Organic magic at Bharwa Katal in Tehri Garhwal with SARG....

Organic magic at Bharwa Katal in Tehri Garhwal with SARG....

Exactly a week ago my lazy Sunday was transformed into a magical journey to the world of organic farming thanks to Ms.Binita Shah of SARG.
Organic farming and organic products are the buzz words for healthy living in modern times and are being propagated as an alternative to indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides.
They emphasize on use of organic fertilizers like compost along with other methods like crop rotation , mixed cropping, biological pest control etc.
Three years ago the National Rural Livelihoods Mission designed the Mahila Kisan Shashaktikaran Pariyojana to enhance the productive participation of women in agriculture and create sustainable agricultural livelihood opportunities for women in agriculture. The program was designed in a manner to improve the skills of the women in management of Agriculture and recognize them as farmers. The country has more than 35 lakh women farmers including the 5 lakh women farmers in Maharashtra.
Adapting organic farming by farmers was the next logical step and NRLM has taken this bold step of creating over 1600 organic clusters.
Maharashtra will also be developing over 200 organic clusters. For this purpose it has identified technical agencies who will support the SHG women in following organic agricultural practices and get registered as organic clusters.
SARG with its branch at Dehradun is one of the technical support agencies. Ms.Binita Shah, its founder knew I was undergoing training in LBSNAA at Mussorie and had been regularly checking on when I could possibly visit one of the villages which they had adopted to undertake organic farming.
Seeing is believing and so sacrificing a trek with my colleagues and friends from LBSNAA to Nag Tibba and lunch at the Goat Village I set out out to Bharwa Katal, a quaint village in Tehri Garhwal.
The drive leading us to the village in the valley was splendid. The village was wondrous and a treat to the eyes with all its greenery. On way I also got the opportunity to see a "Gharat" a traditional water mill quite popular in this terrain. It was a learning to see the hydro energy being harnessed for running a flour mill. Winding our way through the picturesque mountains we reached Bharwa Katal and walked down to the village.
Trudging along the path , Mayank, the practitioner from SARG supporting organic farming in the village explained the various activities undertaken by the villagers. They showed me the compost pit designed with features which enabled multi-purpose support from making vermi compost, liquid compost etc which was long lasting and economical.
The potato plants, the wheat , the vegetables plants were lush green and soothing to the eyes.
Walking through the fields we reached the community centre where a group of women waited for intecating with us.
Sunita Negi , a villager and member of the PKVY team of SARG village committee was an epitome of confidence and joy. She was extremely forthcoming in sharing her views that initially they were very unsure and unhappy about adapting to organic farming. It was only due to the persistence and support from SARG they understood the value of organic farming. They were also happy to receive training from HESCO, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization through Department of Science and Technology under the Development of Integrated Model Village in Uttarakhand. They were now fully satisfied that they had switched over to organic farming as it had improved their own health. The village had eighteen houses, all of whom had adapted organic farming techniques and were very happy. Other ladies Sulochana Negi, Seema, Chamni and Sunita seconded her views.
Sunita Negi was particularly vocal about the efforts being made by the government to improve life in the villages. She was particularly joyful about the facilities for voting given to women voters. The support from JICA was also acknowledged. A young girl Sunita had taken to stitching and was earning well due to her skills in stitching.
As with women in MSRLM , I had an interaction with them on various schemes of financial inclusion like the PMBSY, PMJJY, APY etc and told them about the importance of insurance and other government schemes. The women and the community were getting support of Agriculture and other departments. They had even set up a poly house with the support of Agriculture Department.
SARG had also set up a weekly organic market on wednesdays at Dehradun where it was possible for producers to come and market their organic produce. The women of Bharwa Katal had been going there to sell their vegetables and produce. Looking at the variety of mouthwatering pickles, Ms Binita offered to have a table set up to sell pickles also.
The weekly organic market also had a organic cafe as well as a stage for performances.
There was nothing different between the women of Bharwa Katal and Maharashtra. Both were raring to go. The women in the hills had a tougher life maybe braving the cold.
Maharashtra had it's own issues with vagaries in nature. Yet what came through was the contentment, the desire of the women to have a goal and achieve it.
In Maharashtra or elsewhere , women had become an inseparable part of the economy especially in agriculture. Mainstreaming them into the whole gamut of Agriculture giving them specific rights including the right to ownernship of lands was one way forward. Involving them in organic farming , leading them to a healthy life was another way.
Lord Buddha has rightly said, " To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." What could be a better way to health than eating organic or residue -free food?