Honey Bee Regional Newsletter - SRISTI1)_January-March 2009.pdf · Sahay, Shalini Sharma Graphics...

Honey Bee Vol 20(1) January - March 2009

2 A Dialogue on People’s Creativity, Experimentation & Innovation

Contents

EditorAnil K Gupta

Editorial AdvisersRiya Sinha, Vijaya Sherry Chand

Associate EditorsAnamika Dey, Meghal Choksi

Editorial Support TeamKirit K Patel, Jyoti Capoor, Hema Patel, Ramesh Patel,Mahesh Patel, Deepa Tripathi, Vipin Kumar, Nitin Maurya,Vivek Kumar, Rakesh Kumar Maheshwari, Ravikumar, NirmalSahay, Shalini Sharma

Graphics and DesignUnnikrishnan, Shailendra Goraiya

Cover DesignPravin Mishra

IllustrationPalash Graphics

Administrative TeamR P S Yadav, R Baskaran, Bhoomi Shah, Sumitra Patel, DakshaMakwana, Devshi Desai, Sonali Barma

Editorial AddressHoney Bee, C/o Prof Anil K GuptaIndian Institute of ManagementVastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: 91-79-66324921; Fax: 91-79-26307341

Email: [email protected] http://www.sristi.org

Published by Riya Sinha on behalf of Sristi Innovations, AES Boys Hostel Campus,Near University Library, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009

Printed at M/s Bansidhar Offset, Ahmedabad

Shodhyatra: The Call fromChamparan ..................................... 4

Honey Bee Regional Newsletter

Aama Akha Pakha (Oriya)Dr Balaram SahuKeshari Enclave, B- Block, Flat No-401Nayapalli, [email protected]

Hittalagida (Kannada)Dr T N PrakashCoordinator, HB NetworkDepartment of Agricultural EconomicsUniversity of Agricultural ScienceGKVK, Bangalore - [email protected]

Ini Karshakan Samsarikkatte (Malayalam)Fr Hubby Mathew & T J JamesPeermade Development SocietyPeermade, Idduki - 685531, [email protected]

Loksarvani (Gujarati) andSujh-Bujh Aas Paas ki (Hindi)SRISTI, P O Box No. 15050Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - [email protected]

Num Vali Velanmai (Tamil)Mr P Vivekanandan45, T P M Nagar,Virattipathu,Madurai - 625010Tamil [email protected]

Palle Srujana (Telugu)Brig Pogula Ganesham VSM (Retd)C/o Ms. Aruna Ganesham102, Vayupuri, Sainikpuri PostSecunderabad - 500 094Andhra [email protected]

man sat at a metro station in Washington DC in the rush hourand started playing the violin; it was a cold January morning.He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. Three minutes

went by and a middle aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.He slowed down and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up tomeet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tipfrom a woman who went after throwing the money in the till. A fewminutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen to him, but then helooked at his watch and started walking again. Clearly, he was late forwork. The one who paid the most attention was a three-year old boy.His mother tagged him along and hurried, but the kid stopped to look atthe violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued towalk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by severalother children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to moveon. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only six people stopped andstayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walktheir normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silencetook over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there anyrecognition. Who was the violinist? Why was he there?

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musiciansin the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with aviolin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway,seats were sold at an average of $100 in a theatre at Boston where he hada concert. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metrostation was organized by The Washington Post as part of a social experimentabout perception, taste and priorities of people. The implications were:Do we perceive beauty in a commonplace environment at an inappropriatehour? What will make us take a pause and appreciate it? Do we recognizethe talent in an unexpected context? How can we develop an eye for detail,an ear for excellence (Ed.)?

Source: urbanlegends.about.com/od/music/a/violinist_metro.htm

ACentenarian: Puriben .................. 9

Dharamveer Kamboj: FromRickshaw Puller toHerbal Healer and Fabricator .... 10

Common to Uncommon:Water-Pump .................................. 14

.

An Eye for Detail, an Ear for Excellence

Kool School : Not Yet Tamed! ... 12

Honey Bee HumsGujarati .............................................................................. 16Malayalam ......................................................................... 18Telugu ................................................................................ 19News and Views ................................................................ 21Dialogue ............................................................................. 22

CHIN: Spring Peanut Seeder ..... 20


3

EDITORIAL

Will you stand by the IPRs of peasants ?

Laying the Foundation : Sowing the Seeds of Future

I ndian dream to become a knowledge society depends uponIndia’s ability to make knowledge assets more valuable andprecious than physical assets. The lack of possession of

physical or financial assets would then determine to much lesserextent the destiny of an individual or group than the possession ofideas, innovations and other knowledge assets. Asymmetry inknowledge market is just like in any other resource market. However,this asymmetry can be overcome more easily through initiativesand efforts of individuals or groups than any other asymmetry.Imagination backed up by institutional support for knowledgeresources can transform India. But the problem is that old habitsdie hard. Unless we sow the seeds of imagination and innovationearly in life, it is not easy to inculcate or nurture the creative spiritat a later stage in life. That is the reason that SRISTI started lookingat the creativity of children a long time ago.

In the first biodiversity contest held at Ichikulam village in Maduraiwith the help of SEVA in 1992, a student of grade five who camefirst listed as many as 116 different species of plants along withtheir uses. The adult who was considered the best could identify240 species. Two other contests were organized then in Gangagarhvillage in District Bulandshahar in 1994. Subsequently, thousandsof children participated in the biodiversity competitions and revealedtremendous knowledge about their environment. There were alwaysonly a few kids who were far ahead of the rest. We also learnt thatgirls outperformed boys in the primary classes and so did scheduledcaste and OBC children outperform the rest. But once the girlsstarted taking care of their younger siblings and their going outalone became less frequent, they started losing out in their knowledgeadvantage of biodiversity compared to boys in higher classes.

In subsequent years when we started ShodhYatras, we startedorganizing idea competitions. Even in the traditional food festival(SATVIK) such competitions were organized. Amazing creativityand knowledge richness was found particularly among rural childrenin different parts of the country. But these kids did not always govery far. Their relative lack of excellence in English language orother subjects stifled their hopes. Their creativity did not come totheir rescue. Nobody bothered whether a child was innovative,had the ability to independently think or could come out with anunusual way of looking at the world. And we still wanted to changethe world. In the last decade, after NIF (National InnovationFoundation) came into existence, it started giving awards to childreninnovators in its Presidential Award Functions. However, the numberof entries from children was much smaller. At this stage theHoneybee Network decided to intensify the search for creativechildren and IGNITE 07 became the starting point. Over the yearsmany interesting questions have been posed by the children whichhave impressed upon us the need to pay special attention tonurturing creativity and innovation among children. But theinclusion of physically challenged children is still negligible thoughwe have some innovations for them. Let me illustrate the point byfirst sharing a few cases of the kids we met in Shodhyatras.

When a class tenth student brought a list of 75 plants with theirnames and their uses in Alwar ShodhYatra in Rajasthan, we asked,why so few? He took the challenge and asked for two days so thathe could make a bigger list. He came later with a list of 501 plants anil k gupta

with their uses. Similarly, some children asked us queer questions,which showed how perceptive they were. “If I have a limited quantityof farm yard manure, where should I apply it in the field ?”, asked ayoung class fifth student, son of a very small farmer, during aninteraction during 22nd ShodhYatra in Champaran, Bihar. Throughthis question he had raised an issue on the edge of precision farming.Unless we know the nutrient profile of the whole field in grids ofsay ten by ten meters, how could one decide where will the littlemanure have the maximum effect in a small farm. As the manurebecomes scarce, and cow dung for manure competes with its use asa fuel, this question will become even more important. Anothersharp question was faced more than a decade ago, while I wasaddressing the students of a Mahila Gram Vidyapeeth (Women’sGandhian Institution, Nardipur), Gujarat. I asked the students toask a question, answer to which they thought I might not know.Idea was to demonstrate in real life that teachers could be ignorantor fallible and that asking question is fun, it should not be considereda burden or risk by any one. A naughty girl asked, “Why doessugar grains attract small red ant where as jaggery attracts biggerblack ants?” I was nonplussed. She had a question on the edge ofthe ant behaviour. Given the differences in their scents, differentsugars perhaps attracted different kind of ants.

Similarly, when asked, what should be the best design of a televisionwhich can be seen by people sitting around it, pat came the reply inseveral meetings, square TV or four sided TV. Children did not havedifficulty in imagining how product should be designed to facilitateculture of sitting in circular manner rather all of them facing a singlescreen, as is the practice in most houses or meetings. Rakesh Patra,a student of class seventh from Orissa made a crutch that has afoldable seat, a headlight, an alarm and even an umbrella holder-cum-stand. We need many more innovations by/for physicallychallenged people.

There are tens of thousands of such kids who have submittedideas and innovations to Honey Bee Network signifying their abilityto ask different questions and seek creative answers in many cases.What is special about these kids? Why do they see the worlddifferently? Can we nurture their creativity and curiositysystematically?

What will take it to transform the curriculum of school education inIndia so that majority of children begin to ask crazy questions,make queer models of future needs (e.g. an umbrella which rains, orcell phone which uses unique gait of a person as a password) orsolutions of contemporary problems? Will parental pressure reduceso that children are not forced to pursue only single track intelligence?Will schools be able to deal with the question of Farid, asked inJammu and Kashmir ShodhYatra in Anantnag district,” why shouldone try to excel in all subjects, if I want to study only mathematicsand science, why am I not allowed to do so?

I hope we can ask ourselves these questions and create pressureon educational policy makers to let the children be, just be!



The Call from Champaran

22nd SHODHYATRA

hamparan has a special place in thehistory of the country because Gandhiperfected the instrument of Satyagrah

here in 1917 after lessening the exploitation ofindigo farmers within six months. This experienceeventually led to the call for full freedom in 1929.When Shri Raj Kumar Shukla and others invitedhim to study the problems of indigo cultivators,Gandhi may not have anticipated the degree ofexploitation. The tragedy is that even after 60 yearsof independence, the exploitation of the poor hasnot ended significantly. The wage rates areextremely low and economic opportunities arevery limited. And yet, the knowledge system isvery rich. Even before the ShodhYatra formallybegan on 29th Dec 2008, the learning explorationstarted on 28th night itself. Shri Birendra KumarSinha had invented a silencer cum pollution controldevice. Shri Rozadin had developed a veryingenious coffee-making machine (seeaccompanying box on innovations encounteredduring the ShodhYatra).

Homage to Gandhi

One of the questions raised in the inaugural sessionnear Gandhi memorial was, “why do we needShodhYatra, shouldn’t such creative people havebeen known to people not only in every village

but also everywhere else ?” Therewas no satisfactory answer to thisquestion. One could blame it on theprevalent mindset, colonial history, post-colonial obsession with exogenousmodels of development or just the inertiaamong the developmental practitioners.

After paying homage to Gandhi, westarted the walk. Many old timeGandhians bemoaned the fact thatMotihari never got the place in Indianhistory as it deserved. Paintings of ayoung boy, Santosh in Banjaria

village, left everybody spellbound. Heexpressed his artistic talent in a widerange of ways.

Just before leaving for the nextvillage, suddenly there was an

extraordinary sight in front of us. Acircular grain bin made of clay outsideone of the houses had extraordinaryart work all around on the surface.We inquired about the artist and thusdiscovered Smt Ram Tiwari Devi,Chailaha village, who had made thethree dimensional artwork on thegrain bin (khop).

She had learnt this art from her motherand felt that it was the only way sheknew making a grain bin. When artbecomes the only alternative,creativity achieves its purpose. Forthe rest of the journey, we kept onlooking for similar designs, and didfind nice paintings and sketches. But,we could not find even one more binwith similar three-dimensional orembossed artwork. For more than100 km, not one replication of thedesign (though some variations of lesscomplex designs were indeed seen)was encountered. Did she know howdistinctive she was? Would theplanners and thinkers considerlearning about humility from suchartist for whom the workspace is co-

We saw in this ShodhYatra one of the most beautiful etchings on a grain bin, a young student who representedhis ideas at international platform, innovators who had solved problems of pollution, drudgery, transportation,etc., and met traditional knowledge holders who shared their knowledge generously. The 22nd Shodhyatra startedfrom Motihari on 29thDecember, 2008 and concluded in Lauria on 3rd January, 2009. A question still remainedunanswered. Why did not this place transform economically for so long?

Santosh

C

Can't do it any other way! Ramtiwari Devi, Champaran, 22nd ShodhYatra, Bihar

Artisan or an Artist


5When did you last think of a new idea ?

terminus with life and art space, amidst all thestruggles for survival? Readers may recall a similarartwork in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, on a roadsidedung cake heap, and on a wall of a hut in Purulia,West Bengal. Every time we witness suchsignatures of women’s creativity manifested inthe spaces accessible to them, we becomeconscious of what could have been the potentialif they had been given better institutional spaceinstead of only domestic space.

After crossing Ajgari village, we took lunch atGokhula and passed through a site where therewas a memorial known as Battakh Miya ki Majar,Mohamedpur. Battakh Miya was a freedom fighterlong forgotten, only recently remembered. Herethe yatris met Shri Karmoola Khan, 60, who wasa local healer and used to give medicine forpyorrhoea and many other ailments includingsprains, stomach ache, etc. Just consuming blackpepper (Piper nigrum L.) for a month everydayin the morning was supposed to help in the sciaticapain. While passing through Siswaniya, Gobariand Mokhalishpur, we showed innovations fromother parts of the country on a laptop with bothsided screen developed by Dr Janardhan Reddyand Shri Narayan of Chennai. We stayed at BhelaChhepra Primary School. From there, weproceeded to Semra. At Chapra Bahas, a freedomfighter Shri Baidnath Prasad sang a patriotic songand shared his knowledge of herbal medicine.After facilitating him, ShodhYatris facilitatedanother freedom fighter, Janab Sheikh Yusuf athis house.

At Sugauli, there was a recipe competition amongschool children and also a small functionorganised to honour local healers and innovators.

We stopped by at the house of ShriPramod Stephen who had beenserving the local communitiesthrough traditional medicine. On theway to Madhopur Krishi VigyanKendra, we came across severalinteresting innovations and depressingsites of closed down sugar mills. Ayoung boy, Abhay Kumar Yadav, classVII of Sripur chowk had made anelectro magnetic collector of metallicpieces from the waste/compost sothat these pieces did not reach thefield and hurt the animals. ShriStephen carried a flag all along the

yatra with a slogan, ‘‘Neeche dhartiupar akash, beech se nikle gyan kaprakash” (a blue sky above the earth,the light of knowledge emanates inbetween). On the way to Jaukhatiya,we observed two labourers cuttingdried palm tree trunk on a makeshiftstand. This was an interesting designwhich most yatris had not seenbefore. One of the yatris had a painin his leg and a herbal healer, ShriGanesh Baitha came to rescue. Afterhe suggested the medicine, yatris

asked him as to how did he learn it inthe first place? Shri Ganesh repliedpoetically, Kekra se kahal bekar ba,murkh koi naikhe sabe hoshiyar ba(What to say to whom, nobody isfoolish, everybody is intelligent).Later, at Motilal High School,Manjhwaliya and Primary School atMahodipur, interesting discussiontook place about how to generatelocal solutions using biodiversity inthe region. Example of a lesson learntin Kutch, Gujarat was narrated wherea farmer after listening to theimportance of herbal pesticides,summarized his understanding as: “allplants which were not eaten byanimals could be a source of herbalpesticide”. Farmers found such aninsight very practical and worthtrying. The erosion of knowledgedue to weakening of the ties betweengrandparents and grand children wasalso discussed. After reaching ShriBipin High School, Bettiah, late in thenight, most yatris were very tired. Butsome wanted to celebrate the dawnof New Year. Next day was very

Abhay Kumar Yadav

Just a canvas or a ploy to arrest the onlooker's attention!Smt Bhabhi Mahato, Purulia, 20th ShodhYatra, West Bengal

Coating dung cakes with designs and dreams! Anonymous,Baghpat, 18th ShodhYatra, Western Uttar Pradesh



i n s i g h t f u lb e c a u s es e v e r a li n n o v a t o r ssuch asN i s h a n t ,S a n d e e p ,Meraz , JankiDevi ando t h e rk n o w l e d g eh o l d e r sjoined the

Yatra. On the way to Ranipur we also stayed fora few minutes at the ancient temple of Kalimata.When we reached Bunyadi Vidyalaya, Ranipur, thestudents and teachers had organized a veryelaborate function. This was the first BunyadiVidyalaya set up by Gandhiji after a six-day nationalconclave organized at Vrindavan village in 1939.A memorial had been built viz., Prerna Kuti,maintained since then by Shri Mathura Bhagat.

One of thehighlights of thefunction at theB u n y a d iVidyalaya was aspeech by RohitKumar Mishra, aclass 11 studentwho hadrepresented his

village in an international youth festival in Norway.After the function, all the yatris visited PrernaKuti and listened to the interesting anecdotesabout Gandhiji from Shri Mathura Bhagat.

It was already late in the evening, but Shri ASPrakasha Rao, principal of Jawahar NavodayaVidyalaya was very responsive and had invited400 students to interact with the ShodhYatris.Vishwa Bharti won the first prize for an idea ofegg shell breaking machine. Ideas about a modified

Shri Mathura Bhagat

Guma

Meeting with the innovators & villagers Learning through Motibhai's puppetsMeeting at the Bunyadi Vidyalaya

pressure cooker and machine forcutting & cleaning vegetables weresuggested by Ramu Kumar.

At the next stop, ShodhYatris relishedseveral local recipes such as gumaka sag, gular ka halwa, and mahuaka halwa. Guma [Leucas aspera(Willd.) Link.] is a plant that wasfound along the road side in thedepressions almost all along theShodhYatra route. Its leaves werereported to have pain relieving effectand its roots were helpful intoothache. Plants like these canbecome the anchor of localknowledge based enterprises. Givenits widespread presence, there is avery little chance that poor people willbe excluded from accessing it.

The visit to Shaheed Chowk, Bettiahwas a memorable one. During theNav Nirman movement of Jai PrakashNarayan, several youth activists werekilled in police action. This memorialis built in their memory. All Yatriswere received by Meraz here and thenintroduced to his young team tryingto bring about an educationaltransformation.

While Shri Sinha’s pollution controldevice was bigger in size, ShriNandeshwar Sharma has designeda compact silencer cum pollutioncontrol device similar to an exhaustpipe of a two wheeler. On the lastday, after passing through Padri,Kudwa Mathiya, we reachedMarahia. There were some labourerswho were watching us from adistance and whose confidence wecould not win enough to get them

to join us. On the way to Lauria,the last stop, we halted atNandangarh fort and a BuddhistStupa. The marvel of 2000 year oldtechnologies, particularly of bricklaying and architecture were visiblebefore our eyes. The local villagersshowed us how people at that timemixed pulses and some other grainsin the clay while baking thebricks. Isn’t it ironic that atechnology which has stood the testof the time for 2000 years is stillwaiting for recognition and formalassimilation in the modern science,technology and institutionalstructures?

A question remained unanswered.Why the call of freedom frompoverty, exploitation and domination,given by the Father of Nation so longago was not really answered properlyin all these years? Economic freedomis something that still remains to beachieved by a large majority. May bethis walk will imbue in us, adetermination to persist with themissions of finding self-reliant,decentralized entrepreneurialalternatives based on localknowledge, resources, andinstitutions.

Shri Ganesh Baitha


7

SHODHYATRA

he Champaran ShodhYatra wasinterspersed with pleasant discoveries ofinnovations; most of them were born out

of compassion to assuage the sufferings around.

Silencer cum Pollution Control Device

Birendra Sinha, had a school rightopposite to his workshop wherehe made steel doors, fencing andother materials. He used a dieselgenset (generator coupled withstationary engine) of 15 hp as analternative to the erratic electricity

supply. The problem was that the genset made alot of noise, released considerable smoke causingpollution and also disturbed the children. Neitherthe school nor the workshop could be movedaway. But empathizing with the difficulty of thechildren, Birendra did what most users of diesel

engine had not evenattempted. Heinvented a silencercum pollutioncontrol devicewhich has anumber of fins.The exhaust gasesstrike against themcontinuously while

passing through this innovative attachment. Inabout six to eight months, it collects 12 to 14 kgof carbon, which can be easily taken out by beatingthe cylinder from outside. The smoke whichcomes out eventually is very clean and leaves notrace of carbon on the leaves of the tree growingnearby or in the atmosphere. The noise alsoreduced considerably and both the workshop andschool could co-exist. The court judgment againsthim in response to the protest by neighbours hadalso forced him to develop this device, apart fromhis compassion towards the children and theenvironment. NIF has got it tested by BIT Mesraand they found about 30 % reduction in carbonmonoxide and carbon dioxide emission and adrastic reduction in the temperature of exhaustgases. This innovation is all set to change theemission standards for engines. NIF has filed thepatent (1520/KOL/2008) in the name of BirendraKumar Sinha for his outstanding innovation. Alarge number of workshop mechanics use such

Yatra of Innovations

When did you last confess to your children that you did not know the answer to their question?

engines which create both noise andair pollution and yet there are notmany examples of such devices.Akasi from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu haddeveloped one such device way backin 2000 and was awarded in the firstannual grassroots innovation awardfunction of NIF in 2001. There is aneed to pool such expertise and helpin developing a real competitivetechnology by engaging experts inthis field.

Coffee-making Machine

S h o d h Y a t r i sobserved a veryingenious coffee-making machineinnovated byM o h a m m e dRozadin. Apressure cooker

had been modified by attaching avalve and a copper pipe in a separatehole in the cover of the cooker. Onecould release the steam to makecoffee. Unlike the big coffee-makingmachine, which required electricityfor powering it, this one could workon stove or any source of fire. In afew hundred rupees, one could enjoy

cappuccino/espresso coffee. Even ifsuch a device existed elsewhere,none of the ShodhYatris had seen itever before. More than a 100 teashack owners are grateful toMohammed Rozadin forsupplementing their income with hiscoffee making attachment.

Folding Bicycle

Sandeep, anotherinnovator hadinnovated a foldingbicycle which canbe assembled in afew minutes. His

feat was significant as he couldachieve it despite his physicalhandicap. The quality of finishing ofhis folding cycle was extremely good.He got it fabricated by sitting with localworkshop mechanics for hours onweekends, since he was busy with his

job during the weekdays. Sandeepdesires to license this technology tosome entrepreneur. Anyone listening!

Electronic Mouse Trap

Meraz, a young innovatordemonstrated his innovations likeelectronic mousetrap, magneticbalance, clock for displaying minutesand seconds, AC/DC mobile charger,etc. The mousestrap not only capturesmice but also produces audio signalafter capturing. It is an electronicmachine, which works on 6V battery.It is made up of wooden block, insidewhich there is an iron plate at the endand is connected with a circuit througha switch. A piece of bread keptbeneath the plate disconnects thecircuit, which is completed when therat pulls the bread. The shutter of thebox closes within a second with audio

T



signal. He also has made zig-zag path inside thebox so the rat cannot escape out easily. His linesinspired everybody:

“Jo gyan samasyaon ka samadhan kare wahivigyan hai, suvigyan hai tatha adhunik yug kevikas ka mantra hai. Pratyek vyakti vaigyanikhai aur uski pratham khoj hai- apne bhitarchhupe guno ko khojana, nikharana” (Knowledgethat solves problems of others is good scienceand a key to development. Every man is a scientistand his first discovery is to look for his virtueswithin and augment them.)

Silencer cum Pollution Control Device

Shri Nandeshwar Sharmahas innovated a silencer cumpollution control device,similar to the silencer of atwo-wheeler. It could beattached to the diesel engineused for irrigation. It is ironic

that not a single diesel engine used by farmers inthe country is fitted with such a device. Bureauof Indian Standards [BIS] does not even requirethat every pump set should be fitted with a silencerand pollution control device. This along with thatof Shri Birendra Kumar Sinha’s innovation couldhave a major impact on the quality of life andenvironment for the farmers and labourers. ShriSharma has made another innovation for managingthe pressure in the pump. Normally before startingan irrigation pump, farmers have to put a hand tocreate the suction pressure. To avoid that problem,he developed a one-way valve operated by a hand

pump so that after pumping a fewtimes, irrigation pump could be easilystarted.

Herbal Pesticide

Smt JanakiDevi hasinnovated ah e r b a lpesticide. NIFhelped her file a

patent (1699/Kol/2008) on herformulation with her consent. Theinitial results of her formulation seemquite promising.

Rickshaw Gear

N i s h a n tdisplayed hisdevice, agear for arickshaw. Inthis gear,

when one pedals backwards, geargets activated and the rickshaw pulleris required to put less effort forclimbing uphill or even starting it. Thisis a compact and easily retrofittablegear compared to other alternativesavailable in market.

Community Septic Tank Systemin Indonesia

In 1985, the tributaries of BrantasRiver in Malang city of Indonesiawere flooded throwing up humanwaste and causing an immediateoutbreak of diarrhoea which claimedfive lives. Agus Gunarto, now 51,working with the city cleaningdepartment, was moved and in hisquest for finding a solution hit uponthe idea of devising communityseptic tank system. He connectedtwo septic tanks, each with a diameterof 1.5 m and a depth of 2.5 m andused concrete wall baffles tobreakdown the solid wastes and alsoto prevent it from entering the settlingtanks. The outflow from the septictank passed through six settling tanksor precipitate pools (generally twoare used) planted with water hyacinth(Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.)Solms.). He connected this to anetwork of houses. The pipes werelaid down along the slope so thatthe sewage water moved smoothlyand backflow was automaticallychecked. He used six settling tanksinstead of two to facilitate aerobicoxidation and partial sterilization.Water hyacinth used, is a notoriousaquatic but found very effective inremoving pollutants like suspendedmaterials, organic matter, heavymetals and pathogens.

The innovation might not beconsidered a technologicalbreakthrough but the way it changedthe lives of the people of Malang,got him awards and recognition inthe international arena. Agus, withno technical education could do itbecause he believed that he couldbring a change instead of justbecoming a passive recipient! Canwe identify the tangential elementsin such innovators which drive themto change things, break institutionswhile the larger sections still preferto persist in their self-inflicted, yetuncomfortable inertia?

Source:web.mi t .edu/d- lab/DlabIII06/ofthepeople.pdf


9

CENTENARIAN

uriben was born in a government quarternear the railway crossing at Sarotra Roadin Dhanpura village. Her father was a railway

employee under the British while her mother wasa homemaker. She remembers playing with dollsand gilli-danda along with her sister. At the tenderage of ten she started looking after the cattle andassisting in the fields. Arduous work like cleaningand grinding the grain made her stronger. She wasmarried in her parental village itself, so had theadvantage of maternal and in-laws’ houses in thesame place. She has two daughters and a son. Hercourtyard echoes with her folk songs and lullabies.

Traditional Veterinary Practices

When she was 15 years old, there was a widespreaddisease called ‘kharva’ (Foot and Mouth Disease)among the animals. Her grandmother taught herits treatment. She added 250 g millet flour to 150g cow or buffalo milk to make a paste and appliedit on the hooves of the animals for four days.That brought relief. She practises this even todayproving that the traditional and indigenous practicesfit well even in the contemporary age of allopathictreatments. If the cattle do not come to heat thenshe uses the mixture of five kg of coarse powderof dried cluster beans [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba(L.) Taub.] and five kg of millet. After mixingthem properly she feeds two kg of this daily forfive days. If an animal is not able to throw out theplacenta, she takes three kg of bajra, boils it inwater. To this she adds gur (jaggery) and gives tothe animal. Even after this, if it is unable to throwit, then she does it with the dexterity of her hands.Puriben uses onion juice, which is a sterilizer totreat prolapse. If prolapse occurs every year, she

mixes ten kg rice, ten kg urad andten kg fenugreek seed powder. Shegives 500 - 700 g of this powder dailytill it ends i.e. for around 15 days,three months before the delivery, whichis said to totally eliminate the chancesof prolapse.

Traditional Practices for Human

Puriben has helped in 1200 deliveriesin her village. When a lady suffersfrom post-partum illness, she treatsher in the following way:

She boils 500 g of Babool (Acacianilotica L.) leaves and one kg of Mahuda(Madhuca longifolia J. F. Macbr.) barkin two litre of hand made buttermilk.This decoction is added to the bathingwater. After giving bath, the lady ismade to rest in a warm room. In casethe mother has lactation difficulties,she advices her to eat 50 g suva(Anethum graveolens L.) and 50 gsaunth [dry ginger (Zingiber officinaleRosc.)]. She boils suva in water andgives this potion to the infants sufferingfrom stomach ache. To treat headaches,she gives the decoction of lemon leaves,suva and saunth. Pyorrhoea is treatedby inhaling the smoke of bhoiringani(Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. &Wendl.), a well known and widelydistributed practice in the country.

Satvik Food and Life

The secret for her long and healthylife is the pure ‘Satvik’ diet she hadsince childhood. Instead of frettingand fuming the whole day, she keepsherself busy in chores like bringinggrass and taking care of the cultivation.She has again started teething.Assembling the children of her familyand from her neighbourhood to watchthem play is her routine in the evenings.

Puriben can amaze anybody by her verve and zest even at the ageof 110. She belongs to Dhanpura village of Amirgarh Taluka ofBanaskantha district, Gujarat. The wonder lady, who can stillboast of threading the needle, has never been to hospital for anytreatment.

A Century of Wisdom: Puriben

When did you last meet an innovator ?

Her Message

“Eat satvik food; don’t indulge in fights,indolence and violence. Live togetherand always keep yourselves busy inconstructive activities.”

Puriben Jaisanghbhai. Dhanpura,Sarotra. Amirgarh, Banaskantha,Gujarat- 385135

PThe Seventh National BiennialCompetition for Green Grassroots,Unaided Technological Innovationsand Traditional Knowledge

How to participate?Individuals or groups may send as manyentries as they wish on plain paperproviding a) genesis of the innovation andtraditional knowledge b) its backgroundand c) educational qualification andoccupation, accompanied by photographsand/or videos if possible and any otherinformation that may help in understandingthe innovations/traditional knowledge.Herbal entries may be accompanied bydried plant samples to enable properidentification procedure. The SeventhNational Competition has started onFebruary 1, 2009 and the entries willbe accepted till December 31, 2010.Every entry should include full postaladdress to facil itate furthercommunications.

Where to send entries?National Coordinator (Scouting &Documentation), National InnovationFoundation, Bungalow No. 1, SatelliteComplex, Premchand Nagar Road,Ahmedabad - 380015 Gujarat

Toll Free No 1800 233 5555Fax: (079) - 2673 1903

email: [email protected];www.nifindia.org

Honey Bee

Network

Co-sponsors

SRISTI

NATIONAL INNOVATIONFOUNDATION, INDIA

CSIR IIM-A



From Rickshaw Puller to Herbal Healer and Fabricator

PROFILE

haramveer Kamboj was born on May15, 1963 at village Damla to ShriRamswaroop Kamboj and Smt Savitri

Devi. As an inquisitive child, Dharamveer wouldoften accompany his mother for collecting kesu(Butea monosperma) flowers, watching devotedlyhow those flowers were taken care of, made intocolours for Holi. Unfortunately he lost hismother in childhood, but inherited from her, acuriosity for nature and its herbal wealth. Atschool, he participated in a science exhibitionwith his instrument viz., 'emergency light'.

In 1980, a saint came to his home and talked tohim about herbs. He was curious and asked thesaint if he could earn a good living through herbsand its plantation. The saint gave him an assertivenod. The words encouraged him and wheneveropportunity came, he dedicated himself to knowmore and more about the herbs, their plantationand business.

He earned his livelihood by farming on two acresof land, held jointly with his brothers. In 1986, hegot married to Shyamudevi. Just after three daysof his daughter Pooja’s birth, he left for Delhi tosearch for better means of income. There heworked as a rickshaw puller. But this arduousphase of life became a turning point. He used toferry traders to Khari Bawli area of Old Delhi,where they used to pay hefty amount for herbs.This amazed him and he would often conversewith the passengers and vendors to know aboutthe herbs and the income they could fetch. Hispassion for herbs was revived. Unfortunately hisstay at Delhi had to be cut short as he met withan accident in 1987. Severely injured, he wasbrought back to village and it took a year to nursehim back to health.

After recovering, he joined the village developmentsociety and through that went for a trainingprogram in improving agricultural practices forsix months. He interacted with farmers andexperts in the agricultural sector from KrishiVishwa Vidayalaya, Damla and Nauni University,Solan, H P. He also took training in organicfarming. In Champaghat, he visited the government

herbal gardens. National Park inJabalpur, taught him the idea ofbiodiversity and sustenance. He startedwith his experiments on organicfarming in 1989 which got himseveral awards. His contribution andcreditable work in this field startedgetting recognized and acknowledged.The promotion of mushroom farming,vermicompost and other similarpromotional farming initiatives likegrowing strawberries and improvingvegetables and their varieties, in andaround his village brought him furtherrecognition. His small farm of halfacre became his laboratory forpracticing innovative farming methods.He personally recounted how hewould get seeds of different herbswhich were used for ayurvedicpurposes in small bottles and growthem in his garden. He would takethese from two or three differentlocal traders and compare the plants.Sometimes he found that the plantswhich came up were different fromthe names given on the labels. Insuch cases he continued to get theseeds from others, grow them,compare and find out the authenticones. In this hit and trial method henot only found the actual seeds butdiscovered manyother as well!In his pursuit oforganic farminghe also pickedup herbal healingpractices and hasbeen using them.In 2004, he gota chance to visitR a j a s t h a nthrough theH o r t i c u l t u r eD e p a r t m e n t ,Govt. of Haryana

with a group of farmers and learntthe processing of Aloe vera andamla for producing value addedproducts for better income generation.

Dharamveer decided to produce valueadded products instead of only theraw material. But the machinery forthe purpose was out of his reach. In2002, a bank manager came toYamunanagar to promote Aloe verafarming among the villagers. He alsodiscussed with Dharamveer aboutthe Aloe vera gel extractor and itsinstallation. But in lieu he asked fivelakh rupees as consultation fees,which Dharamveer could not afford.So he started working on the gel-extracting unit himself. After an effortof six to eight months, he was able todevelop the first prototype of theMultipurpose Processing Machine forproducing juices in 2003. Theperformance of the machine wasacceptable but he improved upon tomake it suitable for extracting theessence of various herbs and processingof other products. With the help of aworkshop owner Shri Vijay Dhimanat Jagadhari, he developed the presentmodel of the Multipurpose FoodProcessing Machine.

Dharamveer’s curiosity for herbs drove him to find the novelty in their uses, and new ways of processing them. Byfollowing the traders on rickshaw in old Delhi, he developed deep understanding of the market. Read about how hedesigned machines for processing aloe vera and many other fruits. He has seen life in all its shades; the mockery of hisneighbours on one side and international acclaims on the other. His struggle continues

D


11

His innovation received in Fifth National Competitionof Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledgeorganized by NIF in the year 2006, has alreadybeen short listed for further value addition.Dharamveer has been using this machine since2005. He improved the machine according to thesuggestions and feedback from the users whomhe sold the machine and the concerned experts.

Multipurpose Food Processing Machine

This is a multipurpose device capable of pulverizingand extracting oil from various herbs. The deviceis designed in such a way that it can also be usedas a big pressure cooker or a sterilizer. He alsodevised a method of extracting juices, andessence from Aloe vera, and amla for furtherprocessing. He has been using this machine forproducing various cosmetic and health careproducts. Its portability makes it suitable for ‘on

farm’ processing, thereby adding value to farmer’sproduce and reducing the transportation andstocking problems.

Salient Features

a) Light in weight and portable, saves the cost oftransportation of the raw material from fields toprocessing site; b) Capability to process around200 kg of herbal products, fruits or so, in anhour; c) Low cost of production enables commonpeople to have herbal products in the form of gel,juice, essence, etc.; d) Easy to operate; anyonecan run the machine with a little training and e)Has potential to generate employment and is quiteaffordable.

Present Status

The machine has been commercialized and apatent has been filed. The cost of the presentmachine is around one lakh twenty thousandrupees. Dharamveer has already exported some

When did you last meet an innovator ?

Celebrating the Broom: Arna-Jharna Museum

Arna-Jharna: The Desert Museumof Rajasthan celebrates the openspaces of the desert, including itsflora and fauna as part of a largerholistic exploration of the museumas a place of learning, instead ofcollecting antiquities or precious artobjects. Envisioned by late KomalKothari, one of India’s leadingfolklorists and oral historians, Arna-Jharna Museum can be describedas a process of interactive learningexperiences drawn from traditionalknowledge systems. The Arna-JharnaMuseum will devote the first threeyears of its existence to a single object- the broom. Inconspicuous,marginal, tucked away in corners,hidden under the bed, it would appearto be devoid of curatorial value.Brooms can be made out of anastonishing diversity of materials,primarily in the rural areas from twigsto waste material that are availablein their environments. It is boundto address the income generation ofbroom-making families and thepossibilities of their social recognition.The Broom Project will also travelto the far corners of Rajasthan on atruck. This Mobile Museum will beprimarily performative in nature, withtraditional puppeteers and performersenacting stories of the broom froma subaltern perspective.

The museum will seek partnershipsacross the world, so that thetraditional knowledge systems of thedesert can be shared with communitymuseums, eco-museums,universities, and other institutionscommitted to new modes ofinteractive and intercultural learning.It is in this spirit of open dialoguethat the Arna-Jharna Museum invitesall individuals, groups, andinstitutions to support its collaborativeimpulse.

Rupayan Sansthan, B-2 Road, Paota,Jodhpur 342006, India. email: [email protected]

to Kenya and was excited to informthat the Kenyan government hasasked for some more machines.

Future Aspirations

He proudly recalls how a simplefarmer and a rickshaw puller hasbeen able to visit hotels like LeMeridian (where Honey Bee networkhad invited him to an MIT conferenceon emerging technologies) all becauseof the recognition of his creativity.He wants to develop a farm wherehe will grow, process and sell theherbs. At present, Dharamveer liveswith his wife and children on theoutskirts of the village near his twoacres of land.

Dharamveer’s family was a greatsupport when he decided to start hisown enterprise of agro foods andorganic farming. Pooja, his daughter,doing MBA, wrote in a mail that hermother always motivated him. Shesingle handedly looked after the familyso that he could continue to pursuehis innovations. She was apprehensivein the beginning, worrying about theexpenses of education and innovation.But she gave up her worries to lethim pursue his passion.

Pooja recounts how their neighboursmade fun of her father, calling himinsane. But now they consider him aworthy example for all. She alongwith Prince, her brother, doing computerengineering helps him with technicaltasks. Pooja has resolved, “I willmake my father’s efforts get resultsin the global markets.”

Dharamveer gives the credit for hisachievements to his mother whoinstilled in him the urge to knowmore about herbs and their uses.The only thing that Dharamveerregrets is that his parents are notaround to see his success. His motherhad inculcated love for herbs in him;his father had listened with him theinsults and had borne with him therejections.



Earring like aphone: When youwear an earringyou can press itand talk to your

friends.

Winnie, Class VWhitmore High

School, U.K.

Foldable car thatwill fold according to

the occupancy. If onlythe driver is there, itwill fold from back,

occupying less space othe road. It will also

mitigate the problem oparking.

Gayatri Gambhir, Class XSRM, Aravali

Peanut butter can be used toremove chewing gum, stuck in hair.

Ayush Yadav, Class XI, SRM, Aravali

sChOOL!KOOL

S

laser camerasshould be fitted on

traffic signals. Whenvera vehicle disobeys the

signals the cameras willtake photo of the numberplate and report to the

police station

Siddharth Dayal andSiddhanth Basin, Class VI,

Shri RamSchool, Aravali

Not Yet Tamed!


13

A system that sendsan SMS on your

mobile,when someone tries toforce open your caror house and sends a

voice mail, if theysucceed.

Ishan Dikshit,Class VI, SRM, Aravali

Devices that can beinserted inside the exhaust

pipes of all automobiles, thatwill not allow it to move, assoon as it releases more than

the specified limit ofpollutants in the air. This

device if removed will inducea very heavy penalty.

Satanik Pal, Class XII,La Martiniere for Boys,

Kolkata

There will beplastic sensors in

every garbage can, whichwill detect amount of

plastic. The family whichdisposes more amount ofplastic than the specified

amount, will have to cleanthe roads around its houses

for a whole week.

Satanik Pal, Class XIILa Martiniere for Boys,

Kolkata

Government and NGOsshould start a project in whichthe street children who display

acrobatic feats, should be trainedfor olympics.

Shruti, Himanshi, Raakhi,Kanika, Pallavi, Ayushi, Roneeta,

Class XI,SRM, Aravali

When did you last confess to your children that you did not know the answer to their question?



Chinese

Water Pump Running on Wind Power

Fan Tong Kun, a 55-year old Chinese farmer afterstruggling for 38 years came out with hisinnovation of wind pump and got a bronze medal

for it. This poor peasant made his first “windpump” in 1978, but its fan could not start. Thenext prototype came in 1980. In 2003, the windpump could pump out water from the well.

To raise money he sold his land and home anddiscontinued the education of his children. Thejourney of his innovation has meant 38 years ofpoverty, endless frustrations and bitterness. Hiswife did not see him working in the fields at leastfor a decade.

An American couple offered him huge moneyfor patenting his innovation, but he refusedbecause the process would have been toocumbersome, and secondly he wanted this tobe useful for the rural Chinese. He said, “Theoutside buyers will quote higher prices,not affordable to the rural Chinese. I want todo this to prove that the peasant is not auseless person, the farmers also have their ownpursuit!”

COMMON TOUNCOMMON

http://ha.people.com.cn/news/2006/10/25/131790.htm

Indian

‘Lilliput’ Water Pump

V Madhushoodan of Kerala hasdeveloped a miniature submersiblewater pump. This 3 cm x 2.5 cmpump is indeed tiny and weighs mere45 g. However, its 3 mm diameterpipe can lift water up to 2.5 feet! Theinnovator has studied up to class six.He made the pump from commonlyavailable components including amotor from a walkman audio system.This pump runs for an hour. It caneffectively be used as submersiblepump for aquariums and in chemicalprocesses to pump liquids at variouslevels.(Honey Bee, 17(3):14, 2006)(Entry received by NIF in 2002).

Low Discharge Hydro PoweredPump

Imli Toshi Namo of Nagaland hasinnovated a low cost, energy efficientwater pumping device which tapshydel power and no external energyis required. It is driven by the kinetic

energy of the stream or water current.The pump is placed axially in thedirection of flow in river or channelto capture high-speed water flow. Itis useful in the remote areas wherethe electricity supply is erratic. It isenergy efficient, mobile, low cost andsturdy.

(Entry received by NIF in 2002 and awardedin the 3rd National Competition forGrassroots Innovations and TraditionalKnowledge in 2005)

Hand Operated Water LiftingPump

N Sakthimainthan of Tamilnadu hasinnovated a hand-operated water-lifting device. It is simple in design

and has high discharge at low costcompared to conventional handpumps. Tamil Nadu AgricultureUniversity has appreciated the effortsof Sakthimainthan in developing thispump from locally available materials.With zero installation and no runningor maintenance cost, this is a veryuseful product for marginal farmers.Being portable and simple to use, it isbest suited for routine work in allseasons.

(Entry received by NIF in 2004 and awardedin the 4th National Competition forGrassroots Innovations and TraditionalKnowledge in 2007)

Access to water has been in the heart of several major social changes around the world. Several interesting innovationsfor pumping out water are reviewed here. These inventions are mostly triggered by the needs of the local communities.These are the interpretations beyond technical parameters, guided as these are by social and cultural milieu in whichideas incubate. Local material, methods and purposes mutate local constraints to give rise to these innovations. Idea ofpresenting such clusters of innovations is to share a variety of diversified heuristics used by innovators to addresssimilar problem in different regions.

Water Pumps: Unearthing the Aqua Treasure


15

Handpump with a Change

Ramashankar Sharma from Bihar has modifiedthe plunger design of a hand pump, which hasresulted in substantial increase in the efficiency.The change of material has also helped in reducing

the cost and weight as well. BIT Mesra, Ranchitested the same at NIF’s instance and found thatthe hand pump with the modified plunger gave69 percent more discharge than the hand pumpwith the conventional plunger for the same numberof strokes and head.

(Entry received by NIF in 2006)

Modified Handpump

Chandan Agrawal of Delhi, suggested a simpleimprovement to attach a valve and a tap on thedelivery pipe so that one can pump and store thewater in the body and the outlet pipe. And afterpumping enough water, one can go to the otherside, unscrew the tap and drink water with asmuch flow as one can conveniently drink withthe hands. With increasing water scarcity, savingevery drop matters apart from increasing theconvenience of using the tap.

(Entry received by NIF in 2002 and awarded in the 2ndNational Competition for Grassroots Innovations andTraditional Knowledge in 2002)

Handpump Made from Bamboo

Dodhi Pathak of Assam, has developed a workingmodel of a hand pump, which is suitable to liftboth underground water and pond water. Thispump is totally made out of bamboo, even thepiston, valve, barrel, handle and all the other parts.

(Entry received by NIF in 2000 and awarded in the 1stNational Competition for Grassroots Innovations andTraditional Knowledge in 2001)

Tax at source for animals

Swayambhoo Sharma of Rajasthan has innovateda water pump that has a low cost tank for drinking

water for the animals. It has beeninstalled at Tehsil Girva, Udaipur. Thedevice has a cost-effective modificationin the chamber of hand pumps, bywhich, when any one operates the handpump to take out water, a portion (25%)of water flows to drinking water troughfor stray animals. The arrangementconsists of connecting a ½ to ¾ inchhorizontal galvanized iron pipe fromthe top of the hand pump water chamberto an adjacent water trough. Thus, apartfrom meeting his needs, every timethe hand pump is used, a villagersimultaneously does his bit to provideclean water for the animals. GIANNorth has blended the idea of Chandan

with this design through the help ofYusuf and Vishwakarma, two othergrassroots innovators and installed afew dozen such pumps with the helpof Rajasthan government.

(Entry received by NIF in 2003 and awardedin the 3rd National Competition for GrassrootsInnovations and Traditional Knowledge in2005)

Low-Cost Handpump

Ouseppachan Anchukandathil fromKerala belongs to a village in a hillyterrain where there used to be waterscarcity during summer season. Thesedifficulties inspired him to develop thislow cost pump in 1999. It is easy tohandle and has the capacity to lift waterup to a height of 200 ft through a oneinch diameter pipe. This would be idealfor water supply within the house ora multi-storied building using anoverhead tank.

(Entry received by NIF in 2000 and awardedin the 1st National Competition for GrassrootsInnovations and Traditional Knowledgein 2001)

Cycle Based Centrifugal Pump

Vikram Rathore from Andhra Pradeshhas innovated a centrifugal waterpump which is run by rotating thepedal of a cycle. The supporting shaftof the smaller pulley carries another

rim for second stage speed increment.The power (energy) generated throughthis process of pedaling is used to liftthe water and push the water from apipe into the farm for cultivation. Thisinnovation is useful for pumping waterfrom rivers, ponds, wells and similarwater sources thus enabling poorfarmers for pumping water forirrigation and cultivation.


Pedal Operated Pump

West Bengal’s Nasiruddin Gayen’sinnovation relates to a pedal waterpump which is particularly useful forpumping water from the canal forirrigation purposes and to draw waterfrom wells, tube wells and reservoirs.The user sits on the seat and pedalsthe unit, thereby operating the flywheel,which runs the gear that drives twosets of pistons located in two verticalcylinders. The unit delivers 100 litresof continuous flow per minutecompared to 70-80 litres per minuteof intermittent flow for a normalreciprocating hand pump. This novelpump is cost-effective, portable andcan be taken and installed at any site.


When did you last consume organic food ?



Honey Bee

Flame of Forest Pours Relief

20101 Unripened Chikoo for Bloat inAnimals

Veermanbhai, 69, has learnt the followingpractice from his father and has beenpractising it for long. He has studied till6th standard and wants to disseminateknowledge acquired from his elders throughHoney Bee.

Animal suffering from bloat has a distendedstomach which sounds like a drum whentapped lightly. The animal tends to be dulland loses appetite. Veermanbhai takes three

unripe chikoos (sapotas, Manilkara zapota(L.) P. Royen), cuts them in small piecesand mixes them in one litre of water andkeeps for half an hour. He then gives it tothe animal twice a day. This causes loosemotion and the animal gets relief from thebloat.

Veermanbhai Mehramanbhai Parmar, Dist.Junagadh Scout - Kiran Chauhan

The medicinal use of chikoo in curing ulcersin gastro intestinal tract ((Shah MB, GoswamiSS, Santani DD. (2004) Phytotherapy Res.18(10):814-8.)) indicates protective role ofthe fruit over gastric epithelium.

20102 Treatment of Foot andMouth Disease (FMD)

Pohlabhai, 32, has studied till 5th

standard. Agriculture and animalhusbandry are his chief source oflivelihood. He learned this practicefrom elders in the village.

A n i m a ls u f f e r i n gfrom FMDhas swellingson the feetand bloodoozes outfrom thea f f e c t e d

parts. Blisters develop in the hoovesand mouth where pus develops at alater stage. The blisters also get infestedby worms sometimes. The animal isnot able to walk due to this. Pohlabhaiuses palash [Butea monosperma(Lamk.) Taub., also called as flame offorest] to bring relief. He takes thegum of the palash tree and pours iton burning coal. The ailing animal ismade to inhale this smoke twice dailyfor 5-10 days.

Pohlabhai Harjibhai Rathwa, Dist.Vadodara Scout - Sundarbhai Rathwa

The smoke obtained by pouring latexover burning coal may have potentialproperties to cure oral ulcers and paincaused due to FMD virus as it is knownto cure dermal wounds (Sumitra M,Manikandan P and Suguna L. (2005).Int J Biochem & Cell Biol. 37(3):566-73).

20103 Miscarriage in Buffaloes

Mohammadbhai, 45, has studied till 7th

standard. He is an agricultural labourerand also practices animal husbandry.This practice has been followed forages in his family.

Buffaloes suffering from repeatedmiscarriage fail to lactate causinggreat financial loses to the breeders.Mohammadbhai uses banana stemto cure the frequent miscarriagesin cattle. He cuts the stem into

small pieces and gives to thebuffaloes along with the fodder.

Mohammadbhai Multani, Dist.Junagadh Scout - Naresh Chudasa

The impact of banana (Musaparadisiaca) on cholesterolmetabolism (Usha V, Vijayammal PL,Kurup PA. (1984) Indian J Exp Biol.22(10):550-4) indicates a role ingynaecological hormones.

20104 Cow Urine to Keep Thripsaway

A farmer, ParshottambhaiRanchhodbhai Sidpara believes insharing his knowledge of organicfarming so that others can adoptsuch practices. He believes thatnothing equals the traditionalwisdom of farmers who followtheir instincts of experimentationand have the potential of achievingthe unachievable.

Thrips or Chusiya Jivat is aninsect which feeds by puncturingand sucking the contents of plantand animal cells. It causes hugelosses to crops. To get rid of it,Parshottambhai takes one kg leavesof each of ankado [Calotropisprocera (Ait.) F. Ait], neem

Loksarvani (Gujarati)SRISTI, P O Box No. 15050Ambawadi, Ahmedabad - 380015 [email protected]


17When did you last meet an innovator?

[Azadirachta indica A. Juss.], sitafal (Annonasquamosa L.), Aloe vera (L.) Burm..f., Datura(Datura starmonium L.) and adds 25 litresof cow urine. Then he allows this todecompose. He filters the solution and thefiltered solution is used, in the proportion ofone liter per pump (15 litres) to spray on theaffected plants.

Parshottambhai Ranchhodbhai Sidpara, Dist.Junagadh

The insecticidal properties of cow urine arewell reported (www.compasnet.org/a f b e e l d i n g e n / B o o k s /Traditional%20Knowledge%20India/nene.pdf).The insecticidal properties of the plants usedin formulation are also well studied.

20105 Neel to Treat Prolapse

Heeraben, 60, practices animal husbandry andearns her livelihood by selling milk. Thisparticular practice is traditional communityknowledge and she has been using this formany years.

To treat uterine prolapse Heeraben takes two-three litres water and adds 500 g neel (naturalblue dye, Indigofera tinctoria L.) and mixesit properly. She gives one litre of this to thecattle for three days. Post delivery, she givesone to one and half kilogram of whole

blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) daily for abouttwo weeks. She soaks this overnight and inthe morning mixes the soaked urad(blackgram) with the fodder. This dismissesthe chances of recurrence of prolapse.

Heeraben Sadhabhai Desai, Dist. SabarkanthaScout - Mahesh Parmar

Indigo carmine is commonly usedduring cystoscopy when evaluating forlower urinary tract safety aftergynaecologic surgery (Graziano S,Hoyte L, Vilich F, Brubaker L. (2005).Int Urogynecol J Pelvic FloorDysfunct.16(5):418-9).

20106 Developing seedlings innursery, using sand

It is a challenging task to prepareseedling plant in several vegetableslike cabbage, cauliflower, papaya,chilli, brinjal. Vinodbhai, an innovativefarmer, did his own experiment andcame out with very good results andhence he wants to share this withother farmers so that everyone canreap the benefits. He filled the landwith the organic fertilizers and levelledthe surface. Then he made pit linesof half or one inch by his fingersand sowed the seeds into them.Then he spread a thin layer of sandon the seeds and mildly rubbed themwith his hands. The sprout came outeasily and much faster. Using thistechnique, he says that one can getthe sprouts five days earlier thanother systems, and owing to thesandy soil it has another benefit; theseedlings can be uprooted easilywithout causing much damage to theroots.

Vinodbhai Patel, Dist. PanchamahalScout - Chetanbhai V Patel

20107 Bengal Gram HealsWounds

When animals get bruises or woundsand are left untreated, they get infestedwith worms. To treat this, Jedibenuproots Bengal gram (Cicer arietinumL.) plant and grinds the whole of it.She applies this on the wounds/bruises. By doing this the wormscome out and the wounds heal faster.Jediben learnt the practices from herfather.

Jediben Babarbhai Parmar,Dist. Vadodara, Scout- JayendraVaghela

Wound healing property of Cicerarietinum is well documented(Patchell BJ, Wojcik KR, Yang TL,White SR, Dorscheid DR (2007) AmJ Physiol Lung Cell MolPhysiol.;293(2):354-63)

20108 Neem Increases SesameYield

To increase the yield of til (sesame),Mohanbhai takes 10 kg of neemleaves, boils them in 20 litres ofwater for an hour and sprays thison the crops before they start

flowering. Using this, the yieldincreases by 120-160 kg/acre heclaims!

Mohanbhai Shyamjibhai PatelDist. Jamnagar Scout- JayendraVaghela

Please gift a subscription ofHoney Bee to anyone youlove and care for;

What could be a better wayto celebrate creativity anddemonstrate your love.



20109 Using pest to make vermicompost

Preparation of compost using grubs ofRhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros). Thebeetle is a major pest of coconut plantationand causes extensive damage to youngemerging leaves when not controlled properly.It lays eggs in cow dung heap. Divakaranuses fallen leaves of coconut and by-productof coir industry for making compost. Thegrubs are introduced into pits with coir pith

and allowed to feed to produce compost.Thus, one can get compost as well as savecoconut of the pest.

P V Divakaran Dist. Kazarkhode

Another beetle of the same group assists in thedecomposition of organic matter and aeratingthe soil (Sue, H. Bugs and grubs. AustralianInsect Farm http://www.insectfarm.com.au/bugsgrubs.htm downloaded on 18.5.09)

20110 Control through Kanjiram roots

Crushed root bark (100 g) of Kanjiram tree(Strychnos nux-vomica L) and jaggery (100g) are boiled in one litre of water. The solutionis diluted with nine litres of water andcrushed garlic (10 g) is added. He uses thispractice to get rid of fruit flies in all the crops.

K Raghavan, Dist Palakkad

Strychnos nux-vomica L. was found tocontrol the serpentine leaf miner(Liriomyza trifolii) population ontomato (Nath, P and Singh, R K (2007)Vegetable Science) Use of garlic asinsecticide is well known.

20111 Algae Lemna as feed forquail

Divakaran found that an alga locallycalled lemna (Duckweed: Lemna minorL.) can substitute 50 per cent feed forquail rearing. Once he observed a lotof frogs in a local pond where lemnawere growing abundantly. Thisprompted him to experiment with thesealgae. These algae multiply very quicklyand within a week, they cover the entirepond. Since the available poultry feedsin the market are very costly,cultivation and propagation of lemma

might make quail rearing quiteeconomical.

P V Divakaran, Dist. Kazarkhode

Lemna has high fat and proteincontent and that makes them agood source of food for animalsand poultry. (Lemna minor. Flora,fauna, earth, and sky. The naturalhistory of the north woods, http://www.rook .org/ear l /bwca/nature /aquatics/lemna.html downloaded on18.5.09)

Share your ideas!

Dear Children,

What about doing somethingdifferent in your spare time! Howoften do you come across anunusual thought and dismiss itthinking it’s unachievable orimpossible? Here we have a spacewhere you can share your ideas,views and thoughts with everyone.Send us your ideas, innovations,solutions and suggestions whichyou think will solve the day to dayproblems of the common people.They can be related to anythingfrom environment to poverty.Please do not forget to write yourname, class and school! Send themto:

IGNITE 09

National InnovationFoundation

Bungalow No. 1, Satellite Complex,Premchand Nagar Road,

Ahmedabad - 380015 Gujarat

Toll Free No 1800 233 5555

Fax: (079) - 2673 1903email: [email protected]

[email protected]@gmail.com

'Weed' as Poultry Feed: Beetle as ManureIni Karshakan Samsarikkatte (Malayalam)Fr Hubby Mathew & T J James, Peermade DevelopmentSociety, Peermade, Idduki - 685531, [email protected]


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20112 Magic Plant: Aloe vera L.

Aloe vera is called a wonder herb for itsimmense medicinal value. Its leaf maintains itsfreshness and medicinal value even after a fewdays of plucking. The leaf contains medicinaljelly, which can cure lots of ailments of human

body. Only less common ones are mentionedhere: On applying the juice of Aloe veraexternally on the affected area of psoriasis, theexternal growth becomes very soft within tenminutes. By chewing the leaf of Aloe vera,there is an immediate relief from the pain inthe infected tooth. It also strengthens the boneand tooth. Pain in arthritis of shoulders subsidessoon after consuming the jelly of the Aloe veraleaf. In case of herpes, freshly extracted Aloevera gel when applied topically gives relief ina view days.

Kanaka Durg, Dist. Khammam

Aloe vera is reported to be very effective in thetreatment of psoriasis. (http://www.psoriasis.org/treatment/psoriasis/alternative/topicals.php). Aloevera cures gingivitis and toothache. (http://w w w. a u t h o r s d e n . c o m / S a m p l e Wo r k s P D F /21150.pdf). It contains antiinflammatoryagents such as bradykininase, salicylates,phyto-steroids and vitamins which relievesarithritic pain (arthritis.info/aloe-vera-arthritis-treatment/).

20113 Pest Control in Cotton

Kautam Rajamallu follows theapplication of neem extract withvisha mushti (Strychnos nux-vomicaL.) extract to control pests incotton. During the flowering timeof cotton crop, he sprays neemextract thrice within a span of 20days and visha mushti concoctiononce or twice within next 20 days.

For neem extract: Neem fruit iscrushed completely and soaked overnight. The next morning the juiceis extracted from the soaked fruit.For three kg fruit juice, half kgwashing powder should be mixedto spray on one acre of crop.

For visha mushti extract: For oneacre crop, five kg of visha mushtifruits are powdered and then boiledin hot water till five litres water isreduced to approximately two litres.Then half kg washing powder isadded to it before spraying on thecrop. Visha mushti fruits are verypoisonous so care should be takenwhile applying.

Kautam Rajamallu, Dist. Warangal

Strychnine derived from Strychnosnux-vomica is known to be a highlytoxic alkaloid. It is used primarily forrat control (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PI084).

20114 Treatment for Wart

Srinivasa Rao makes a small cut onthe wart till it bleeds and then heapplies the latex that oozes outwhen raw mango is plucked. Boilsdevelop in a day and in few daysboth disappear. He repeats theprocess five to six times tocompletely get rid of the wart.

Konakanchi Srinivasa, Dist.Khammam

Latex of Mangifera indica L. isapplied to treat gingivitis. Gum ofthe plant with mustard oil is applied

to treat scabies, warts and otherskin diseases. (Manandhar, S. 2002.Plants and people of Nepal, TimberPress, Nepal).

(Note: These practices are basedon farmers’ personal experiences andwe still await reports oftheir validity by other farmers indifferent regions of laboratories.Farmers should try these at their ownresponsibility to promote people topeople learning and send usfeedback: Ed.)


Weight or Wart: Green Solutions

Have you ever tried to listento the wisdom of your grand-parents? If so, share with ussomething inspiring,interesting and intriguing.Selected insights will bepublished along with thephotographs of your grandparents. Other ideas are alsowelcome. Ed.

Palle Srujana (Telugu)Brig Pogula Ganesham VSM (Retd)C/o Ms. Aruna Ganesham. 102, Vayupuri, Sainikpuri Post,Secunderabad - 500 094 Andhra [email protected]



Background

Farmers of Cangzi village are able to generate justsufficient income from agriculture as sometimesthey don’t have agricultural equipment or theypossess too small a land for using or hiring large-scale agricultural machinery. So they give theirfarms on contract for collective cultivation andmigrate to nearby cities. In Zhao’s village, thereremained a piece of unused land outside theresidential area. Famous for genuine love forfarming, Zhao Yunlong decided to take that landon contract. He had nobody else to assist him incultivating it.

He and his wife made the small piece of landcultivable and raised 67 pigs. The couple also triedto cultivate more than 50 Mu (equals to 8.15 acres)woodlands experimenting with cultivations likeyellow peach trees, thin-skin walnut trees, peanuts,corn and so on. All these attempts failed becauseof environmental problems and his limitedknowledge. Problems like poverty, rent for thecontracted land and money to support his child’seducation pestered him. He also improved somefarming devices that he found inefficient like aweeder and long-range, multi-functional herbicide-scattering machine.

Innovation

Since traditional method of planting peanuts wasinefficient and labour-consuming, he bought a

ready-made seeder from the marketto save his time, money and cost.What’s more, he did not want his wifeto work too hard!

When he washed the seeder afterworking on several Mu of farmland,he found that many seeds wereaccumulated at the swirl opening andthey all had been squeezed rotten. Itwas a great loss. He left the seederaside and grumbled, “I should havethought about this. With such a smallswirl opening, it is easy for the seedsto be squeezed”. He thought of anarrow passage and began to improvethe seeder from then on. He first spunoff the opening, and installed a squareopening instead. This time the seedswould not be squeezed rotten, but alot of seeds came out at the sametime and resulted in wastage. So hechanged the size of the square leak,which could seed evenly, but eachtime lots of seeds accumulated there.He tried again and again, got frustrated,but never gave up.

Once in the market, he saw childrenplaying with glass marbles. The rulewas that each marble could only be

Spring Peanut Seeder

Zhao Yunlong, 42, educated till junior middle school, is quite an ingenuousfarmer of Cangzi Village, Zichuan District, Shandong Province in China.

CHIN

sprung once. He thought of applyingthat rule to the seeder. He installed aspring and a small piece of metal platein the seeder. But either the spring wasnot elastic enough for the seeds tospring out, or the seeds would stillbe squeezed rotten. He improved itmany times and finally, attached oneside of the spring to the flywheel ofthe seeder’s wheel. While he pushedthe seeder, the chain on the connectingwheels drove the flywheel turning; theflywheel pulled one end of the spring,and made the seeds come out of asmall slot on a small platform. Finally,the small metal plate pulled by thespring would spring the seed out. Onepull, one spring and one seed, hesucceeded.

Zhao Yunlong found that with theimproved spring seeder, one couldseed ten Mu farmland in one day, whilemanual labour could seed only twoMu farmland earlier. He finally foundthe door to his Xanadu (an idyllic anda very beautiful place.)

Scout: Prof Bian CuilanTianjin University of Finance andEconomics (TUFE), Tianjin, China


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NEWS & VIEWS


Regional Dialogue on BiodiversityConservation

A regional dialogue on “Implementation ofbiological diversity act and priorities forbiodiversity conservation, sustainable utilizationand benefit sharing” was held at at IIMA on 1st

February, 2009. Dr P L Gautam, ChairmanNational Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, chairedthe day long workshop. He shared variousprovisions of the Biodiversity Act, its role andimplications. The purpose of the workshop wasto discuss and fill the gap in knowledge, policiesand research so that a rich agenda for futureengagements could be worked out. NationalBiodiversity Authority wants to pursue the agendaso evolved in a systematic manner in the years tocome.

Highlights

• A separate national level interface meeting wasneeded to discuss problems faced inimplementation, interpretation and definition ofthe Biodiversity Act.

• Capacity building programs for statebiodiversity boards were needed.

• May 22nd is the International Biodiversity Dayand National Biodiversity Authority can plansome events on the day.

• A handy manual in regional languages is neededto generate awareness about conservation ofbiodiversity giving appropriate examples.

• Benefit sharing guidelines prepared by SRISTImay be shared by NBA with differentstakeholders.

• Implementation of PBR (People's BiodiversityRegister) needs to be simplified and capacitybuilding for the same can be done by NIF.

• Involvement of herbal healers or local healersin BMC (Biodiversity Management Committee)or village committee can help in the cause ofconservation.

• Linking BMC with existing JFM (Joint ForestManagement) bodies may be tried.

• An amendment is needed in the act for habitatconservation.

• National Task Force needs to be set up forlong term monitoring of biodiversity. There arehardly any long term monitoring sites.

• An orientation cum field based curriculum forthree months course on biodiversity mapping,classification and identification, is needed inconsultation with the University GrantsCommission at graduate level, aimed at

engaging the young generation inthe the work of biodiversityconservation.

• A separate national level meetingis required to effectively addressthe structure of the varioussections of the act and the needfor necessary amendments inthem.

• Training of the taxonomists isrequired to improve their skills.

• Five thousand conservationfellowships can be given topeople/communities throughNational Biodiversity Authority invarious states to promote theconservation.

• It should be obligatory for thecompanies that are utilizing thebiological resources to revealwhether they have obtained thebiological material in a sustainablemanner and also the source.

• Involvement of forest officials tobe encouraged in NationalBiodiversity Authority.

• A committee to be constituted,comprising the members fromIARI, ZSI, BSI and FSI to list theplant/animal used that are notendangered.

• Private collections of butterflies,or carnivorous plants maintainedby individuals need to beconserved.

• Basic science research need notrequire permission under the act.

SRISTI Meet

A consultative meeting was organizedon 8th February in Junagadh attendedby the SRISTI Board members, localinnovators, and traditional knowledgeholders. The aim of the meeting wasto democratize the Honey BeeNetwork and make it more accessibleto all. It was also an effort towardspreparing new leadership. The ideawas to explore and develop agovernance structure without theinvolvement of founders like ProfGupta. The knowledge holders,farmers and members associatedwith SRISTI strongly felt that they

needed to strengthen the movementlocally. Other key suggestions were:a) There should be more participationof the knowledge holders in policymaking; b) Almost everybodysuggested that the knowledge holdersand the founder members shouldwork together. There was no needof separating the founder membersfrom the Movement; c) There shouldbe more participation of innovators,herbal healers and farmers in decisionmaking; d) Local people can be askedto help in the scouting anddissemination of knowledge; e) Thelocal members of SRISTI can helpin starting Prayogwadi (a place forexperimentation), and preparing theVillage Knowledge Register; f) Theformula for benefit sharing in herbalproducts sold by SRISTI innovationswas discussed and elaborated; g) OldSRISTI members who had earlierhelped in scouting the active membersand knowledge holders, can marketSRISTI products from a commoncentre or SRISTI Service Centre.Such members will be called SRISTImitra; h) The members suggestedpreparing catalogues based on cropsand livestock innovations and theexperience of herbal healers andvolunteers. Such catalogues will helpin locating and reaching out to theexperts for help at grassroots level;and i) Some grassroots innovatorssuggested that their mechanicalworkshops can be considered as anincubator to provide local technicalhelp to other innovators.

I can do a lot

MORE!

A'mika



DIALOGUEBBC Documentary series-INDIA

Shruthi [email protected]

BBC UK is producing a new excitingdocumentary series called – Jimmy’s WorldFarm. It seeks to examine and feature uniquesolutions that these countries are providing tovarious environmental and agricultural challenges.I came across NIF, SRISTI and Honey BeeNetwork during my research and am interestedin this fantastic movement of sustainingagriculture through innovations and traditionalfarmer knowledge. We want to featureexciting stories that show ingenuity of farmerwisdom in coping with changing agro-climaticconditions. For example, the potato farmersin Gujarat.

(We will be very happy to help in making sense ofgrassroots creativity all across India. Peter Dayand Richard Berringer have walked with us in oneof the six monthly Shodh Yatras and may add theirown personal insights: Ed.)

Documenting Innovations

Natasha [email protected]

I’m a freelance journalist in Mumbai. I want tomake a short documentary on people and actions/initiatives that have been taken around the countryto reduce carbon emissions. National InnovationFoundation has felicitated many such innovationsand I would like your help for information on thesame. The idea behind my film is to spreadawareness about people who have found ways tomake a change around them, thus encouragingothers to do the same.

(We will help you. This is the least we can do tocontribute to the cause of conservation: Ed.)

Exploring Innovative Projects

Tarishraj [email protected]

We congratulate you and NIF on achieving onelakh innovations. It has really ignited our mindsas well, for contributing to the society equally.We are much keen into exploring innovative andunique projects by funding them and therebyexecuting the same.

(Our major problem is that mostinnovators and traditional knowledgeholders cannot become or do not wantto become entrepreneurs. We areactually looking for friends like you;get involved, show results: Ed.)

Thanks for IntrospectiveOpportunity

Vidnyan [email protected]

HBN is providing a platform to display,develop and appreciate the hidden talentthat are at par or even excel those ofthe highly educated elite. We as engineerswere spellbound and were compelledto introspect and think for the bettermentof this society with some contributionin the national interest.

(Why not take initiative to get involvedas a ' friend of SRISTI ' in blending formaland informal engineering? Ed.)

Innopreneurship

Deepak [email protected]

The two hours of listening to HoneyBee’s perspective will last forever inmy memory as a source of inspiration.I have also been very passionate aboutconvergence of Entrepreneurship andInnovation leading to Innopreneurshipin youth. I visited sristi.org and nif.organd it’s wonderful to learn aboutgrassroots innovations.

(I am happy to hear that you foundsomething substantial in ourphilosophy. Please do see how yourtalents, social capital, social networkand expertise can be harnessed, nomatter to howsoever small extent: Ed.)

Schools to turn CommunityEnabling Centres

R [email protected]

I am inspired and humbled by the passionwith which you have been pursuingyour dream of building our nation inyour own way - ‘Bringing Innovative

India into the open and FacilitatingIndia Innovate’. We have beennurturing a thought of converting ourschools into Community EnablingCenters and the interaction that I hadwith you, really helped to give a biggerperspective.

(I do see a lot of areas where somesynergy might emerge. We could talkto children every month and provokethem to debunk some of the deep-seatedprejudices of our society. Thanks forinspiring youngsters: Ed.)

Grassroots for World

Barbara [email protected]

I am a Brazilian journalist workingfor Colors Magazine, a thematicmagazine, included in the list of bestmagazines in the world, produced inItaly by the Benetton CommunicationCenter. We want to focus on howhuman beings can be extremelycreative in order to solve realproblems. I’ve found the NationalInnovation Foundation webpage andrealized that you work with this exactthing: grassroots inventions that canbe useful to the world.

(We are very happy that you wish tofeature the creativity and innovationsat grassroots in your widely readmagazine. This might enable us toreach the segments, which we ordinarilymight not have reached: Ed.)

Collaborative Promotion

Sundaramari [email protected]

Gandhigram Rural University isstarting a centre that intends todocument, conserve, validate,standardize and further propagateindigenous knowledge/ practices notonly among the farming communitybut also among the students,scientists, academicians, policymakers, extension workers etc. amongwhom most of the indigenous


23When did you last consume organic food ?

Iiknowledge/ practices have already become extinctdue to modernization and globalization processes.To achieve further heights in this direction, werequire technical and financial support from variousagencies like yours and those who are workingfor the same cause. Such technical collaborationas well as financial assistance is very much solicited.

(I am very happy to hear about your centre and yourwillingness to enter into cooperation with NIF andHoney Bee Network. The students coming from ruraland urban areas can be motivated to scout anddocument innovations and traditional knowledgewith name and address of the innovators, organizeidea competitions among students, ask students tobenchmark various technical activities and alsocommon property resource institutions: Ed.)

Dr Kalam’s Presence

Sulekha [email protected]

All the children and staff of the municipal schoolwere enthralled at the event (Ignite 2008 awardceremony where Dr Abdul Kalam was the chiefguest). Coming to IIMA and meeting Dr Kalamwas a dream come true for them. They werespeechless in expressing their joys.

(Keep up your good work. By helping these children,you are helping the whole nation: Ed.)

Top-down and Bottom-up Drivers andRegulators

Evelyn Nava [email protected]

I’ve been working for technical assistance agenciesand international organizations for some years beforestarting my PhD and I’m very much interestednot only in the efficacy of development aid, butalso on the complementarity of innovative grassrootsapproaches. It is a challenge to try to put all piecestogether regarding the international-local top-downand bottom-up drivers and regulators on animalhealth and biosecurity. However your program isof enormous inspiration for this task!

(Thanks for your interest in our efforts. I hope wetogether can bring some solution: Ed.)

Farmers Save Seeds

Michael [email protected]

I wanted to know how you have done so far withcross-breeding the wild and local varieties. I am

writing a senior thesis about thegenetic engineering of terminatortechnology. One of the key pointsof the controversy was whetherfarmers would be able to obtain seedsof local varieties and breed them withwild species, if the genes for seed-sterility were engineered into allgenetically modified seeds. Yourarticle intrigued me because of thecreativity of the farmers in developingnew varieties, saving seeds, andgoing abroad to Japan, India, Vietnam,etc., to find local varieties.

(Farmers face no difficulty in accessingthe plant varieties either from market(which is the easiest way) or otherfarmers or even AgriculturalUniversity (they also pilfer thosevarieties from research stations whichare not officially released but seemto have potential). The state does notyet provide transgenic seeds directly,some public sector research labs suchas NBRI Lucknow have licensed thesevarieties to private companies andthese companies distribute, oncommercial basis, the publicsector developed transgenics. Farmersalso use commercial transgencis andcross the parents (obtainedone way or other other) with localvarieties and develop their owntransgenics: Ed.)

Traditional Ways of WaterConservation

Braj Ratan [email protected]

I am a research scholar working onUttar Paschim Rajasthan ka JalPrabhandhan or Sanrakshan (from15 to 18 Century). I want to knowmore about Traditional Water Bodiesand Geo-Hydrological, WaterEngineering.

(I am very happy to hear about yourwork and quest for more information.See sristi.org and look upknownetgrin data base of honeybee published practices. You cansearch library at sristi.org and if youfind interesting papers, write tous: Ed.)

Learning From Ape

B [email protected]

It is an age old practice in India tocollect herb by following animals,e.g. keeripillai (mongoose) is rival tothe snake. On seeing snake keeripillaifights with it and kills it. After killingthe snake, the keeripillai runs in theforest and rolls over a herb to get ridof the snake bite, the healers followthe keeripillai and collect thisherb for healing snake bite. Likewisedifferent animals were observed andfollowed to get herb the specific forremedies. It is an age old practice inIndia.

(Thanks for sharing this insight. Wehope to learn from readers about otherexamples of use of herbs by animals toself heal themselves: Ed.)

Authentication ofInnovations

VLV [email protected]

I am writing this mainly to know ifNIF/Honeybee has any facility/mechanism for authentication ofinnovations (suppose X claims that aparticular process of drying leads togreater shelf life compared toconventional method). If yes, may Iknow the process of getting such acheck done, especially the financesinvolved? If no, can you suggest anyagency which does work of thisnature?

(Yes, claims have to be authenticated.NIF has MOU with CSIR and ICMR ,besides they work with SRISTI naturalproduct lab and several otherresearch groups to validate the claims.That is very necessary for products tosucceed in the market place. Let NIFor SRISTI know about thetechnologies of common people thatyou wish to have validated and if theseare registered with NIF and areunique, then these will be taken upfor validation: Ed.)

Honey Bee Regional Newsletter - SRISTI1)_January-March 2009.pdf · Sahay, Shalini Sharma Graphics...

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