but the youngsters drink tea and coffee and not milk even though this rare and healthy milk is available.

                Hopefully as more and more of these villagers are learning Sudharshan kriya and getting organic awareness through Sri Sri Kisan Manch & Art of Living agriculture trainers, these habits may revert to wholesome traditions. Youth Leadership Training Program(YLTP)** courses are being conducted on a large scale by AOL teachers in rural areas across India & Maharashtra.

   There are many temples here & also a Jain temple, Gurudwara & masjid. We join the ladies and children for evening Aarti at the nearby Ram mandir and then walk to an ancient Hanuman temple. The high devotional energy there, benevolently surrounds us.

     We see many old houses in the village streets, with ancient ornate grills. There was an old mud house like a narrow cave going far back. They would plaster fresh clay or cow-dung annually. Happily some things don’t change.

      The dinner was very traditional. Jowar Bhakri, ghee from the Desi cow, Vangi (Brinjal) bhaji and sprouted Val (flat beans) from their farm and homemade Kulthi dal noodles-a rare delicacy which is mostly made for special occasions. Kulthy dal is ground & kneaded into dough. Flattish noodles are shaped by hand then boiled and removed from water.  Ghee and a chunk of fried spices and onion is poured over. It was delicious!

             Next afternoon we managed a visit to Aaji’s farm. Aaji is an enterprising old Maharashtrian lady who has maintained her organic and traditional farming methods right from the beginning despite severe difficulties.(For Aajji’s story &  picture go to - https://www.tarunaturals.com/farmers) We were shown the difference in the soil which was black loose and fertile due to natural mulching. There was the water harvesting pit with two sweet Tamarind trees, beside the Neem, Ak (Calatropis), Nirgundi and other natural habitat plants. While her daughter in law who had also been attending the training got busy plucking mangoes, brinjal and other vegetables for us,  her sons collected sweet tamarind and presented it to us. All this and a bag of Chana and mustard and then she refused to take money. There are no boundaries to the large hearts these people have (thankfully I had gifted some things to her children).

  On the way back we noticed that many grape plantations were not mulched. In some, dry vegetation and some green undergrowth was allowed to flourish for cooling and moistness. Rupesh from Satwik organics in Nasik, explained that it had not been previously so. Now in most of the largest vineyards, the vines were bare, the soil around cleared of any vegetation. Ideally the vines should be low and short to yield better quality but in many vine yards the network was of a man’s height. This also impoverishes the soil and brings down the water table. More water has to be used and more chemical sprays.

    We suggested that natural habitat plants should be allowed to go on borders which was not the case with chemically grown vine yards. Trees like Neem, Nirgundi, Tamarind, Babool, Laxmi Taru etc are nutrient fixers, maintain water table without needing watering and are natural pest preventers, cooling agents and their leaves can be boiled and sprayed for pest prevention or control. Also mulching with these leaves gives all this benefit just by scattering around
  The Farmers training teaches natural ways to control pests. The desi cow is a necessity for fertilizing & integrated pest management. Practically, the group is taught how to prepare Beejamrut, Jeevamrut, Brahmastra, Neemastra, & also a method known as Sapt Parni- a concoction of seven different plant leaves.*(refer to footnote) This is called zero budget natural farming. We reminded the group about how since vedic times the desi cow has always been worshipped more for its dung & urine. The devi Laxmi sits in the dung & lord Dhanvantari in the urine. Forgetting their tradition the farmers fall into the debt trap of chemical farming.

The next day we visited Tapovan in Nashik  from where Rupesh had been fortunate in procuring drumsticks leaves from fallen or trimmed branches. He showed us the tree growing over a Maha yogis hut.  These leaves were different from the leaves in home garden. They had a delicious flowery fragrance and even raw ones tasted good. Cooking them gave out a lovely aroma and taste. People in the city had ordered them so he packed them in cardboard boxes to sell. Rupesh himself had been drying them naturally. I later  spread out mine in a room, dried it for 2 days, then wrapped it in a cotton towel or a pure cotton or khadi pillow cover or bag and put it in a refrigerator. It stayed for a month. For many others the leaves spoiled.

        To make these precious gifts of Nature available to the urban sector the farmers or procurers need to be trained in natural drying, storing or packaging techniques and also the facility to point out information in packaging. The trainees in cities should be sent to villages as a short, compulsory program to impart necessary techniques (which learning they otherwise waste) and also learn from them in return.

We also visited a desi Gau-shala, having a mix of Gir and other breed of Indian cows sitting around in a open ground dotted with trees. A huge Kadamb tree blooming with flowers graces the gau-shala. The milk we bought tasted divine. The Indian cow is the true mother, her milk having A2 vitamin the same as mother’s milk. I once pre-ordered Indian cow milk from a small rural outlet. They had a sick child but they habitually mixed together the Holstein and other mixed breed cow’s milk with Desi cow’s milk for everybody and themselves. I hope, after I took a lot of pains to explain the difference to them, they will be giving the child pure, unmixed, Indian cow milk only and the undernourished child will now be healthy.

   On the way back to Mumbai we deviated to Triambakeshwar, 1 of the 12 Jyotirlings. There are deep forests there abounding in rare medicinal and healing plants. Its a blessing that these areas cannot be commercialized due to being sacred and protected. The tribals and local sell some ayurvedic herbs as small time hawkers which they forage from the jungles. A rare herb is the twig of the Ratanjyot tree(not Jathropha ) to be dipped in water and applied like a kajal stick in the eyes. My 60 year old friend removed her spectacles by applying regularly, the stick I gave her.

  In all these visits I have gathered that there is a pressing need for greater interaction between urban education and rural sectors. It is required to document the knowledge of natural plants, not to rampage them from source but to grow them commercially or save the weeds in the fields & sell them. Yes, a lot is being done but the  so called ‘Green revolution‘ unloaded on us by the Western world and vested interests is creating havoc with our environment and the farmers. Now these same sectors crave poison free food but the farmers are dependent on the vicious cycle of chemical farming. For them to get back to natural traditional methods a tidal wave of awareness and support needs to come in from the urban and other sectors.

Footnotes

Process-Dashparini ark method

To spray per acre 

200 litres water+6-10 litres Agniastra

200 litres water +20 litres Indian cow’s urine + 2kg fresh Indian cow dung+200 g Haldi powder + 500 g Adrakachi chutney.

Method-Mix it well , cover and keep overnight

2^nd morning add to the mixture 10 g Hing powder+1 kg tobacco powder+1 kg green chilly chutney+ 500 g Gavrani garlic chutney cover again. Put in some sack and keep overnight.

3^rd morning-mix again, add 2 kg Neem chutney(leaves and stems)+2 kg Karanj (pongamia)leaves+ 2 kg Custard apple leaves+2 kg  Dhotyachi leaves+2 kg castor plant leaves+2 kg Bel (Bilwa) leaves and flowers+ 2 kg Tulsi leaves with seed flower Manjiri+2 kg Gavran (wild?) papaya leaves+2 kg mango leaves+2 kg Gudwel(Giloy stem)+2 kg Richeki leaves+2 kg Kanheri leaves+2 kg Bawachi stem+2 kg torat leaves+2 kg Aghad leaves+2 kg Shevga leaves+2 kg kambarmodi+2 kg hibiscus+2 kg pomeogranate leaves+2 kg harali greens.

Necessary any 10 plant leaves but first 5 plants are necessary.Mix all leaves and keep for 40 days.Mix once everyday tie cloth on top.After 40 days remove cloth and keep in the shade.use for 1 month.

200 litres water + 6-10 litres Dash parani ark.

Alternate with 200 litre +20 litres Jivamrut.

**Art of Living YLTP courses

The Art of Living’s role is to become a driver of change by helping communities to shift their mindset from a ‘want state’ to becoming the ‘drivers of change’ themselves. We do this through our capacity building workshops, awareness campaigns, resource-building exercises and by offering technical expertise to help communities become independent and empowered.

The YLTP focuses on personal development and communication skills. Through stress-reducing breathing techniques, individuals find inner peace and communities to come together in a spirit of service. Participants are inspired to volunteer for rural projects. The fruits of the seeds sown in these sessions are experienced by the community as a whole.

Reference- https://www.artofliving.org/youth-leadership-training-program