SHILLONG, March 29: As many as 10 communities from East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi and Garo Hills regions shared their knowledge of respective indigenous food systems and traditional crops and exchanged seeds as an initiative to preserve, conserve and propagate the crops in their respective communities.
This materialised at the Community Seed Bank Exchange Visit organised by the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) in partnership with Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE) and Social Service Centre (SSC), which was graciously hosted by Mulum community, West Jaintia Hills, on Tuesday.
The event was part of NESFAS’s project titled ‘Empowering Indigenous Communities through Agroecology Learning Circles (ALCs) for resilient, integrated and innovative natural resource management”, supported by MBMA and funded by the World Bank. It saw the participation of farmers, seed keepers, who are ALC members of the project.
The main objectives of the programme were to build a strong network between the different community seed banks from Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi and Garo Hills, and facilitate exchange of knowledge regarding indigenous crops, seed savings and seed propagation.
It also focused on seeds between the communities with the goal to protect, elevate and safeguard all the indigenous seeds in the community.
During the event, members from each community shared their experiences in the preservation of seeds and the importance and vitality of the same.
In his welcome address, HH Mohrrmen, Chairperson of NESFAS, stressed on the importance and true meaning of culture in people’s lives.
A school teacher-cum-ALC farmer from Laitsohpliah, Nestar Kharmawphlang, discussed with the attendees the way seed exchange has shaped cultures over the years and developed the heritage of the ancient people.
The seed exchange programme helped the attendees see a whole new variety of seeds in contrast to the seeds they see only within their areas. The participants were also educated on new systems of farming.
Ambious Umsong, a custodian farmer from Khapmaw, outlined some very pertinent points in her speech. She stressed on the fact that most olden methods of farming and seed conservation are going extinct. “Through events like this, farmers will be inspired to plant more local food plants for sale and also be able to simultaneously protect these seeds from further extinction and damage,” she remarked.
Later, there was an exchange of seeds between community members as well as a display by the 10 communities.
Pius Ranee, a social worker at NESFAS, discussed the importance of preservation and protection of the local knowledge so as to prosper and uphold traditional richness and culture. “I want all farmers to prosper further more and to be skillful in order to bring this policy forward and that the government will look more into strengthening traditional farming,” he opined.
During the concluding portion of the programme, Arwanki Mawlong, Knowledge Manager of the CLLMP Project under MBMA, said the main idea was to promote the ecosystem and have sustainability of resources. “People can make use of the resources from the environment, and through the process, simultaneously reinforce traditional ideas for the future generations,” he said.