Guwahati: A training cum exposure visit for the human-elephant conflict (HEC)-affected women of Badlapara village in Udalguri district was arranged at Pabhoi Greens at Biswanath Chariali of Assam. The initiative aimed to instil a deeper understanding of how to establish and manage a homestead garden and nursery among the women.
These women reportedly never got a chance to come out of their villages. And they were encouraged to step out for the first time. Recently, the women of the village had the opportunity to interact with the entrepreneur and owner of Pabhoi Greens, Neelam Dutta. He received the Assam Gaurav Award in 2023 and is an excellent example of entrepreneurship in this field.
Homestead gardens are an effective means for the conservation of forests and biodiversity. They make significant contributions to increasing forest cover As well as decreasing forest dependency and sustaining livelihoods.
This initiative was part of Aaranyak’s ongoing project “Community-based integrated approach to facilitate Human Elephant Coexistence and Biodiversity Conservation” in the Udalguri District, Assam. It has been conducted under the aegis of UNDP-GEF Small Grant Programme and Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt. of India Implemented by TERI.
The women were happily surprised to see the varieties of tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, eggplants, lettuces, and herbs among other vegetables. They were introduced to concepts which were new to them such as Zero tillage farming, Paddy cum Fish cultivation, Tissue culture, Seed conservation methods and panchagavya, jivamrit, cow urine and neem-based biopesticides. They also learnt about several steps involved in the collection, preservation and packaging of seeds. Fisheries farming, paddy cum fish cultivation and vermicompost preparation were some other topics they learned about.
Neelam Dutta is a well-known name when it comes to sustainable agriculture in Northeast India. Apart from creating livelihood for a large number of villagers, he has also worked towards sustainable agriculture in several locations across Northeast India. Neelam Dutta is also an exponent of organic farming and works towards seed sovereignty.
