Navdanya Seed Bank, Dehradun

Jan. 10.  Navdanya Farm & Dr. Vandana Shiva Center 

 The last of the Projects on the Gandi Legacy Tour. 

History: All farming in India was organic long ago. Then The English came, removed trees, planted products for export, and introduced dwarf varieties. Indians lost heat when trees were cut, grain varieties were reduced, damaging soil, dwarf varieties reduced fodder for cows and soil amendments. 

Navdanya is an organic farm started by Dr. Shiva. When she first acquired The land it was barren and full of chemicals. Over time, thanks to Monsanto, the farmers growing grains in this region became dependent on The GMO seeds that Monsanto sold to them. About 10% of these farmers ended up killing themselves because their debt became too high and they lost their farms.  Also the diversity of grain strains shrunk from 20,000 types to dozens which is very bad for the environment and people's health.

Over the course of about 20 years, Dr. Shiva has converted her 45 acres into a lush, organic farm with a Mango plantation, a seed bank, instruction to the farmers, and more. They check the soil regularly to be sure it is still living, fertilize with worms and other compost they create themselves, have a pollinator study, she presents at international conferences. The created a way to save water since they don't get it frequently enough, and the water tests come out PURE. 

I loved it here, naturally.

The drying room. Storage too.

Making worms for compost and healthy living soil.

Arun making friends with the work animals.

She is eliminating any seeds that have a bug or worm hole. They only save the best for planting.

They served us a fully organic lunch. It was the first time we could eat salad. These mustard greens with ghee were delicious!

Water is stored below here.