Meet these local innovators who in a brief span of three years became Master Trainers on Natural Farming. Not only they introduced millet cultivation in their fields, but also promoted consumption of a range of millets by creating new recipes.
The women of Himachal Pradesh, having small lands (as terraces), cultivate a series of crops and crop-combinations suitable for their local ecosystem. Generally following the traditional combinations, they are now entering rows of millets in the regular crops. Until a couple of years ago, they knew only Ragi/ Koda/ Kodra (Finger Millet, Eleusine coracana) – locally also named as ‘Mandal’. They have now started cultivation of Kangni/ Kauni/ Saunk (Foxtail Millet, Setalica italia), Barnyard Millet/ Sanwa (Echinochloa esculenta) and Little Millet/ Kutki (Panicum sumatrense).
These women have been practising agriculture for several years in the relatively small fields they own, and have consciously shifted to natural farming in the recent years. Now they are master agriculturists already well-aware and caring for biodiversity in their farms, experimenting and building new knowledge and confidently sharing it during the millet events and in the network meetings. Promotion is largely through spreading the word in the HimRRA Network, the Himachal chapter of the RRA_Network [https://www.rainfedindia.org].
Inspiring innovators
Bimla Devi of Chawari village in Mandi district owns only one Bigha land [or one fifth of an acre] but grows a range of crops. Presently, in kharif, she is growing maize, soybean, brinjal, marigold, okra, green chilli, ginger, cucumber, bitter gourd, colocasia (arbi), sunflower, lemon-grass, withania (ashwagandha), turmeric to primarily meet her domestic requirements. She has added 3 millet crops viz. ragi, kangni, and sanwa since last 4 years. “I sow seeds of the millets in lines now as it saves seeds and also makes weeding much easier”, she said. Now as a Master Trainer on natural farming, she has been invited to provide training on millet cultivation and millet recipes to Pashu Sakhis and Krishi Sakhis. She has been maintaining old seeds since 2013 – mainly of paddy and barley; has five varieties of paddy. “Department has purchased 5 quintals of ragi seeds from me for distribution, and 20 kg kangani (foxtail millet)”, she told.
Self-trained in millet preparations, now she prepares several items from millets (ragi–idli, ragi-dosa, kheer of ‘nanga jaun’ (‘naked barley’), popped jowar (sorghum). She trains others in the preparation of ragi and bajra khichdi, ragi-dalia, ragi-soup, ragi-laddu (sweet balls), jaun–laddu (sweet barley balls). She narrated “I prepare millet-tea and it is much in demand in all my trainings; at my house also I use millet preparations for children. In addition, i have also tried ragi-halwa, ragi-papad, bajra-laddu, (sweet balls made from pearl millet), jowar (sorghum) popcorn. This time we also prepared millet-chat (a sour and salty snack)”. She was offered a stall in a fair (Shivratri Mela in Feb., 2023) under the state sponsored ATMA project where she prepared ragi-chapati, ‘sabut jaun ke laddu’ (barley balls), ‘jowar ke laddu’ (sorghum balls) and ‘kangni ke laddu’ (sweet balls made from foxtail millet).
Kala Devi of Katheo village in Mandi district has 4 Bigha of terraced agricultural land. With apple as the main crop, presently she grows crops like beans, red rice, maize (sathu-makki), horse gram, pomegranate, jowar, soybean, a local pulse ‘bharath’ (looks like cow-peas), and a creeper ‘jhumru’. She has planned to add pear (nashpati) too. Conscious about the benefits of millets, she has started cultivation of ragi, kangni, cheena, seunk, kutki (Little Millet) and ramdana (amaranthus). “Earlier we used to grow peas only, and have added beans for nitrogen fixation. In the last 3-4 years, we have started cultivating millets as well.”, says Kala Devi.
Having received training on seeds from the Seed Group of RRA_N in 2021, she has put up a Bio-Diversity Block [BDB] in her land with the purpose to identify the particular seed variety that grows better in local ecosystem.
She has improvised recipes of the ones already locally prevalent. Now she has developed new ones with ragi or kangni flour. “I prepared a dosa-like item using ragi flour – what we locally call as ‘chilrha’ in our language. With lassi and kodra flour we prepare another item ‘khobru’ – a hot drink”, says Kala Devi.
Reena Devi of Panela village in Chamba district never cultivated millets except ragi. Three years ago she started growing kangni, kutki, and a special variety of red rice termed as sukhara dhan [more suitable for rainfed conditions]. She presently cultivates horse gram, amaranthus [ramdana / seoul / cholai / bithu], and sesame (til). She is now following mixed farming with diverse crops. She has provided ghanjeevamrit to others in the SHG formed by her own efforts. She trains others in millet cultivation. Reena Devi expressed “Maize has been our main crop and it is grown with kidney beans (Rajmash, a nitrogen fixing legume). Now, we have added ragi, kangni and kutki in line-sowing”.
She introduced hot millet beverage [‘millet tea’] for those who visited her stall Chamba Minjar Mela held in July 2023. This is the first time in the history of the Mela, that such a tea was offered. In the Dharamshala ‘Millet Food Festival’, she has, for the first time, popularised a traditional ragi item – locally termed as ‘pindri’ in Chamba district.
Veena Devi of Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra district is presently growing turmeric, ginger, okra, soyabean, brinjal, green chilli, capsicum (‘shimla mirch’), bottle gourd, bitter gourd, cucumber, strawberry and black pepper as well – testifying mixed and diverse farming. She explained “We have now added horse gram in the maize fields for nitrogen benefits; we are growing kodra for the last 3 years, kangni for the last 2 years. I have started cultivating cheena also. We grow kangni on bunds of these crops. We have also planted apple and mango saplings on outer bunds”. She has 10 kanal (one acre) land.
For the consumption of millets, she has innovatively prepared ‘kangni ki kheer’ and ‘cholai ki lassi’ besides ragi-idli, kangni-pulao (kangni cooked with few vegetables), ragi-babru (chapati like, made after fermentation of flour) and ragi-halwa (sweet dish). In her own Self Help Group, she recommends addition of sorghum, black wheat and ragi in the wheat flour for daily use and prepares ‘ragi tea’ in earthen pots only.
Meena Devi of Ustehr village in Kangra district has one bigha land. In 2016 she started natural farming and in 2018 started growing ragi. Presently she grows millets and several vegetables. She expressed that “by turning to natural farming, our soil became more black and also soft; also, there was less attack of insects” as she used sour lassi besides jeevamrit and ghanjeevamrit. As a mark of diversity with millets, she is presently growing bottle gourd, pumpkin, bitter gourd, ginger, turmeric, maize, lobia (cowpea), taro, colocasia, okra, brinjal, chilly, cucumber and kaakdi (a typical local variety of cucumber) besides the millets viz. ragi, little millet and kangni in her total one bigha land.
Within one year of growing ragi, she formed a group of 12 women and started promoting ragi. Meena narrated “ragi was becoming available but the children in the families did not like the blackish colour compared to wheat chapati, so I first learnt how to prepare recipes from it, and then created the so-called fast-food like items but with ragi flour. Later I tried with kangni as well. Some of the recipes came up very well. We also started training others in the group”. She prepared ragi-idli, ragi-cake, ragi-childa (with vegetables), ragi-siddu, ragi-momo, and ragi-bhabru. “We tried new recipes and prepared chapati from ragi with arbi preparation. This was same as the popular bherhuan roti [filled chapati] in our region, but made using ragi”.
Further, she prepares a sweet dish (kheer) using kangni. She has trained her group members also to prepare ‘khichdi’ and ‘idli’ using kangni. Just as a hot drink (‘millet tea’) made popular by her, she tried on her own and innovatively prepared a cold drink using kangni and termed it as ‘kangni-thandai’ locally also termed as ‘redu’ or ’jhol’.
Conclusion
These women in Himachal Pradesh have a fair and practical understanding of agricultural biodiversity which is a prerequisite for transition to agroecology. Their approach to raising the consumption of millets through new but locally relevant recipes has the twin benefits – improving health of family-members and their own empowerment as well. Including millet crops is fundamental to help increase climate resilience. They have shown how to produce more and diverse food while nurturing the ecosystem. These are fit cases where the transition towards natural farming and agroecology is building their confidence and strengthening the womenfolk. Building and sharing of knowledge through HimRRA Network through different media (especially WhatsApp) enables further spread of agroecology and natural farming. Whether this also brings about gender equality is a matter of research, but their control over farming and their independent decisions in the day-to-day farming activities are the new dimensions visible on the ground.
Acknowledgements
HimRRA network and teams; RRA_N [Revitalizing Rainfed Agriculture Network, Hyderabad] and it’s state and theme groups, Chhavi Bathla, Bhuvnesh, the respondents and their families.
K. Sadana
Formerly Scientist at ICAR-NBAGR, Karnal-132 001 (Haryana)
E-mail: sadana.dk@gmail.com
Sukhdev Vishwapremi and Anoop Kumar
HimRRA Network, RTDC, Vill. & P.O. Kamlehar – 176 061 Kangra (HP)
