HB 17(1) January-June 2006 final1-2)_january_jun… · · 2011-06-06A Dialogue on People's...

A Dialogue on People's Creativity, Experimentation & Innovation

Honey Bee Vol 17(1) & (2) January - June 2006

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Young India Imagines ................... 34

Cool Skool ....................................... 37

Honey Bee Hums Oriya .......................................................... 40

Malayalam ................................................ 42Kannada .................................................... 42Gujarati ..................................................... 43

News & Notes .................................. 45

Dialogue ............................................ 48

Contents

Profile ............................................................... 5

Visiting Wisdom in God's Own Country ..... 9

Grassroots to Global .................................... 14

Culture and Nature ....................................... 15

Woman Centurion .......................................... 17

Healthcare ....................................................... 20

Knowledge Enriched Despite Poverty ....... 21

Negotiating for Institutional Space .............. 28

Conservation ................................................... 31

Local Water Harvesting Systems ................. 32

Food for Work: A Grand Mother’s Tale

EditorAnil K Gupta

Editorial AdvisorsRiya Sinha, Vijaya Sherry Chand

Editorial AssociatesDibyajyoti Bhuyan, Aruna Pandey

Editorial Support TeamKirit K Patel, Ramesh Patel, Hema Patel, Mahesh PatelT J James, Sudhirendar Sharma, Vipin Kumar, AnuradhaBhattacharjee, Vikas Chandak, Shailesh Shukla, Deepa MoniGogoi Tripathi, Anshu Srivastava, Nitin Maurya, Jyoti Capoor

Graphics and DesignUnnikrishnan, Goraiya Shailendra, Saurav Brahmachari

IllustrationPalash Graphics, Satpal Chabra

Administrative TeamR P S Yadav, R Baskaran, Balaganapathy MudaliarNisha Binoy, Bhoomi Shah, Devshi Desai

Editorial AddressHoney Bee, c/o Prof. Anil K GuptaIndian Institute of ManagementVastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015, Gujarat, India.Phone: 91-79-26324927; Fax: 91-79-26307341

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

Honey Bee Regional Collaborators

Aama Akha Pakha (Oriya)Dr Balaram Sahu,3R BP 5/2, BP Colony, Unit-8Bhubaneswar-751012, [email protected]

Hittalagida (Kannada)Dr T N PrakashDepartment of Agricultural EconomicsUniversity of Agricultural ScienceGKVK, [email protected]

Honey Bee (Telugu)Brigadier (Retd.) Pogula Ganesham55 Vayupuri, Secunderabad - 500 [email protected]

Published by Riya Sinha on behalf of Sristi Innovations, B-4, Ravi Niketan, Nehru Park, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad-380015.Printed at M/s Bansidhar Offset, Ahmedabad

Wise women and men have their own ways of conveyingthe subtle messages of life. There was an old widow ina village who used to feed the people every year inremembrance of her deceased husband. This year when sheinvited people, she decided to offer water herself to everybody to wash their hands before taking food. While pouringwater on the hands of guests, she noticed some thing inthe palms and asked some to sit in veranda. And some wereasked to sit inside. One rich peasant of the village knownfor his arrogance could not understand the logic of this kindof discrimination. He asked, “grand ma, why do you asksome people to sit in verandah while others you invite insideyour house for the food?” The lady laughed and then askedback, could not he understand? It was simple. When sheasked people to spread their hands to pour water, sheobserved whether they had knots on the mounts underfingers in the palm. Those who worked hard using theirhands would obviously have harder knots. Such people wereinvited inside the house and the one’s who only askedservants to work and did not work with their own hands,were asked to sit in the verandah.

Next time, you invite your friends for food at home, try this!

Source: A folk tale heard in my childhood: AKG

Ini Karshakan Samsarikkatte (Malayalam)Peermade Development SocietyPeermade, Idukki-685531, [email protected]

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

Num Vali Velanmai (Tamil)P Vivekanandan, 45,T P M Nagar, Virattipathu-625010Tamil [email protected]

Will you stand by the IPRs of peasants ?


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Mind! As if it Matters

When 25O million people being provided employment forat least hundred days are considered to have only mouth,legs and hands, surely the planners do not think that mindmatters. This is a tragedy of monumental nature whichdeserves wider debate in the country. How could a countryaspiring to be a knowledge society aim at providing jobsonly of menial nature without involving mental and thinkingpower and drawing upon people’s knowledge?

Let me state at the outset that I have nothing against menialwork, if the planners also include this in their daily routine:they start their day with cleaning the latrines and urinalsin planning commission, finance ministry (which any wayneed some cleaning), PMO and the rest of the similar placeswhere all the wisdom resides. In fact, Gandhiji inductedevery new comer to his ashram by asking the person toclean the toilets. He believed that one could not take upbigger responsibilities of freedom struggle without learninga lesson or two about dignity of labour.

But then to engage the poorest people only in back breakingwork adds no dignity to labour. What could be theassumptions behind such a policy for more than a hundredyears, ever since Deccan riots took place more than acentury and half ago?

Till recently, the Food for Work programmes used to leadto assets which did not last even for single rain. Makingthe same roads over and over again was the destiny of mostsuch programmes. Employment Guarantee Scheme inMaharashtra started after 1971 drought was first attemptto provide guarantee of employment within five kms of theplace of residence of workers. When a group of suchworkers demanded work, the state was obliged to providethe work. After the renewed focus on watershed programmein drought prone areas, the activities dealing with soil andwater conservation, afforestation, etc., were incorporated inthe public works programme. Since these programmes werenot obligatory, government introduced a law through whichprovision of employment on the pattern of EGS becameobligatory with more than Rs six billion expenditure everyyear. The nature of the work and its measurement continueto be based on physical labour.

The question one has to ask is whether millions of workerscould not use their ability to think, analyse and infer whiledoing work. Should reliance be placed entirely on thephysical work? I argue that we can indeed make workmuch more meaningful, useful and paying if localknowledge around various resources is made the basis ofemployment programmes. I concede the possibility that

some physical labour would be necessary to build theinfrastructure in rural areas for better natural resourcemanagement. Out of 100 days, perhaps 60 days could bespent for that. Even for that work, much greater input ofknowledge can be ensured so that the value is added tothe quality of the infrastructure. Remaining 40 days canbe spent in various kinds of ecological resource andknowledge mapping, value addition through processing,bio waste and other by-product utilisation, non-farm valueaddition and eventually building up of knowledge andvalue chain from producer to consumer. The employmentprogramme can also be used to create creative content onthe web for promoting village tourism for which enormouspotential exists.

The specific nation building tasks proposed underknowledge intensive employment can be grouped underthree heads; a) Knowledge mapping and gathering, b)knowledge creation and value addition, and c) Knowledgeapplication and dissemination.

Knowledge mapping and gathering

Building and updating Village Knowledge Registers (VKR):There is a tremendous amount of knowledge with theelders, men and women of all communities which iseroding fast. Some of this knowledge can provide veryvaluable leads for developing contemporary products suchas herbal drugs, dyes, food preservatives, weaning foods,metal and wood processing technologies, casting, moulding,mineral processing, etc. Each village needs to map theknowledge as well as resources. All the species of theplants, animals, insects, etc., can be inventorised and thebiodiversity maps can also be put on the village website.Annual monitoring of diversity would help people track theenvironmental disturbances. The concept of peoplebiodiversity registers is already provided in the BiodiversityAct. The VKR will incorporate both biodiversity and non-biodiversity based knowledge and can be integrated withthe National Register of Grassroots Innovations andTraditional Knowledge at NIF and also with NationalBiodiversity Authority.

Identifying the best practices to develop value added products:In various fields of knowledge, the elders among theworkers would identify the best practices for the givenproblem and the context either as such or after poolingsimilar practices from other villages, new products will bedeveloped, packaged and branded to generate income andemployment for the local communities. Ideal aim should bethat more and more people should get employment in

EDITORIAL



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knowledge based enterprises and deselectthemselves from public employmentprogrammes voluntarily. The knowledge ofmigrating millions also needs to be includedin the search for the best practices. Theirknowledge is precious and cannot be allowedto be eroded.

Technology benchmarking in everyday life:Workers should be trained to do technologyaudit so that one can see the drudgery andinefficiency in everyday life. Once the efficiencygaps are identified at block, district, state,national and international level, workers canbe enabled to think of the solutions that canhelp close these gaps with the internationalbest practices in those activities. It is only theabsence of such an activity which explainswhy the efficiency of using fuel wood orcleaning the drinking water in more than 60per cent houses has not improved much in thelast few centuries.

Knowledge creation and value addition,

Creating content for cultural, ecological and villagetourism and lateral learning: Despite all theclaims made about ICT revolution, there is verylittle local language content available on theweb developed by people themselves.National Rural Employment Programme cancontribute a great deal in creating content forthe village websites all over the country. Notonly it will promote people to people learningbut also encourage more knowledge basedvillage/farm tourism. The cultural traditions,folk songs, sayings, fables, historical anecdotes,heritage, etc., can be put up at these sites.Local artists would get visibility and some ofthem may even get invitation for performancesin rural as well as urban areas. More peopleengage in self- employment activities, less pressurethere would be on government to provide theemployment opportunities.

Large number of tribal people know how to makeliquor, hence herbal extracts: The technologicaljourney towards making herbal extracts frommaking wine or liquor is a short one.Tremendous value can be added if localcommunities can not only make herbal extracts,but also high value herbal drugs properlytested and certified with the help of smallprocessing units set up by the employmentprogramme. Various activities under tribaldevelopment, rural employment, watersheddevelopment, social welfare, women and child

development, health and agroindustries, etc., can be pooled tocreate small processing units invillages based on the raw materialsavailable in plenty. Herbalpesticides( do not vidharba farmerson the verge of suicides need theselow cost alternatives, rather thansubsidy on unviable chemicalpesticides?), veterinary medicine,herbal food preserver, etc., aresome of the innovative productsthat can be easily developed atlocal level.

Redefining the Khadi and VillageIndustries Programme for generatingemployment: As mentioned in thereport of the 17th Shodh Yatra,even the ordinary soap wasbrought from Raipur,400 kmsaway to the local market inKoraput. There is no reason whylarge amount of non-edible oilseeds in the region could not bevalorised for soap production. Infact, every worker in the countryshould be provided soap alongwith the wages because largenumber of human diseasescan be traced to the lack of properhygiene.

Knowledge application anddissemination

Food processing and online cafeteria:Apart from documenting variousrecipes, the employmentprogramme can also supportpreparation of processed foods forwhich local and distant marketscan be identified. Once the demandis generated, production can besupported till market can bear thecost of entire activity. Once themarkets are created, moreactivities can be taken out of thepurview of state supportedemployment.

Artisanal, handicraft and handloomactivities: Given the potential ofemployment in craft, handloomand khadi activities, the pastpractices of spending much moreresources at the sale point of the

products rather than in improvingthe quality and technology at theproduction point, will have tochange. If one compares a khadicloth shop with a private shop, onefinds more people engaged inselling much fewer products. Theburden of this inefficient deliverychain is borne by the khadi loomworkers whose wages have notimproved much. The proposedmodel intends to blend the publicemployment with private marketsso that there is a competitive spiritin making products withproper inputs of design andtechnology.

The knowledge intensive approachto employment suggested herecombines the menial and themental faculties in a proportionthat would be dignified and wouldempower the local communities.Knowledge network of small, scatteredand sustainable enterprises couldgenerate similar advantage whichlarge firms might have in many cases.Yet the policy is heavily biased infavour of large firms and notnetworks of small firms orenterprises. It is natural that theadministration of a heterogeneousprogramme is not very easy wherea bureaucratic structure isdesigned to deal with uniformity.But for how long can bureaucraticconstraints override thedevelopmental aspirations of thesociety. Can not the best of themanagement talent of the countrybe harnessed to run such massiveprograms. The goal of Indiabecoming a knowledge societycannot be met by keeping 250million people engaged in onlymenial task. Knowledge intensityhas to increase. Unless, of course,we want the problems of ruralunrest evident in 150 districtsalready, to extend to other regionsof the country!

Anil K Gupta



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ow many times have you felt quirkyover not switching off your lightsand fans when you left your house?

How many times have you felt irritated withthe staff of your housing society for notswitching on the water-pump for overheadtanks in time? How many times after readingabout a railway accident, have you wishedthat there was some way out to avoid thedeadly collision? While the wish list can goon, most of us leisurely forget about the wish-lists once the overriding emotion evaporates.

But it’s not so for some people. Welcome tothe world of gizmos made by Prem SinghSaini, a matriculate from Ambala, Haryana.Prem Singh has quietly been solving manyday to day problems that dog us every day.At the age of 18, he prepared a multi-functionalrobot that he calls the ‘BSF Robot.’ Prem

Singh came up with a grassroots robotcomprising 18 sensors, 45 chips, 6 motors andmore than 200 transistors. The robot isequipped with two rockets, can moveindependently and at the same time remotecontrolled, can light a match, detect oxygenand also transmit video images wireless to TV.Thus, if there was a damaged building, thisrobot would let us know the situationunderneath debris through wirelesscommunication on b/w TV screen. Thisinnovation received the Presidential awardfrom National Innovation Foundation in 2003.Numerous young men and women come toserve the county through the armed forces.Many of them combat the enemy and dieunknown. “It is sad,” rues Prem Singh. “Iwanted to prepare a gadget that can replacehuman life to undertake the dangerous militaryfunctions in the borders, so that many lives

No Odd Man Out

If zest forinnovation,restlessness to findsolution andconstant desire forimprovementtowards perfectionare characteristicsof all innovators,then Prem Singh isno odd man.

PROFILE

H

When did you think of a new idea last ?



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can be saved,” adds Prem Singh. There wereno takers for his outlandish sounding ideas atthat time, yet nothing deterred this determinedyoung man. He created what he believed inafter months of experimentation.

The list of Prem Singh’s innovation is bothimpressive and interesting. "Since I made myrobot, I have visualised nearly 500 other devices.Some of them are completed, others are in thestage of prototype and yet others merely at thelevel of ideas", informs Prem Singh. A lankyyouth of 27, Prem Singh has an air ofvulnerability about him. Son of a junior railwayemployee, he wears his achievements lightly.His restless mind can be gauged from therestlessness in his eyes. He hands are seldomstill, searching or working with something allthe time.

Lately, Prem Singh hasdesigned a cellular phoneoperated switch fore l e c t r i c a l / e l e c t r o n i cequipments. The device ismeant to switch on or offelectronic equipmentsthrough mobile phones.Unlike the gadget made bythe students of NirmaUniversity that uses theshort messaging service tocontrol the electronic flow,my gadget uses the mobile network only for anoutgoing missed call to control the electronicsof the gadgets. Since it’s only a ‘missed call’,my system is more cost effective. Secondly smscan get delayed due to network congestion,

Hand operated dynamo (2006): For thosewho can not afford to keep changing thebatteries of their radio set or batteries frequentlyPrem Singh has developed a hand operateddynamo. The small cabinet houses a 12Vmotor with a gear and a rotary lever whichhas to be rotated manually to generate a 3-6 volt output to power a transistor radio ora mobile charger. There is a filter condenseror a DC capacitor within the charger thatchannelises the power to the equipment. Thiscosts between Rs 50-80 if produced in aminimum batche of 75 units.

Heartbeat Amplifier (2004): A simpledevice where a stethoscope placed on the

I have never beeninspired by market. I

design only thoseproducts which, I feel will

make the life ofthousands of peopleeasier. Some of the

products might be marketfriendly but all of them

are human-friendly

chest of a patient is attached to anamplifier, which in turn is attachedto a FM transmitter. The heartsounds of the patient can be heardby the doctor in his cabin througha FM receiver or even telephoneand monitored. It might be helpfulin rural areas where doctors are faraway from patients who are likelyto need monitoring.

Wireless Cable (1996): A dishantenna mounted on the rooftopat his house converts allprogramme aired by any channel

resulting in inefficiency. There isno such possibility with my system.Either the call goes through or itdoesn’t, clarifies Prem Singh.

Enquiries about the genesis of theideas are answered with a chuckle.“Somehow I am quite defence-minded. One fine morning I calledup Prof. Gupta of NIF and toldhim that I have devised a cellulardriven system for bomb explosionfor our defence forces. Professorchided me and told that I onlythink of destruction. He told me tothink of something positive andhence the idea for this productoriginated”, replied Singh. Hispenchant for user-friendly, cost-

effective electronicsolutions engulfs awide range ofcreations like ahand operatedmobile charger,cycle operatedmobile charger,automatic sensor,a n t i - c o l l i s i o ndevice for trains,mutual inductanceradio detectionsystem for cars etc.

This impressive list of sophisticatedgadgets in Prem Singh’s portfolioshould not lead anyone to assumethat he is a trained engineer. He is

just a matriculate and essentiallyself-taught. "I fell in love withelectronic gadgets early in life. Mybrother owned a small electronicshop. I used to carry lunch for himand later used to ask a lot ofquestions on the electronicinstruments kept there. He did notenjoy feeding my curiosity, but Inever stopped. I have beenfascinated with electronics eversince then", says Prem Singh witha sense of déjà vu. “His thoughtprocess is quite unique. Unlikeengineers who are bound by theprinciples and theories ofelectronics and instrumentation,Prem Singh challenges themoutright and starts from therequirement. There lies his successstory", explains LalmuanzualaChinzah of National InnovationFoundation.

Prem Singh confesses that hedesigns only those products thatappeal to him. Does marketpreference guide him? "Well,honestly, I have never beeninspired by market. I design onlythose products which, I feel willmake the life of thousands ofpeople easier. Some of the productsmight be market friendly but all ofthem are human-friendly", explainsPrem Singh. It was sheer good willthat motivated him to design theHeart-beat amplifier. “I had a

Creative Variations

into audio video input. Thenthrough a video-transmitter, hetransmits the audio-video signalsto TV sets within a radius of onekilometre from the dish antennawithout any cables. One cansimply listen to the audio track ofa channel too though an FMreceiver. The system is legal as onecan transmit free to air channelswithin a range of one km withoutdisturbing the other frequenciesand public order. Consider thisthe next time you pay your cableTV bill.



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neighbour who used to work in Delhi. Hecame back home and got severely ill. Despitea compounder attending on him, he died thenext day. Later, people came to know that hehad suffered a heart attack and the compoundercould not diagnose it properly", narrated arueful Prem Singh, with a long sigh. Thisincident prompted him to think of a device thatcould transmit the heart sounds to a doctor faraway.

The ensuing device is quite simple. Astethoscope is connected to an amplifier whichin turn is attached to a transmitter. There isa receiver at the other end. The machine isattached to the patients in the ward and thedoctor can keep a tab on the patients throughthe receiver placed in his cabin. Whenconfronted that such a device is alreadyavailable in the market, he retorts, “Thereis an essential difference between thedevices that are available in the market and

the one designed by me. My system uses anFM transmitter and hence it can be used insidea house, even in remote places. It is alsocheaper.”

"Adaptability and cost-effectiveness is theessential difference between a professionalelectronic designer and a grassroots designerlike Prem Singh", explains Chinzah."Professional designers begin with marketneeds. They come up with products or solutionswhich cater to the market demands. Then theyzero in on the product/ solution that giveoptimum benefit. However, grassrootsinnovators are mostly driven by a sense ofgeneral goodwill. Though they also could be

Are your cell phones hormful: Is TRAI listening?

Prem Singh makes a point while working in hisworkshop

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

When a Florida man appeared on a popular TV show in 1993and claimed that his wife’s brain tumour was caused by radiationfrom her cell phone, the whole world went in tizzy (http://www.askmen.com/sports/health_60/72_mens_health.html). TheFederal Communication Commission in US opines that anyradiation beyond 300 MHz is hazardous for health. Even thoughthere has been so much of research on Radio Frequency radiationand Electro Magnetic Wave (EMW) affecting the human body,there has been very little authentic and empirical study to monitorthe radiation and associated impact of cell phones (http://www.fda.gov/cellphones/qa.html#6).

Prem Singh has designed a device to track the electro-magneticwaves (EMW) that are emitted from the cell phones and canprovide useful clues for the on-going research on radiation andhuman health. The device uses NPN transistor and a LED. Everycell phone contains metal oxide semi conductor field effecttransistors (MOSFET) that amplifies the network connection.During the process of amplification, cell phones emit EMW.Depending upon the intensity of the waves, electric current isgenerated and that lights up the LED signalling the strength ofthe EMW. A quick exercise done with various cell phones usingPrem Singh’s instrument revealed a very interesting picture. Almostall the models of Nokia, Sony Erickson (using GSM technology)started to send the electro-magnetic waves from a distance of 4.5-6 inch from the device. Surprisingly, for Samsung (Reliance usingCDMA technology) the magnetic wave length starts from a distanceof .05 inch from the device. The exercise concluded that if aconsumer uses a handset of Nokia 6600, for example, from adistance of more than 6 inch from his ear, he will not have toface high intensity electro-magnetic waves. The high gain electro-magnetic wave range of a few selected hand sets are: Nokia 6600-6 inch, Sony Erickson-5 inch, Nokia 1100-5 inch, Samsung(Reliance CDMA)-0.5 inch, Nokia 3315-4.5 inch, Nokia 6170-4inch, Kyosera-2 inch.

However, experts look at the innovation from a different perspective.Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT, Madras believes that CDMA phonestransmit EMW depending on distance from the base stations. Also,its signal is wide band and the circuit designed by Prem Singhmight be only measuring the narrow band. It will measure GSMaccurately as power is constant and it is narrow band. Prof AnilPrabhakar, IIT Madras also echoes similar voice, "Harmful effectsof long term exposure to low power EMW in the proximity ofthe skull is unknown since it will take about 15 years for anythingto show up".

Prem Singh has brought about a simple technological tool thatis needed to verify the claims of purported harmful effect of themagnetic wave radiation on human body. Is there any body totake the issue forward and provide a definite direction to theinconclusive research on radiation and human health?



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focused on specific societal problems. Theycan infact, take the risk of designing solutionsto meet the need of even a single person",explains Chinzah.

Prem Singh is addicted to his innovation spirit.Asked when would he think of becoming anentrepreneur, he says, "May be after twentyyears. There are so many ideas bubbling up inmy mind. I can’t rest until they materialize". Ifthis is a characteristic of all innovators- a zestfor conquering impossible, dreams that eludecommon eyes, not too many considerations andjust the spirit that says ‘Just do it!’, then PremSingh is no odd man.

Regarding any repentance in life fornot having received formal education,or making money, or even a regular9 to 5 job, or leaving his familybehind, Prem Singh says wistfully,"It does hurt at times that so muchspace and resources are given tomilitary, police, and the bureaucracyfor meetings, discussions and somany other things but there is nospace for creative people". Pointingto his small workshop in the premisesof Gujarat Grassroots InnovationAugmentation Network (GIAN),Prem Singh concludes with

Ideas as fast as the pace of light: Recent innovations of Prem Singh

Rickshaw/cycle operated mobile battery charger: There is a small dynamo thatis attached with the wheel of the rickshaw. The mechanical movement of the wheelgenerates electricity through the dynamo. There is a socket in the rickshaw and themobiles can be charged through that socket. Prem Singh claims that the system canbe prepared at the cost of Rs 400. He has also offered to disseminate the technologyfree of cost to all those rickshaw pullers who want to make some extra money byletting their customers charge their mobile phones during the ride. As it has beenshown in the picture the dynamo can also be attached to a bicycle to generate thesame utility.

Cellular phone operated switch: The device is an electronic switch, which isconnected to a GSM/CDMA mobile phone on one end and to an electrical deviceon the other end. A call from a programmed number switches the device ‘on’.Currently the innovator has demonstrated it on an irrigation pump system. However,it is portable and any electrical device can be operated through it. It is cost effectiveas it merely needs a missed call. Improvements in the system enable the user toget a message when the pump/system is switched on and off. In case there is noelectricity, the user is informed.

Tea Boiler: Here is a solution for the busy and forgetful and yet who want a goodcuppa. A pressure cooker is placed on a heater that is connected to a timer to switchthe gadget on or off at the set time. The raw materials can be put in the cooker andthe timer set. At the pre-determined time, the heater gets switched on. As the teareaches boiling point, the steam that is released from the cooker sets on a sensor thatis attached to a device that contains an FM transmitter and a solenoid to switch off theheater. Within a range of 100 ft the transmitter sends a signal to the receiver kept withthe user, through a recorded voice and ring that the tea is ready. The pressure cookerhas been provided with a separate pipe to pour out the tea.

Automatic Water Level Indicator: Prem Singh saw the water-level indicatordeveloped by Susheelan from Kerala. In ten minutes, he prepared a water levelindicator that costs under Rs 350/-. The mechanism is very simple. Open wiresare placed at different levels of the water tank. Each wire is connected withindicators that show different water levels. These indicators can be placedanywhere and can also be attached with alarms to facilitate monitoring of waterlevels in a storage tank. The equipment is powered by a DC battery that merelypowers the indicators and does not pose any risks.

saying "creativity thrives uponencouragement".

There are several Prem Singh’stucked away in the rural heartlandsof India. It is imperative that we findthem on a war footing, besidesencouraging several others to leadfrom the front – both, by findingsolutions to everyday problems andbringing such people to the forefront.

(For feedback and information aboutinnovators, write to us [email protected]. You can write to PremSingh at [email protected])



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here was a splendid face off withreality in a little known village calledAnakara. Around fifty Shodhyatris

had gathered in the community hall ofAnakara to celebrate the spirit of sustainabilityand innovation. Two hours after thecelebration of sustainability, hundreds ofwomen were mourning the death of thefarmers who committed suicide failing to payoff huge debts. The local priests had gatheredto counsel the message of hope. The contrastwas stark yet telling. It is now obvious tofarmers that a model of development that isexternally driven, not based on the knowledgeresources of poor and does not care for theirsurrounding environment, is not viable. Wheninvited to share our perspective over thesituation, we tried to link their problem withtheir inability to see the merit of many solutionsin their own backyard. Why has learning fromeach other become so difficult even when somepeople are at the end of their tether ?

If such a collective experience against high inputfarming is gathering the storm, are we ready withthe alternative when hopelessness amongfarmers is intensifying?

The sixteenth Shodhyatra in the Idukki district ofKerala from the 27th December 2005 to 2nd January2006 opened our eyes again and again to theworld of simple solutions at their best. Is that whythese solutions remained obscure or inaccesibleand never got on the radar of public extensionagencies ? Why should a simple idea of sprayinghigh pressure water with a pump on cardamomplants to wash the external pests not be diffusedas a simple low cost solution ? Whose interestscould it come in the way of ? The issue ofsustainability in agriculture came to fore throughthe initiatives of KT Thomas, Sabu Verghese andbio-fertilizer prepared by the local farmers but alsobrought into focus the vibrancy of creativity thatexists at the grassroots. The Shodhyatra saw theemergence of many green grassroots innovation

Visiting Wisdom in God’s Own Country

A walk of ninetykilometers,

rendezvous withseventy odd creative

persons, memorablemoments of

unearthing grassrootscreativity and

richness in herbaldelicacies. Sixteenth

Shodhyatra in Keralahad many more thingsto offer than imagined.Seldom before, we had

discovered so manyinnovation leads

impromptu in a roadside meeting

T

16TH

SHODHYATRA

Chellarkovil peak in Idukki



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champions who hold promise for ushering a newparadigm of development based upon people’sresources i.e. their unique knowledge system.

Augmentation of a new Methodology:Challenging People’s Curiosity

The yatra started from Kumili and ended inKattapana. The journey covered a distance ofabout 100 km and twenty three villages.However, the highlight of the yatra was the streetmeetings that were organized on the road-sidein Anakara, Cumbumeetu and Thookupalam.There could have been no better experience forthe Shodhyatris than the night meeting atThookupalam which produced as many as sevennew innovations within a time span of twohours. The meeting at Thookupalam was nodifferent from other night meetings organised

during the Shodhyatras wherepeople were told about ourdatabase. The initial indifference ofpeople at Thookupalam forced theShodhyatris to pose a challengingquestion to the assembled crowd-"have you seen any similar systemlike the one devised by Trailokyaand Champak Bora of Assam wherethe music can be transmittedwithout the wires in a house?" Therewas silence for some time. Peoplewanted us to start the display ofmultimedia multi language HoneyBee database. But we insisted onwaiting till they came out with someexample of innovations. Graduallythe silence turned in hush and thehush was converted into a flurry ofnew ideas. Suddenly there were toomany activities. One of the personsreported that Tomy, in the vicinityof Thookupalam also practiced thesame technique. In response to theBiju Verghese’s innovation ofdisabled friendly driving system inKumili, Mr Ajith gave informationabout Mr Niny, who had alsodesigned a disabled-friendly drivingsystem on the lines of Biju. Mr Ninnywas immediately contacted and avehicle was sent to request him tocome to the meeting. His father, MrGopi came to the spot with the carand was felicitated. His physicallychallanged son who designed thesystem worked as a PCO operator

and was busy. Hence he could notcome. Mr Sibi Thomas reportedabout the cardamom drier designedby Daniel, which could dry upto5000 kg against the 500 kg, whichwas the strength of the currentlyavailable driers in the region.Mr Hari Kumar mentioned theinnovative windmill of MrPrabhakaran. Mr P J Mathewreported about the machinedesigned by George Prakasgramthat could separate green and whitepepper. Mr Uttaman reported aboutthe innovative vanilla processingunit of Mr Rajasekhar Nayar. Apartfrom the innovators, all the peoplewho had given information aboutthe innovators were also felicitatedon the spot. All these moments ofbreak in presentation, wait fordiscoveries to be made (holding ourbreath, for we could have easilyfailed to elicit any new idea at thatmoment), pressure to hurry and rushbut our insistence to learn frompeople standing there madeeveryone feel the ultimate pulse ofcreativity. If a proof was needed toshow that Kerala was a creativesociety, it was there.

The message was clear from themeeting: you give challenges topeople and they will tell you thateither it is already solved or will besolved. This is what Shodhyatraaims at: Reviving a sense of selfconfidence among the grassrootsinnovators about their knowledgeand making their neighbourhoodappreciate the value of suchknowledge. Sixteenth Shodhyatraconfirmed our belief in the processof deriving solutions throughcollective brain storming and itshould be further formalized bystrengthening local level lateralforums like ‘Shodh Sankal’ and‘Shodh Panchayats’ as tried inGujarat.

Innovations par Excellence

So far as unearthing the grassrootsinnovations and traditionalknowledge during the shodhyatrawas concerned, sixteenthSharing Honey Bee database in a night meeting at Thukoopalam

P Vivekanandan, co-ordinator Honey Bee Networkinaugurating 16th Shodhyatra



11

No More Faceless

Sivaprasad, a tailor,who is educated till classX, has thought of asystem wherebyrockets can belaunched from the shipand it would beremote - con t ro l l edfrom the ship itself.

Susheelan, an electrical wireman from Keralahas designed a device where the wall clock canindicate through sensors attached to a rod, thewater level in any overhead water tank. Thematerials used in the system include capsulescontact sensors (electrical), LED indicators; atransformer, rectifier, power supply, electricalstarter system, signal system, mechanical cut offsystem, float and DC bell. The float makescontact with the sensors immersed in theoverhead tank as the water-level rises. Thestarter signal system makes the motor turn onor off according to the status of the water level,sensed by the sensors. The sensor signals are

transmitted to LEDsin the clockindicating the waterlevel. Moreover, ifthere is any problemcaused related tofoot-valve, a redLED glows andindicates an error inoperation. Thus, thesystem can indicatewater level with highresolution and act ascontroller effectively.

It can be used in homes for controlling level ofwater of overhead tanks. The cost of the deviceis Rs 1,500.

In comparison to other products available inthe market, it is very simple, cost effective,hybrid system (comprises features of mechanicaland electrical system) and has flexibleresolution.

Biju Verghese, a physically challenged personhas designed an innovative disabled friendly

driving system, for physicallychallenged persons in the lowerlimb. The innovator has modifiedthe existing wagon–R model tomake it suitable for physicallychallenged. The one who do nothave one or both legs can use thiscar efficiently. The modificationsmade are in breaks, clutch, gearand accelerator. All these controlsare modified in such a waythat these can be operated byhands. Controls are transferred tohand by use of leverageand linkage mechanism and/orusing the concept of existingsystem.

The modified brake is operated bythe middle as well as adjoining finger

by pushing the brake leverdownwards, which is connected tothe brake pedal of a car by the twowheeler brake wire as a connectingmechanism. The clutch is operatedwith a palm. When clutch lever ispushed downwards clutch pedal ispushed and disengagement ofclutch take place and to engage theclutch, lever has to be releasedgradually. This action is alsotransferred by use of two wheelersbrake wire cable. The acceleratoris operated with forefinger bypressing the accelerator leverdownwards similar to handoperated brake lever.

The system can be fitted into anymodel of car and theincorporation cost rangesbetween Rs 4000-4500/-. Therepair kit for the system is quiteeasy and ergonomically also thesystem is comfortable.

In Thookupalam, we came acrossNinny, another physicallychallenged person who has alsodeveloped a disabled friendlydriving system. Ninny has usedsimple iron rod connected tofoot levers of existing controlsto transfer the controls ofaccelerator, brake and clutch tohand. Controls are transferredto hand by use of simple ironrod connected to the existingfoot pedals. This is mountedunder the steering with the

Sivprasad explaininghis new ideas

Susheelan addressingthe shodhyatris

Biju Verghese with his disablefriendly driving system

Gopi, father of Ninny who alsodesigned disable friendly drivingsystem

Sabu Verghese with his'cardamom wonder'




12

While felicitating the herbal healers(Mr Damodaran, Mr Pooneseriyiland Mr Anthony Mathews)at Nettithozu, it was realizedthat Ayurveda is not simply a systemof codified medicine but a livingtradition in the villages ofKerala. One of the herbal healers,Mr Anthony Mathews saidthat the secret of longevity lies intaking proper diet and he suggested that an ideal diet must

have 80% alkaline and 20% acid.Another interesting innovation wasthat of ‘dehusking machine'devised by Mr George Mathew.The machine separates husks fromrice using an electric table fan. Theinnovation of Benny Thomas inplant variety section was equallyinteresting. He had developed ahigh yielding variety of pepper bycross breeding two varities ofpepper.

Shodhyatra was no exception. As many asseventy two innovators and traditionalknowledge holders were felicitated during thecourse of the yatra. In Mannakudy, we felicitatedBiju Verghese for designing a disabled friendlydriving system, where all the essential functionsof a car like using brakes, gears etc., that needfoot support can be performed by hand. Duringthe felicitation ceremony at Mannakudy, Bijuwas seated outside the community hall in hiscar and the Shodhyatris reached out to honourhim. In Thookupalam a similar driving systemwas found. It was also designed by anotherphysically challanged person called Ninny. InKumili, Ms Valsamma Thomas was felicitatedfor her unique anti-dandruff oil. In fact, theeffectiveness of the innovation can be gaugedfrom the fact that the oil is going to becommercialized by a Chennai based companyvery soon.

‘Cardamom Wonder': a high yielding indigenousvariety of cardamom innovated by Elecy and SabuVerghese attracted a lot of attention of shodhyatris.The variety was initially spotted by Elecy, thewife of Sabu Verghese and later on it was improvedby Sabu. Feature-wise and production-wise, thevariety was considered as superior. His innovationhas also been accepted by National InnovationFoundation for the next round of competition.Sabu has already distributed 20, 000 clums tothe farmers in Kerala and Karnataka.

George Mathew in action withhis winnowing machine

Biodiversity competition organised in Cumbammetu high school

help of clamp fitted on the steering shaft.Brake, Clutch, Accelarator and Pedal areoperated by pushing the corresponding ironrods downwards by hand. Cost of thisattachment is hardly Rs 750.

The ‘cardamom Wonder’ innovated by Sabuand Elecy Verghese has a panicle, whichis double the size of the normal length (2.5ft), with pods ranging from 35/40 perpanicle. The variety has three panicles perplant. Each kg of dried cardamom includes4500 pods against 6000 of the normalvariety. The average yield of the plant isabout 4 - 4.5 kg compared to the normalyield of 2 kg. He has already distributed20,000 clums to the farmers in Kerala andKarnataka.

Can you imagine how tough, time consumingand some time inefficient it can be tomanually separate chaff from paddy grains?

Some people use the table orceiling fan and pour down thepaddy from top and the windsegregates the chaff from thegrain. Mr George Mathew hasworked out a solution keepingthe advantages of wind tunnelapparatus to separate the chaff.The machine is like a long tubewith three passes. In one of thepasses, the fan is fitted and theother two passes at the endcollect paddy and chaff respectively.The fan helps to separate thechaff from the paddy grain. Hehas also designed a rope way totransport the hay from one sideof the dwelling to the other. Themachine not only performs itsfunction effectively but also savesenergy that would have beenwasted otherwise.



13

We came across many small and large usefulinnovations during the shodhyatra in Kerela.Most of the technologies were low-cost, efficientand environmental-friendly.

Competitions for awareness on biodiversity

Like all the previous Shodhyatras, bio-diversityand recipe competition were organised amongchildren and women respectively to spread theawareness of conservation, diversity andecological ethics. More serious and threateningthan the erosion of the natural resources is the‘erosion of the knowledge’ because it is theknowledge that provides institutionalframework for the management of naturalresources. Biodiversity and recipe competitionsaim at stemming the knowledge erosion byacting as ‘knowledge dams’.

During the Shodhyatra, bio-diversity contestswere organized in three villages, whereas recipecontests were organized in two villages. In totalthere were ninety six participants in three bio-diversity competitions. The student participantsknew names and uses of 2355 plant samples(many in duplicate). Geethu Gopalkrishnan, astudent of class IX, who stood first in thecompetition held at Anakkara, was outstandingin her effort. She knew the plant names of around65 plants and had brought with her all thesamples. What was astonishing about her was

that she could name any plant withdetailed usage information withoutlooking at her texts . She also toldwhat kind of precaution one shouldtake while taking the plants asmedicine. The show stealers in theCumbumeetu competition were agroup of nine students, whocollectively knew uses of 170 plantsbrought by them - highest numberby any participant(s) during thisShodhyatra. The childrendemonstrated the ethics ofcollaborative learning that has beenmissing from our educationalsystem for a long time.

Recipe contests were held in twovillages viz. Anakkara andCumbummetu. In total, there were26 participants with 30 recipes.Several local recipes made from lesscultivated crops or crops withmedicinal values like ‘nelikakarbichar’, ‘puwakachar’, ‘sukien’ wereon display. The significant part ofthe contest was that many of therecipes were ready to be launchedin the market with some amount ofvalue addition. NIF, in associationwith the local SHG groups wouldtake up this activity soon.

Learning in the laboratory of life

Learning in most of our lives hasbeen quite fait accompli, structuredand regulated. The educationalenvironment around a child hardly

encourages him to be creative andthink out of the box. Shodhyatradeconstructs the whole process oflearning and encourages theparticipants to learn from the‘laboratory of life’ (as suggested byDr R A Mashelkar, chairperson, NIF).Shodhyatra provides bothhorizontal (peer learning) as well asvertical (from elders) learning spacefor the yatris.

On the way to Puliyanmala, theYatris stopped to interact with afarmer, who manually pollinatedvanilla (Vanilla planifolia).Originally, a crop of central Mexico,the crop is self-fertile but incapableof self-pollination (a membraneseparates the male or anther and thefemale or stigma of the vanillaflower). The method involves usinga needle, to fold back the membraneseparating the anther and thestigma, and then pressing theanther on the stigma for pollination.

As the Yatris, walked along, theystopped at the house of aVaidya (Traditional Healer),Mr Chakochen, who uses aromatherapy. His house was like agrassroots botanical garden. Heshowed the Yatris a variety of plantswhose leaves emanate aroma ofseveral spices. The spectacle of ablacksmith giving temper to the

In pursuit of perfection: A Blacksmithgiving final touch to a sickle

Continued on page 30Recipe competition brought out outstandingknowledge about biodiversity among women

When did you meet an innovator last ?



14

imple solutions work, and they work inways which often surprise us. Thecoconut tree climbing device, designed

by Mr M J Joseph, a farmer from Kerala, andhis father, has scored unique success in USA.This simple and easy to use device to climbup or down coconut palm, arecanut or othersimilar trees is handy for people untrainedto climb up such tall trees, swiftly and withease. It can be very useful for even trained

people. They can reducedrudgery, and climb fasterusing lesser energy. It can beused for gathering nuts orspraying pesticides. It can alsobe used to climb electric poles.This device is particularlyhandy since in many placestraditional tree climbers are

becoming more and more difficult to come by,since climbing up a tree with a straight trunkrequires considerable skill.

Mr M J Joseph, alias Appachan, is a schooldrop-out. Appachan’s first innovation, adevice to extract milk from coconut did notdiffuse well due to its high costs. Though hedropped out of school due to financial reasons,Appachan retained sufficient curiosity to learnfrom his surroundings and his father, JosephMudhukulathil, who also has been a veryinnovative farmer. Appachan and his treeclimber bagged a prize in the farm implementscategory in the Second National GrassrootsTechnological Innovation and TraditionalKnowledge Competition, organised byNational Innovation Foundation (NIF) in theyear 2001-2002.

The utility of this device attracted MrKevin Davies, a distributor of newproducts in USA to place an initialorder of 25 units. “ The device workedperfectly. I climbed a 40-feet coconuttree very quickly and safely. I amimpressed”, he wrote withsatisfaction. He infact, offered to beits distributor for North and SouthAmerica.

Coupled with some basic safetydevices like a harness, this devicemakes climbing up a straight -trunktree or a pole quite quick, easy andsafe. The device, with nosophisticated technology has not onlybeen well accepted in US, but alsoachieved whopping success backhome. Appachan has sold over 6,000units to people across the country.Recently, Coconut Board hasexpressed an interest in ordering50,000 units, to be distributedamongst farmers at a subsidised pricein Kerela (http://coconutboard.nic.in). NIF is in the process ofgranting him venture support fromits Micro Venture Innovation Fund(MVIF) to establish an enterprise ofhis own.

Making Man Reach the Moon: Top of Tree

“I would like to beyour distributor forNorth and South

America. I wish toproceed rapidly as

I am already gettingqueries about the

device and here inUS no one has

patience to wait...”

GRASSROOTSTO

GLOBAL

SUSA can make manreach the moon, but

to help him reachthe top of a tree, it

needed an Indianinnovator!



15

nder some cultural beliefs, praying andblessing may be considered useful torepel pests1, but only practices having

material basis have been examined here.

To control weeds such as broomrape(Orobanche), some farmers use a blessing, charmor spell. Garusi2 quotes Plato, “To repel a plantcalled in Roman Rivanius, mostly found inmelon beds and observed among other cropsas well, the property of which is to make cropsdry and decayed once it appears, and it is calledbroomrape by farmers: if five oleander branches(rose-bay) are obtained and one of them isdriven into the melon bed or the plantation andthe other four into the four corners of theplantation, the weed will be removed from thatplant; and if four pieces of pottery areobtained and a drawing is made oneach of them of a mangrabbing a lion bythe throat, andthey are thenburied inthe fourcorners ofthe field,the lossesincurred by thatplant will be restrained;and if a rather old rooster isdriven around the field, once itcrows plant loss will be eliminated.

Such methods were perceived as superstitionfor many years; however, recently evidence hasbeen found indicating the impact of music,readings from the Korãn, and prayers, on plantquality and growth. According to Bãghdãr 3andBãghdãri magazines4 plant cells are able tocommunicate with one another and aresensitive to their surroundings—not only at thecellular level, but also at the level of molecules,components of atoms and even smaller levels.Bahadari opines that human beings can readilycommunicate with trees. In his opinion, thiscommunication and the resulting phenomenaare subject to the reaction of a person’s energy

field with the energy field of a tree. (We may addthat we consider this and other claims only as matterof faith rather than based on rational, scientificevidence: Ed.)

Research conducted by a number of Americanresearchers indicates that there is someemotional relationship between human beingsand plants5. Tompkins and Bird, authors of thecontroversial book, The Secret Life of Plants, havestated that it is the electromagnetic nature ofplants which gives plants the characteristics ofa semi-conducting waveguide. A plant is thusinfluenced by the electromagnetic waves in itssurroundings, including those from humans,and in turn affects its surroundings.6

The use ofp r e d a t o rinsects forb io log ica lcontrol is

supported byt r a d i t i o n a l

beliefs that ares o m e t i m e s

dismissed assuperstition. For

example, some ruralfolks believe that

spider webs found infields or orchards arethe home of the deviland should therefore

not be destroyed. Lately, the role of spiders inpest control has been proven7, suggesting thattoxins from spiders are lethal to the insects.Spiders kill insects by injecting them with anerve antigen. Experiments are underway toexploit the toxin-producing genes of spiders tocontrol pests.

In some regions, rural people have adopted holynames for beneficial insects to discourage theirdestruction e.g. green lacewings (chrysoparufilabris) insects which feed on certain pestsare called sabz qabã or sabz-‘abã (i.e. green cloak),green being a holy colour in Iran. ‘Abã’ is a long

Cultural Beliefs of Iranian Farmers on PlantProtection

This paper*overviews somecultural beliefs

of Iranianfarmers on plantprotection. While

some religiouspractices, are

beyond the scopeof science, there

are others whichhave possible

linkages to it.

CULTURE&

NATURE

U

When did you talk to your grandparents last?



16

garment or cloak generally worn by noblemenand community elders, and symbolises theirsocial status.

Although indigenous cultural beliefs are richsources of knowledge about controlling pests,diseases, and weeds, this implies neithera full rejection of new technologies nor areturn to blind faith. Studies indicate thatindigenous knowledge would appearsuperstitious when perceived and assessedinadequately. However, scientific assessment,discovering the roots of the belief and thepositive effects any practice has on crops,animal or even human health, revalidates thatpractice. Greater interaction between plantprotection scientists and farmers practisingindigenous methods would contributetowards developing sustainable naturalpesticides and also diffusion of such knowledgeeffectively.

M A Ardakani is a field researcher in Kohgiluyeh-va-Boyrahmad province, Iran, [email protected]

Dr M H Emadi is in the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad,Tehran, Iran, [email protected]

References

1Harawi, Qãsem Ibne Yusof-eAbunasri. (1977). Ershãdoz Zerã’ah (AGuide to Farming). Edited byMohammad Moshiri. Tehran: AmirKabir Publishers.

Petroshevski. (1965). Keshãwarzi wamonãsebãt-e arzi dar iran dar ‘ahdemoghol (Agriculture and AgrarianRelations in Iran in the Mongol Era).Translated by Karim Keshawarz. 2vols. Tehran: Tehran University.

Yãvari, A R (1980). Shenãkhti azkeshãwarzi-ye sonnati iran.(Introduction to TraditionalAgriculture of Iran). Tehran: Bongãh-e Tarjomeh wa Nashr-e Ketãb

2Garusi, ‘A ‘A (1996). Pishiniãn chehmikardand? (What Did Our AncestorsDo?). Proceedings of Educational-Extensional Discussion Publishedon the Need to Reduce theConsumption of Chemical Fertilizersand Pesticides, (Vol. 3). Tehran: TheMinistry of Jihad for Agriculture , pp.63-65.

NIF in association with regional collaboratorPeermade Development Society in Kerala istrying to scout, screen and pool the women'sbest innovative practices and outstandingtraditional knowledge to develop newproducts. Later, through MVIF (MicroVenture Innovation Fund), NIF wishes tomake investment of risk capital in creatingmarkets of these products. Development ofenterprises based on these documentedpractices and innovations for herbal drugs,foods, cosmetics, dyes etc., will require flexibleapproach for enabling groups as well asindividuals, local or external, women as wellas men entrepreneurs. A competition hasbeen launched for the women groups inKerala and other regions.

The competition may lead to formation ofwomen based village knowledge registers aswell as entry of new knowledge basedproducts in the horizontal (women to women)or vertical (urban consumers and ruralproducers) markets.

3 Majalleh-ye Bãghdãr. (1994). Giãhãnmitavãnand be tamãmi-ye ashkãl-ehayãt pãsokh dahand (Plants canrespond to all forms of life). Bãghdãr,No 1, pp 33-34.

4 Bahãdari, Z (2000). Ãsãre e’jãz-eQorãn bar roshd wa nemow-e giãhãn(The Miraculous Effects of the Korãnon Plant Growth). Keshãwarz, No 247,pp 60.

5 Jahãd-e Rustã. (1995). Vojud-e rãbete-ye ‘ãtefi bein-e ensãn wa giãhãn(Existence of an EmotionalRelationship between Humansand Plants). Jahãd-e Rustã, No. 324,pp 40.

6 Abbãsi, E (1996). Biãbãnzã’i wabiãbãnzodã’i, bãztãbi az ahwãl-e del(Desertification and CombatingDesertification, A Reflection of theHeart). Sonboleh, Vol. 9, No. 80, pp.20-27.

7 Dezfuliãn, M (1994). Ankabuthã;dustãn-e ãrãm, doshmanãn-e khatarnãk(Spiders: Quiet Friends, DangerousEnemies). Jahãd-e Rustã, vo

Competition for pooling ‘Best innovative technological, traditional andinnovative practices of women’

Earlier in Januray 2004, aworkshop on the subject wasorganised by SRISTI and NIF withthe help of CCD and SEVA,Madurai. It involved federations ofwomen from five states. Therecommendations included theprocess through which risk andreturn analysis could be done bythe SHGs and new products couldattract MVIF investments.

Women knowledge holders eitherin groups or individually areencouraged to submit as many entriesrelated to their distinctive knowledge.There are three cash awards rangingfrom 25,000, 15,000 and 10,000for best three innovative practices,apart from consolation prizes for fivepractices. Support will be given laterto at least ten groups for convertingselected practices into enterprises bythemselves or by combined efforts

with others. Last date for submittingentries is September 30th 2006. Butthose who can not send the entriesby this date, can send it for fifthround of the competition till 31December 2006.

Entries could include indigenousrecipes, child rearing practices,indigenous classification of pediatricdiseases, herbal practices, andecological indicators, indigenousfood preservation and processingtechniques, medicines, dyescosmetics, etc.

Entries can be sent to NationalCoordinator (S & D) NationalInnovation Foundation (NIF), BunglowNo. 1, Satellite Complex, JodhpurTekra, Premchandnagar Road,Vastrapur, Ahmedabad - 380 015Phone: 079 26732456/26732095,Toll free No. 18002335555. Email:[email protected]



17

evliba Rathwa, at 101, (Jodavaantvillage, Chhota Udepur Taluka,Vadodara District) works hard and is

very affectionate towards people and animalsalike. She is well known in her community forhealing people and animals with hertraditional knowledge. Nearly blind withcataract, she still goes about her householdchores without much help. “I had an eyeoperation thirty years ago. I can hardly seeany more, but can still pick out stones fromthe corn,” she says with a twinkle.

She was born to very poor parents in a desolatevillage Jodavaant in Chhota Udepur Taluka.Her mother died of fever when she was fiveyear old and her brother, 18 months. Thereaftershe was raised by her father, Chiliabhai, whileher brother was raised by their maternal aunt.For making both ends meet, they depended on

their three buffaloes. Grazing them wasDevliba’s responsibility. She recalls herchildhood friends Jemliben and Denliben withwarmth and recalled those idyllic days andbreaks into a folk song.

Her father worked as a labourer and when hecould not find work, they dug out wild onions(Urginea indica) from jungles to boil and eat.“We lived such a difficult and hard life. Wealso used to roast and eat 'kudi' (Wrightiatinctoria) leaves, 'Puvadia' (Cassia tora) leavesBhaji, 'Koliyar' leaves bhaji, 'Gorfari' bhaji,'Zaraklu', 'Sargava' (Moringa oleifera), 'Gundi'(Cordia gharaf) leaves, 'Umri' (Ficus racemosa)leaves and fruits, vegetables from wild ‘Bhindi’(Abelmoschus manihot) leaves, ‘Koyda' leaves,‘Kaongalasa’ leaves, ‘Kulhar’ (Blumea eriantha)leaves, ‘faang’ (Rivea hypocrateriformis) leaves,‘mukha’ (Schrebera swietenioides) leaves, ‘sarma

WOMANCENTURION

D

Devliba Rathwa: A century of struggle

Devliba Rathwa,101, insists ondoing her own

work inspite ofblindness and

partial deafnessand is an

inspiration tomany.




18

rotla', ‘kodra' (Paspalum scrobiculatum) bhaidku,‘Rice (Oryza sativa) bhadku’, ‘Red Juwar (Sorghamvulgare) bhoidku’, ‘rotla from mukha (Schreberaswietenioides) bark’, ‘bhavta (Eleusine coracana)rotla’, ‘bunty (Echinochloa frumentacea) rotla’, ‘rotlafrom Corn’ (Zea mays), ‘adad (Vigna radiata)dhokla’, and ‘mahuda’ (Madhuca indica),”she recalls in a forlorn voice.

The toughest time for her was whenher father died. “I was 15 years old.My father who had gone breakingstones for work died when a big stonefell on him and crushed him,” sherecalls in a choking voice. “I just didn’tknow what to do with the lonelinessand grief,” she says with anxiety.Relatives took her in till she was 19and was later married to Mangaliabhaiof Bod village in the same Taluka.

Life after marriage did not change very much,she added, "for the first six years of ourmarried life we worked as clay labourers andstone breakers, till another death changed ourlives". Her younger brother committed suicide.

Mangaliabhai and Devliba went to her parentalhouse in Jodavant village, since there was noone there. Her father had left behind a mere1.5 bigha (approximate 0.20 ha) of land, quiteinadequate for subsistence. “We worked thefields by day and at night as stone breakers.Before going to work we used to drink corn‘Raab’. In the afternoon we used to eat ‘kodra,(Paspalum scrobiculatum) vaghedu’ mixed with‘hamali’ leaves crushed and mixed with red‘juwar (Sorgham vulgare) “, she recalled whenasked about their dietary practices. Slowly thefamily grew. A daughter Radhiben and a sonAmarshibhai were born. She now lives with

her son and his wife. Her daughterpassed away four years ago.

When asked about the traditionalhousehold items, she replied,“Even now we are using the samehousehold items which have beenused through generations. Forexample this ‘charno’ made out ofbamboo strips for grain shifting,‘khajuro’, 'supadi’, decorative‘sambelu’ from teakwood (Tectonagrandis)’ designed 'indhoni' clay potand mould for making tiles of‘sisam’ (Dalbergia sissoo), ‘thalu’ forkeeping food and water for dogs.‘visatro’ made from stone for gramgrinding. ‘pali’ for measuring grain‘chatvo’ from blackwood tree,‘paseriu’ for ghee made fromteakwood (Tectona grandis). Basketmade from bamboo (Bambusaarundinacea) strips. ‘chapdo’ for

taking outdoli oil'gadvu ' forg a t h e r i n g‘neero’ onpalm tree,‘daman’ forc l i m b i n gpalm trees,‘paliu’ formaking cuton palm treefor getting‘neero’, wheel

car for carrying neero pots, ‘zeen’for filtering ‘neero’, ‘bhotvo’ forstoring and ‘sunthio’ for balancingneero utensil”, she saysholding them all up one by one.“Almost all these items are madeby us for use in our house”, sheemphasizes.

Traditional dressing

When asked about the traditionalclothes and ornaments, sheexplains, “Our people are well builtbut short in height. Men used towear 'dhotiu' earlier. Nowdays, theywear a long shirt and turban also.Earlier women used to wear red'odhani' and blue ‘ghaghro’ butnowadays they wear different typeof clothes”. Tribals usually

Life after marriagedid not change verymuch. “For the first

six years of ourmarried life weworked as clay

labourers and stonebreakers; till

another deathchanged our lives.

Ancestral domestic practices

(1) The filtrate of ‘bhoykher’plant roots cut into two inchpieces obtained after boiling inwater is given to the patient tocure jaundice.

(2) Paste of the roots of ‘gangdi’(Gardenia turgida) made bygrinding on stone is reported tocure diarrhoea.

(3) Fruits of ‘gahna kachda’plants mixed with water are fedto the animal to subside thebloat.

favoured jewellery earlier. On beingasked, she explains that they areusually in silver and use items like'haansadi', ‘kalla’, ‘kada’, ‘kandora',‘daamni’, ‘haidi’, ‘haar’, ‘vitla’,‘kikri’, ‘jud’, ‘vaank’, ‘vedh’, ‘gajri’,‘kagrali chudi,’ ‘aamaliu’, ‘bhoria’,etc. Men usually draw black lineson their faces parallel to their eyes,while women have tattooes etchedaround their eyes.

About old social practices, sherecalled that in the Rathwacommunity people used to choosetheir life partner from local fairs.They would run away from thefair and would live together ashusband and wife. This practice isnot prevalent any more.

The presiding deity for the Rathwasis Babadev. Holi is celeberated withpomp and is usually loud. “Wedance merrily beating drums andplaying other instruments. Men andwomen dance with bows andarrows”, she said explaining tribalculture. Diwali is celebrated indifferent villages differently as perconvenience. A New Yearcelebration also takes place in thetemples.

Talking about lost plants, Devlibenrecalled a vegetation called ‘mukha’(Schrebera swietenioides), whoseleaves were eaten in various

Smiles of hope have not faded with years



19

preparations. ‘Rotla’ was madefrom its bark. This plant is extinctnow in their locality. Varieties like‘bunti’, ‘bavto’, ‘kodra’, and ‘kodri’were used earlier for food. ‘Kuthia’daal is another lost crop. It hadsmall blue grains. “I am almostblind but I find no difficultyin working or walking”, sheasserts. Devliba Rathwa at 101insists on doing her own workinspite of blindness and partialdeafness and is an inspiration tomany.

Devliben, Mangaliabhai RathwaDist.: Vadodara, Gujarat

Folk Galore

Soi-soi wade lagyo galechuKuan maa kareli undo kuvo kareli(There are green vegetables in the kitchengarden. The well is very deep and has winesof bitter gourd in it)

Haatu-Haatu mein ladi jotelaMedu tara lada mein jotela(I am looking for a groom for my daughterAnd I ask your son for her)

Varu-Varu ladi mein jotelaHale Khai Khichdi Kain Bale Sanjiya(I agree to take your daughter as my son’swife; Let’s celebrate the moment with sweets)

Soi- soi wade lagyo galechuKuan maa kareli undo kuvo kareli(There are green vegetables inthe kitchen garden. The well isvery deep and has wines of bittergourd in it)

The song marks the nature ofsymbiotic relationship that thelives of people in Jodavant havewith nature. While one engagesin life and social relationships,thoughts of nature andenvironment cannot be excluded.

NATIONAL INNOVATION FOUNDATION, INDIA

National Innovation Foundation, constituted by the Department ofScience and Technology, Government of India, aims to recognise,respect and reward grassroots technological innovators andoutstanding traditional knowledge experts.

The competition: NIF solicits entries about unaidedtechnological innovations and traditional knowledge developedby individuals or groups comprising farmers, artisans, fishermenand women, slum dwellers, workshop mechanics, students, localcommunities etc., for managing natural and/or other resources.Innovations can be machines, gadgets, implements, or processesfor farm operations, household utility, transportation which enhanceefficiency, conserve or generate energy and reduce drudgery,make creative use of biodiversity and plant varieties, generateherbal remedies for human or animal health or develop other newlow cost, sustainable green technology related to various aspectsof survival in urban and rural areas. Creative ideas for innovativetechnologies are also welcome. Communities developing People’sBiodiversity Register (PBR) or People’s knowledge Register (PKR)are encouraged to register/link their knowledge base with theNational Register at NIF.

The awards: The best three innovations and traditional knowledgepractices will be awarded Rs 1, 00,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000each in different categories. In addition, individuals and/or organizationsthat make extraordinary contributions in scouting grassroots innovationsand traditional knowledge may also get awards worth Rs 50,000,25,000 and 15,000 respectively. Other contributions will also beacknowledged. There will be several consolation prizes of Rs10,000 each in different categories depending upon the numberof entries and incremental inventiveness and potential social andenvironmental impact. Special awards will be given for innovationsand outstanding traditional knowledge of/for women. There willbe special prizes to recognize outstanding innovations by/for peoplewith physical disabilities. Three most outstanding innovative ideasmay be given prizes of Rs 50, 000, 25, 000 and 15,000 in additionto consolation prizes of Rs 5, 000 each. The outstanding entrieswill also be widely publicized in the Honey Bee Newsletter andthrough other media. Summary and/or details of the selectedinnovative practices and traditional knowledge practices includedin the Register will be displayed at the websites of NIF with the

Prior Informed Consent (unless such knowledge is already in thepublic domain) of the innovators/knowledge providers.Students: Young inventors and innovators are invited to sendtheir ideas or innovations for a special category of awards forthem. These should be unsupervised, an outcome of their owncreativity, without any support from their teachers or outsiders.Students are also encouraged to join SCAI at grassroots (StudentClub for Augmenting Innovations) to help other innovators([email protected]). Supervised project from engineering or otherprofessional colleges will not be accepted except under professionalcategory. There will be prizes worth Rs 15, 000, 10, 000 andRs 7, 500 for the best three entries and several consolation prizesof Rs 5,000 each in this category.How to participate?

Individuals or groups may send as many entries as possibleon plain paper providing a) genesis of innovation, and b) backgroundof innovation and innovators. We will appreciate if every entry isaccompanied by full postal address, photograph and/or video ofthe innovator and innovation. Herbal entries may be accompaniedby dried plant samples to enable proper identification. The lastdate of sending entries for the Fifth Biennial Competition is December31, 2006. The Sixth Biennial competition will be held during January2007 to December 2008.

Where to send entries?National Coordinator, National Innovation Foundation

Bungalow No. 1 Satellite Complex, Premchand Nagar RoadAhmedabad 380015 Gujarat

Fax: (079) - 2673 1903email: [email protected] www.nifindia.org

Our Regional Collaborators : Various organizations and individualsacross the country assist us in recognizing grassroots innovatorsand traditional knowledge holders. Our regional collaboratorsare P Vivekanandan from SEVA, Tamil Nadu, T N Prakash fromPRITVI, Karnataka, Balaram Sahu from Innovations Club, Orissa,T J James from PDS, Kerala, Ranjan Mahapatra from SRISHTI,Orissa, Arun Chandan from Makhir, Himachal Pradesh, SundaramVerma from Rajasthan, Ramesh Mahajan from Maharashtra andKamal Jeet from New Delhi and Uttaranchal.

The Fifth National Biennial Competition for Recognising and Rewarding GreenGrassroots Unaided Technological Innovations & Traditional Knowledge

C o - s p o n s o r s

IIM-A

CSIR

SRISTI

Honey Bee Network




20

ealth is wealth - an old saying that weget to get to hear, at each and everystage of our life. As a child, one is

reminded by elders of the family to be carefuland maintain good health. As we grow old,work pressures, steep deadlines, pollution andstress affects our health adversely. Time and/or monetary constraints may not permit one tothe privilege of visiting health clubs/gyms, etc.Personal exercising instruments available in themarket cause a big dent in the pocket as well. Asan endeavour to resolve these problemsinnovator Shri Sakrabhai Prajapati has deviseda complete solution to meet the health needs rightat one’s own doorsteps – ‘Maruti Jhula: Aninnovative health care chair’.

Sakharbhai’s family is well knit joint familyconsisting of a wife (60 years), two sons (23 and

35 years), a daughterin law and a grandson.The family owns itsown business,'Brahamani Fabrica -tion Works’, wherethey make windowgrills and frames. ShriPrajapati who is now65, has studied tillSSC. He has alwayshad special interest inPhysical Educationand has a Certificatein it also. Beforestarting his business,Prajapati was aphysical educationteacher in a Highschool.

The idea of makingsuch a chair came tohim in 1998 while hewas nursing anaccident injury. Hisshin bone was brokenThe doctor hadadvised him toexercise his legs bysitting and movingthem up and down but

he was unable to do so. Every time he lifted hislegs his torso fell backwards. He saw hisgrandson rocking in a cradle and instantly gotthe idea of making a chair which can move toand fro rather than side ways as in the case ofthe cradle. Once he recuperated in 1999, hestarted working on the idea and after numeroushits and trials, experimenting with variousdesigns, he finally came up with the firstprototype. This was in the beginning of the year2000. Thereafter, he commercialized it. He doesmake certain cosmetic changes to the structure,with new orders, as per the needs of the buyer.

He has shown his jhoola to a few doctors alsowho have complimented his innovation. Aftera media coverage of the Health Care Chair byNDTV, much interest has been generated in hisjhoola and he has been receiving a large numberof enquiries from across the country. So muchso, that presently he is unable to meet the risingdemand. He is looking forward to some sort oflicensing for his innovation so that he canreduce the demand-supply gap at far off placesand effectively meet his orders.

The said equipment is very simple and is actuallya combination of chair and exerciser. Its USP isits low price, which people across all sectionsof the society can afford at almost zeromaintenance cost. Conventional rocking chairavailable in the market in different designs costaround Rs 2000 to Rs 3000. Different chairs forexercising are also available in the market withmore advanced features but are highly expensive.Further, swings available in the market are rigid,i.e. they cannot be tilted as per one's requirementsand cost around Rs 3500.

This all new innovative health care chair, servesthe purpose of seating as well as exercising witha capacity to accommodate a person weighingup to 120 kg. This product is ideally situatedfor Indian urban middle class adult whoseldom goes to a health club or outdoors forexercise and would prefer an easy chair, whichhe can use both for relaxation and exercise. Someimportant features of the health care chair are -(a) Easy to tilt – according to the comfort of the

MARUTI Jhula - An Innovative Health Care Chair

It is a uniquecombination ofHammock, easychair, Small Jhulaand lower bodyexerciser. Itenables full bodyrelaxation withlight lower bodyexercise.

H

HEALTHCARE

Continued on page 36



21

he Seventeenth Shodhyatra organisedby Honey Bee Network in the tribaldominated district of Koraput in Orissa

produced a different image of the region andhelped everyone to view it from a perspective of‘source’ rather than ‘sink’. After all, why has aregion remained economically backward for solong, is it because it lacks new ideas,innovations or is it because the administrativeinstitutions and markets have ignored the needsof local people? Please walk with us throughthe pages to learn what did we discover andwhy we feel very optimistic about this region,even if administration hesitates in making localknowledge as a basis of building new futures.Having completed about 2800 km of walk withthis Shodh yatra in the last eight years, weremained convinced that Honey Bee Networkcan indeed show a new way of development, ifonly we will care to listen to local voices ofdissent, deviance and diversity. But thechallenge is to mould the local anger into apursuit of creative and innovative solutions.The local resources will have to remainaccessible to tribals for them to use their

knowledge for socio-economic transformation.Otherwise, will we have any right to complainif extremism takes over larger and largerterritories in the region?

The Start Up

The Seventeenth Shodhyatra started from GangaMaa temple in the Pattangi block of Koraputdistrict in Orissa on 9th May 2006. Months ofground level planning and preparation beforethe Shodhyatra had set the stage for a tryst withnature and associated knowledge systems. TheShodhyatra covered a distance of 113 km,starting from Pattangi and culminating inSabara Srikhetra. There were around sixtyShodhyatris from different parts of the countryfrom as diverse professions as teaching, farming,accounting, community services etc.,and fromdifferent regions like Orissa, Maharashtra,Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh,Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, etc.

Honey Bee network collaborator, Dr BalaramSahu and his friends, colleagues and local

Knowledge Enriched Despite Poverty

Seventeenth Shodhyatraorganised by HoneyBee Network in the

tribal dominateddistrict of Koraput in

Orissa challangedmany of the basicassumptions of thefellow yatris. Why

this reason wasaffected by nexalite

ideology became clearwhen we saw the

degree of depreviationand administrative

inertia

17TH

SHODHYATRA

T




22

network members had worked very hard tocreate this learning and exploring journeypossible in Koraput, Orissa. The Jeypore tract inKoraput district is known as the birth place ofrice. It is said that the district is home to morethan three hundred indigenous varieties ofpaddy, many scented ones. The district isdominated by various tribal groups like Gadaba,Kandha, Juanga etc., and they have immensetraditional herbal wisdom. Learning fromindigenous wisdom, in a biodiversity richregion, under Naxalite influence made thisShodh yatra very different (Never before we hada police van trailing us, as it happened for firstfew days lest we strayed into unguardedterritories or we needed the security help). Thesocial imbalances which have made this regionas one of the most poverty ridden region alsomade us inquisitive about the roots of theeconomic deprivation.

Diversity, Ethics and Conservation

In the inaugural meeting of the Shodhyatra, theadministration was urged to initiate theinstitution of Village Knowledge Register (VKR)and start the experimentation itself with theschools. The two Block Development Officers(BDOs) of Pattangi and Semiliguda presentduring the meeting readily accepted thesuggestion and promised to start the work onthis issue from the coming educational year.Through out the yatra, we held several meetings,shared the Honey Bee database and felicitatedmore than seventy five innovators and traditionalknowledge holders.

During the yatra we made some pointsrepeatedly to draw the attention of people,opinion leaders, elected representatives and thedistrict administration. It was emphasized thatto stem the erosion of soil and water, peoplebuild check-dams. Similarly, in order to stemthe erosion of knowledge, we need to documentthem through the Village Knowledge Register.The VKR can comprehensively document issuesand insights pertaining to soil, water, plants,animals, clouds, non-farm skills, etc. Unless westart thinking about knowledge basedenterprises in the tribal areas, these regions willremain a source of cheap labour and materials.In each and every meeting, we explained thesignificance of protecting intellectual propertyrights of local people over their herbal knowledgeand the safety net provided by Honey BeeNetwork and National Innovation Foundation(NIF) through the institution of Prior InformedConsent (PIC). They were advised that be it

anybody ( including NIF or Honeybee network scouts), they must askthe knowledge collector about thepossible use of knowledge in theshort and long run before they sharetheir knowledge. The knowledgeseekers should show theirwillingness to enter into a faircontract with them if some thingvaluable or unique was found outfrom it. Also, people must have aright to learn from othercommunities through locallanguage documentation.

Biodiversity Competition

Biodiversity competition was heldin two villages, Champakhenda andKunduli. Twelve childrenparticipated in the competition with112 plant names, usages andsamples. R Manasi, a student ofclass seven joined the competitionwith a list of 87 plant names andmore than seventy samples. Whatwas astonishing about her was thatshe could confidently spell out the

usages of the plant without lookingat her text. It seemed that creativityflowed in their family. Her brother,a visually challenged boy, joined theShodhyatra at Kunduli andentertained the Shodhyatris with hisskill of drum-beating. Her sister wasa fine singer and her mother wasawarded first prize in the recipecompetition held in Kunduli.

Recipe Competition

Another recipe competition washeld in Maliguda. The richness ofthe delicacies and the associatedknowledge system can also beunderstood in terms of the blendingof Telugu and Oriya culture.Historically, it has been observedthat much of the cultural richnessand diversity is concentrated in theareas where two cultures interact(cultural ecotone) and Koraput is noexception to it. In total, there were65 participants, highest in anyrecipe competition organizedduring any Shodhyatra. The total

Clockwise from left: Recipe competition at Kunduli, Student with his projectin the science exhibition competition, Honey Bee database CD in Oriya beingreleased, Biodiversity competition at Champakhenda



23

number of recipes displayed during thecompetition was 182, again a record figure ofhighest number of recipes displayed in anyrecipe competition organized during theprevious Shodhyatras. The most appreciated andapplauded dishes for both taste and aestheticsincluded various sags like ‘pumpkin sag', 'koshalasag', 'gajar sag’ etc., manduru (a dish made fromraagi), ‘meeha’ (a ladoo made from raagi), ‘muanbhat’ (a minor millet), ‘mandia jau’ (raagi soup),‘phonji patra pitha’ (the leaf of phonji has curativeproperties for arthritis) etc. The recipecompetitions demonstrated both, the diversityof local culture and the depth of neutriceuticalknowledge.

Creative Children

A science exhibition was organized among theschool children at the Aeronautics High Schoolin Sunabeda. One of the highpoints of the stayat Sunabeda was the innovative welcomeextended to the Shodhyatris by the schoolchildren. They welcomed the yatris by lightingthe candles that used jatropha seeds,traditionally used for this purpose. Thirty oneparticipants from across the state participatedin it. Some of the best student projects selectedin the Children’s Science Congress of Orissawere displayed in the exhibition. The projectsbelonged to a very wide spectrum, ranging frombio-diesel preparation, sewerage management,and organic dyes for yarns, jute and textile toorganic fertilizer, preservation of paddygermplasms etc. Though most of the projectswere actively guided by the teacher-mentors,the experimenting spirit of the children wasalso apparent. Some interesting futuristicprojects like the bio-diesel candle, the innovative

sewerage management system,fertilizer made from the horns ofthe dead animals were givenprizes. It was felt that if teachershad not mentored the students,perhaps their own creativity couldhave blossomed much more.

Lateral Learning among Yatris

The learning took place in shodhyatra not only from people but alsofrom each other. GurucharanPradhan, a retired school teacherhas devised a machine that canperform nine types of agriculturalfunctions like cutting the hay,dehusking, separating rice frompaddy, sharpening the blades,cutting of wood, lifting water,harvesting groundnuts etc. Heshared his work enthusiasticallywith other villagers and also withfellow shodh yatris. ChakradharaPradhan from Sambalpur hasexperimented with lemon trees forincreasing the productivity such ascutting the bark of the lime plant foradvancing the flowering date, andusing stethoscope for sensing insectattack in the roots of trees. He hasalso systematically recorded thedata on sale, production anddistribution of plants since earlynineties. His initiatives anddiligence have, in past, beencaptured by national andinternational media.

Indramani Sahu, Jagatsinghpur is aversatile farmer-experimenter. Heshared an interesting method of pestcontrol. He uses smashed snails andpacks them into several packets. Thenhe puts those packets at various placesin his farm. He claims that this helpsin repelling pests. Sahu has alsospotted a local paddy variety called‘saanra’, which if powdered andfed to the cows. It acts as a milkenhancer. Indramani also is a storehouse of various solar crop treatments.In fact, he has developed a wholeregimen of solar-based planttreatments, especially for rice.

An interesting instance ofcommunity initiative to tide over

water scarcity was seen in MaliDoliamba. Kabikarna Kirshanialong with fellow villagers fromMali Doliamba built a three kmlong canal to irrigate their rain-fedfarms in the face of stiff adversities(See the box for details)

Another interesting experimen-tation was seen in the farm ofPrafulla Pangi in Taupadar. Heintercropped alsi (linseed), gingerand beans, sown in that order. It isused as an interesting source ofgreen manure. After alsi is ready, itis uprooted and laid on the field stillhaving ginger and beans. Afterginger and beans are harvested, thealsi is ploughed into the land to actas green manure. In his ginger field,Prafulla is undertaking experi-mentation with mulching. He hasprepared different sets of mulchingbeds with three different leaves-banana, eucalyptus, and paddystraw and in some places stalks andleaves of pigeon pea.

In Maligunja village, a smallexhibition on local varieties of rice,minor millets and pulses wasorganized. Within a small time,farmers brought four varieties oflocal paddy (three of which werescented varieties) such as ‘lachai’,‘ninamanjee’, ‘langadachai’ and ‘jaya’.There were three varieties of minormillets such as common ragi, mami-suan and sakara . The sevenindigenous varieties of pulses thatcame up in the exhibition were

Child journalists being introduced to theShodhyatris in Pattangi

Kabikarna Kirsani is now a local herofor his outstanding contribution

When did you talk to nature last ?



24

‘kandula’, ‘dangar rani’, ‘buta samba’, ‘naka chana’,‘biri’, ‘kala kolatha’ and ‘simba mala’. Most of thelocal varieties were cultivated by the farmers fortheir own consumption but they preferredgrowing improved or high yielding varieties tomeet the market demand. In a meeting at Turia,an old lady farmer could easily recall eightvarieties of indigenous scented rice, some ofwhich were no more grown. In a meeting at MaliDoliamba, another old woman framer talkedabout twelve varieties of indigenous paddy. Theexperience proved that women, particularly oldwomen were more familiar with the indigenousvarieties of paddy than their male counterparts.

Women Conservators

The icing on the cake was, Kamla Pujari, whohas shot into international prominence withher effort in the field of conservation ofindigenous variety of paddy. Her husbandpassed away at a young age. After the death

of her husband, she has beencultivating all the varieties ofindigenous paddy in a cyclical way.She started the seed bank in hervillage and has been instrumentalin the preservation of more thanseventy two varieties of indigenouspaddy in that locality. She startedthe seed bank with a personalcontribution of around nineindigenous varieties and later onothers started to joint her. She wassupported by MSSRF, Chennai.

Indigenous tools

At Sunabeda school exhibition, wealso met Mr Lakhmidara Sethi, anarduous preserver of innumerabletraditional veterinary tools andinstruments. With the onset ofmodern veterinary science and

accessories, the traditional toolsand instruments of feeding thelivestock, chaining them, gaugingtheir body temperature etc., havevirtually disappeared. Mr Sethihas preserved some forty plus suchtools and instruments, mostly ofwood and he is also trying topopularize them.

Child Reporters

The institution of child journalismwas an interesting experiment initself. It is believed that theobservation of children is usuallymore unbiased and truthful thanthat of adults. Furthermore, thereporting by children involvesaspects which adults often ignore.To foster this spirit of minuteobservation about the localproblems and search for theirsolution within the localcommunity, some local voluntaryorganizations have joined handsto promote child journalism. Herechildren themselves collect thenews and they are printed in alocal bulletin with minimal editing.In fact, before being felicitated someof them had already interviewedthe Shodhyatris and found outtheir likes, dislikes, opinions etc.,about the region.

Mobilising Youth for Peace

‘Thenga Vahini’, a local communitypolicing initiative started by LaxmanDas impressed the yatris a great deal.

Left to right: Laxmidei Hantala being felicitated at Malimarla, Krushak Laxman Das being felicitated by DIG, Koraput, Local Kudulimarket is inundated with all varieties of seeds but the indigenous ones

Multiple mulching beds experimented by Prafulla Pangi



25

He joined on the sixth day of Shodhyatra.Originated in mid-eighties, the ‘Thenga Vahini’( baton army, they have wooden rods and smallpebbles as their weapons) has, of late venturedinto the naxalite influenced areas of Orissa towean away angry youth from the fold of violence.Till date, he has been able to mobilise twenty sixyoung men and helped them integrate into themainstream. Mr Das is rehabilitating many ofthe erstwhile extremists through agriculture.However, he dreams of further consolidating his'incentive structure' for bringing back more angryyoung men from the path of violence andintegrating them meaningfully into the civilsociety. Mr Laxman Das is also a skilled farmer.He made a history when he cultivated rice onthe sandy soil of Mahanadi river bank. Hecreated bunds on the sandy soil and plantedpaddy within the two rows of the bunds. Eventhough there has been descriptions ofpolyculture where limited available space is usedto grow multiple crops, there has not been anyinstance of growing paddy on sandy soil. Theachievement of Laxman Das has been widelycovered by the local and national media and hewas invited to International Rice ResearchInstitute (IRRI) Manila, Philipines to undertakefurther research.

Innovations in Making

In a public meeting at Mali Marila, a ladybreeder, Laxmidei Hantala was felicitated forher keen spirit of experimentation. She observedthat in kankada (spine guard) after two femaleflowers, one male flower appears. She isexperimenting with her breeding technique, sothat she can produce ten female flowers inproportion to one male flower to increase theproduction of the spineguard. In a meeting withherbalists in Turia, Ramachandra Pujaridemonstrated the way he treats arthritis and

labour pain with the help of eighttypes of parasites. Through out theyatra, numerous herbalistsgenerously shared their knowledgewith Shodhyatris. In some cases,the herbal treatment was blendedwith some kind of supernaturalismbut in most cases they were basedon proper observation andexperimentation.

Learning with an Open Mind andHeart

In Sergiguda village an innovativeginger -storage system developed bylocal tribals was demonstrated. TheGovernment-disseminated method,as widely practiced in the locality,dries up almost one third of the gingerbefore sowing. However, the methoddeveloped by the tribals of Sergigudakeeps all the ginger fresh. Similarly,in Mali Marua village, indigenouslyprepared very fine powdered compostwas spotted and it was so fine andfree flowing that it could easilycommand a niche in the organicmarket. Farmers from Gujarat couldnot help appreciating a skill whichtribals of the region had developed.

Healing Traditions

Koraput has a living tradition ofherbal treatment. What could provethe point better, was a young tribalperson Birshu, who showed tendifferent plants used for treatingdifferent kinds of pain within aspan of hundred meters? However,what was also astonishing was themarked disinterest among the younggeneration to learn this livingtradition. Except a few Birshus, mostof the young men did not seem to beinterested in herbal healingtradition.

In Gunthaguda village, anoutstanding community knowledgepertaining to extraction of edible oilwas observed. In fact, the villagersclaimed that this communitypractice is hundred of years long.In this system of oil extraction, awhole series of activities are donebefore the actual edible oil is

extracted. They primarily use 'karanj'(Pongamia pinnata) for food and hair.The Villagers dry and boil 'karanj'seeds before extracting oil. A huge'dhenki' (a device where the top partis moved by pushing the lower part)is attached to a jackfruit tree (in fact,all these traditional oil expellers areattached with jackfruit trees). Thepressure put on the 'dhenki' pressesthe bag that contains the 'karanj'seeds and the oil is extracted andcollected. The oil-cake is used as abiofertilizer. The seed thus is notonly a source of food, cosmetics andpersonal care but also a source of bio-fertilizer.

Mining and Social Tensions

During the walk, it was repeatedlypointed out that many bauxite richareas in Mali mountain range havebeen opened up to the private mininginterests (even if these were underprotection given to localcommunities earlier). We were alsotold about numerous reportedlyunethical means adopted by privatemining companies in connivancewith the state government to acquirethe mining leases. We could senseconsiderable tension among localcommunities on account ofanticipated eviction due to corporatemining in the region. It was verydistressing to hear that no publichearing had been held and thewhole process was being pursuedin a subterfuge manner. TheShodhyatra experience underlinedthat the poverty of biodiversity richareas like Koraput does not simplylie in the strategic exploitation bystate and market forces but in thesystematic exclusion of people’sknowledge from market place.Shodhyatris visited one of thetraditional market places inKunduli. To the surprise of all,products as petty as soaps came fromRaipur (400 km away), other trinketsfrom Vizag but hardly any goodmade locally was found . Similarly,improved and hybrid seeds ofcompanies as far as Taiwan werehome to the Kunduli market exceptthat of the local varieties. A day

Laxmidhara Sethi displaying traditionalveterinary tools at Sunabeda

When did you consume organic food last ?



26

The knowledge about Common PropertyResources (CPR) being managed throughsome kind of community institutions is welldocumented (see http://www.sristi.org/cpr/index.php3). However, what is intriguing isthe process through which local institutions,evolve some motivated individuals, provideleadership, generate consensus andencourage groups and individuals tocontribute their bit towards common good.The example of Malidoliamba is a casein point.

Kabikarna was a young boy when he usedto see the misery of his villagers primarilybecause their fields were rain-fed. Despitebeing a bright student, owing to financialproblems he had to drop out of his studies.As he grew old, he observed that the problemof water still persists in his village. He was noleader, no bureaucrat, and no villageheadman. He was a simple farmer who hadthe zeal and courage to invest in something,whose return would accrue to everybody.He observed that three streams from the MaliMountain are getting merged at a place barelythree kilometer away from his village. It struckto him that if somehow, the streams - nowa small river, is dammed, then solutions canbe found out to take the water to the village.

However, there were numerous challenges.The first part of Kabikarna’s vision i.e.damming the river at kankadaambo,a small village, was supported by theGovernment. Kabikarna Kirshaniconvinced the neighboring villagersby cajoling the village leaders ofMunda tribe. The Mundas primarilyopposed the idea of a dam becausethe land owner feared loss of landdue to submergence. Kabikarnanegotiated with the headmen of thetribe and worked out a deal. Hepromised to give villagers ofKankadaambo, Rs 4000/- in cashand some amount of paddy on anannual basis. Everyone was happywith the deal. However, after theconstruction of the damGovernment engineers were notsure whether water can be lifted to

Mali Doliambo, a village that wassituated on a higher plane. In duecourse, they abandoned the ideaand the project.

However, Kabikarna wasconvinced. Initially, people didn’tbelieve that water will enter theirvillage as the terrain was unruly andleveling the upland to facilitate theflow of water was not easy.Kabikarna and few of his aidesadopted bunding technique, wherethe tunnels were so dug that levelingbecame easy. The average depthof the canal is 7-8 ft but in someplaces, it is as deep as 15 ft. Thevillagers used spade andother indigenous stone cuttingmaterials. They didn’t use dynamitefor digging the canal (partiallybecause it was not possible toexplode those thick rocks withdynamite also).

Initial flow of water for a fewhundred feet towards their villageboosted the confidence of thevillagers. More and more peoplejoined hands for digging the canal.It took about one and half year ona cumulative basis and 60 man-days to complete the work. It is

estimated that the total cost of thedam and canal is 14 lakh, out ofwhich Rs 4 lakh was contributedby the villagers, mainly in terms ofshramdan. After seeing the successof the canal, the block officials andengineers appreciated villagers'efforts. They came forward toextend the canal so that waterreaches the field smoothly.

Today, a large part of MaliDoliamba is perennially irrigated.This enabled the villagers ofMalidoliambo to undertake thesecond crop such as cabbage,chilies etc., in an additional 10hectares. The canal has potentialto irrigate 16 hectares of land.

Now the new challenge forKalikarna is to maintain the canal,especially during the rainy season.He is yet to reorganize his villagersunder Pani Panchayat (WaterUsers’ Association) Programme toget support from Government.Government officials have nicknamed him as local ‘Bhagirathi’.But til l date he has notreceived any award or recognitionexcept felicitation during theShodhyatra.

Realizing the Idea of Bringing Water to Malidoliambo



27

Three centurion women felicitated in a public meeting held at Gunthaguda

ago, sheer abundance of local tribal culinaryskills had baffled the Shodhyatris at the recipecompetition at Kunduli; but not a single suchdelicacy was found in the local market. If properpremium is not attached to the resources of thetribals and they are kept dependent uponexternal goods, impoverish-ment will be the onlyoutcome. Worse still, we hardly found anyworking Primary health centre working on theroute of yatra during our journey. Hardly anyteacher of primary school lived in local villages.

The yatra provided insight to the yatris aboutsome of the less explored culturalpractices of the tribals of Koraputregion. They observed that goatsacrifice is still prevalent in manyparts of Koraput. The practice hasbeen in vogue for generations toplease the goddess of earth forbumper yield. The juxtaposition oftradition and modernity wasapparent. On one hand, the tribalused the modern hybrid seeds andon the other hand, they held manydeep seated unscientific culturalbeliefs. But is not that true of all ofus too?

The importance of sacred groves inthe preservation of ecologicalbalance was evident in MaliDoliamba village. As they aresacred, neither the plants nor thesacred places are encroached uponby the villagers. Numerous studies have provedthat sacred groves have been refugia for manyof the endangered species.

The yatris tasted a local fruit called ‘gulab jamun’.The name resembles one of the famous Indiansweet delicacies because it smells like that. Theoutstanding feature of the fruit is that its tasteevolves with chewing. In fact, the fruit is sopopular locally that a young social worker cameup in one of the night meetings at Kunduli toseek guidance on how to establish an enterpriseto carry the fruit to wider market.

Eight centurions were felicitated during theShodhyatra. Out of them five were women,who were still very active and did most of theirwork independently. They recalled hazily the'khakhi' trousers and shirts of the foreigners asthe semblance of colonial era. They mentionedthat earlier when people in khaki shorts came(they referred to British soldiers), they used torun away into forests. Not any more.

Reflections and Resolutions

During the Shodhyatra, atSunabeda, the yatris met for internalreflections. KP Mullick, one of farmerparticipants who representedSwanirbhar, an organization workingto promote organic farming in WestBengal, had told that he had learntsome of the herbal remedies duringthe shodhyatra that he wouldexperiment in his village. MaulikRaval, a student, talked about the

possible experimentation ofcommunity radio in Koraput to tideover the communication gap. He wasreferring to what he saw the previousday. Tribals, as distant as tenkilometers, across the Malimountain had come to Turia, tocollect their ration. However, theywere told that the shop had run outof ration and it might be availablesome time next week. Mr G Singheesuggested that the students of thenearby schools must be sent to thetribal hamlets on learning trip togauge the reality of harsh life,internalizing the value of struggleand developing innovativesolutions.

Beginning of a New Journey

In an instant bio-diversityknowledge competition held in the

Sunabeda high school, thechildren were urged to do twothings: a) sensitize their parents toundertake an audit of theirmonthly expenditure, find outwhat percentage of their spendingwas committed to the products/commodities made by the tribalcommunities and b) assert theirright to safe organic food. All thepeople were repeatedly told thatunless we did not buy the productsand commodities manufactured

locally, the money would keepflowing outside and not helptribals improve their economicconditions. During the yatra, theadministrative machinery wasquite cooperative. Both the BDOs(Block Development Officers)promised to begin the work onVillage Knowledge Register fromthis educational year itself.

The yatra not only expanded thehorizon of all the yatris but alsomade them see an economicallypoor region as ‘source’ ofknowledge, values and ideasand not just as a ‘sink’ for drainingaid, advice and assistance. Oneof them concluded: ‘Shodhyatrawas a living learning experienceas I was walking along themobile university of practicallearning’.



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Sanitary provisions made easier: Economicseptic tank

atish Bhavsar is a pump operator inNorth Maharastra University. He iseducated till the class tenth. In the year

1994, the Municipal council of Jalgaondiscontinued the services of the sweepers to theresidential areas. The people who had ‘tinlatrine’ faced serious problem of cleaning it. Forlower middle class and migrant population ofJalgaon living in congested areas, constructinga ‘septic latrine’ was difficult as it consumedmore space and resources. This situationtriggered an idea in the mind of Satish Bhavsar.After years of research and experimentation, hedeveloped a model of ‘Economical Septic Tank’.The toilet system as designed by Satish is verysimilar to that of any ordinary ‘septic tank’except that it is cheaper than the latter. Thecommon toilet consumes at least 70 sq ft spaceand warrants an investment of aroundRs 15, 000- 20, 000. However, the toilet designedby Satish only takes 8 sq feet and can beconstructed with an expenditure of Rs 4000.From construction point of view, the septic tank,as designed by Satish is made of cement concretewith a 3ft diameter and 3 ft height. At 2 ft heightof the basin, commercially available seat madeof China clay is mounted upon. The enclosurestructure is made of iron rods and covered withplywood or softwood. The roof is made of metalsheet and the door is opened towards outside.It is an easy-to-clean system that needs to becleaned once a year. The system designed forfive persons can be tailor made to suit morepeople but then, it has to be cleaned morefrequently. Satish has already helped 8-10people in Jalgaon to set up and use the system.

Jayant Das: The Untiring Mind Replete withNew Possibilities

Jayanta Das is serving as Sheristadar in theoffice of Civil Judge and Asst. Sessions Judgein the district court of Morigaon, Assam.Jayant is educated only up to class twelve. Hehas thought of an idea of ‘Geyser with the

help of sun-light by using fused bulbs’. Thefuse bulbs will be filled with water andexposed to sun rays. The hot water filledbulbs act like lens and they direct the sunshine towards the water tank. Theconcentrated sun rays boils up the water.This can be used as hot water for bathe.Jayanta Das has also proposed a system ofobtaining germ-free drinking water with theutilization of sun rays. On the roof of a house,several reflectors and magnifying glasses aremounted upon. The sun rays are directed tothe tank containing water through periscopeand concave mirrors. The concentrated sun

rays boil the water. This makes the waternaturally germ-free. He also talks about theuse of Kuji thakara (Garcinia morella) and Matithakara (Garcinia sp.) in the treatment of blooddysentery. Slices of the fruits of this plant aredried in sun for some time. Then they arepacked in airtight container. In the case ofblood dysentery, a piece from the dried Kujithakara (Garcinia morella) or Mati thakra (Garciniasp.) is taken and put in a glass of water tobe dissolved. The consumption of that wateris supposed to cure blood dysentery. Apart

Negotiating for Institutional Space: InformalInnovators from Formal Sector

There are manyexperimenting minds,which are lesseducated andemployed in thelower rungs of theformal sector; yetthey have come upwith outstandingsolutions to specificproblems. Some ofthem expect supportand most of themare waiting for somekind of recognition.Honey Bee Networkis pondering over theissue of what kindof institutional spacebe created torecognise deservinginnovators of thiskind.

VOICES

S



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from the above useful ideas, Jayant Das hassent over 120 ideas and traditional knowledgepractices to National Innovation Foundation(NIF), highest sent by any individualinnovator/ TK holder. Even if many of hisideas are not original or practicable, the factthat he has been regularly trying to stretch hisimagination, deserves to be noted.

Carry the Microscope in Your Pocket: BairagyaHelps You to Do It

Chandra Kumar Bairagya is a retired schoolteacher in the district of Burdwan, West Bengal.He is a graduate in Life Sciences. Chandra hasdesigned a ‘mini-microscope’ that is very light(weighing only 200-250 gm) and has amagnifying capacity of X450 to 675. Chandradesigned this microscope in response to a reallife problem faced by students: though thestudents needed microscope outside theirclassrooms for experimentation, but they couldnot carry it, because it was quite heavy andcostly. The mini-microscope is 17 cm long andis made of gun metal. Compared to the stagemicro-scope, it is short in length and can becarried inside the box of 3”x 7” size only.Chandra has also designed an ‘Arc with Multi-indicator’ to aid the students of Botany. Theconventional simple arc indicator has acapacity of magnificationonly of ninety times andhence students of Botanywill have to wait for severaldays to observe the growth ofplants. Chandra’s arc with multi-indicator increases themagnification capacity to theextent of 60, 000 times andhence tiniest growth of theplant can be observed withit. He has also developedan integrated spawningpool-cum-hatching pool

in response to the problems facedby the limitations of world famousChinese hatchery. Working withthe Chinese hatchery in his fishfarm, Chandra realized that theexisting system asks for twochambers - one for breeding andthe other for hatching. The systemalso causes some inconvenience asthe eggs are to be removed afterbreeding to the hatching pool andin the process of transferring theeggs, some of them are destroyed.The integrated spawning pool-cum-hatching pool designed byChandra consists of a singlechamber with modified accessories.This result in reduction of space,cost and time.

The Dilemma

Like Satish Bhavsar, Jayant Das andChandra Narayan Bairagya, thereare many more innovators whobelong to lower rungs of formalsector with little formal education.They submitted their innovations toNational Innovation Foundation(NIF) during various rounds of

‘National Competition forScouting Green Grassroots

U n a i d e dT e c h n o l o g i c a lInnovations and

T r a d i t i o n a lKnowledge Practices’.

However, NIF is constrainedto honour them. NIF was setup with a clear objective topromote unaided grassrootsinnovations. It essentiallymeans that NIF ismandated to honour andpromote thoseinnovations and

t r a d i t i o n a lknowledge thathave come from theinnovators ort r a d i t i o n a lknowledge holders

in unorganisedsector. They may beless educated and may

have got no support fromformal sector in any form.

This mandate of NIF restricts

awards of any kind for innovations/traditional practices that comes fromthe professionals or others in formalsector. The rationale is that formal

sector not only provides avenues forits employees to forge links withcenters of formal excellence or otherinstitutions, acquire expert trainingand inputs but also gives a sense ofmaterial and physical security thatmay sustain the experimental spiritof a person. In such cases,innovations may emerge moreeasily. But then college educatedfarmers from unorganized sector likefarming have been considered forawards. This means that thesituation is rather complex.However, NIF is committed tosupport those people for whominnovations have come throughstruggle, trial and error and whosespirit of experimentation was notdampened by sheer materialinsecurity. Of course, during the firstround of competition, innovationsby the professionals were givenawards; but like individuals,organizations also learn throughconstant self-introspection. After thefirst award competition, NIF haslearnt that it’s primary and solecommitment is to the unaidedgrassroots innovators with no kindof connection to the formal sector.This doesn’t mean that NIF doesn’tcommend or value the contributionof professionals from formal sector(infact, many of them can be mentorsof innovators from grassroots level),especially people with less

Formal sector not onlyprovides avenues for itsemployees to forge linkswith centers of formal

excellence, acquire experttraining and input but alsogives a sense of materialand physical security that

may sustain theexperimental spirit of aperson. In such cases

innovations may emergemore easily.




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education and hailing from lower rungs of theformal sector. The very justification of theexistence of NIF is determined by itsidentification with innovators and traditionalknowledge holders at grassroots who havesucceeded without any kind of encouragementfrom the formal sector. The effort of NIF to bringthe unknown creative faces of India from theinformal sector to the public limelight needssupport from friends like SatishBhavsar, Jayant Das and Chandra NarayanBairagya.

The Possibility: Honey Bee Network ComesForward

There is no doubt about the fact that some ofthe innovations received from professionals fromlower rungs of formal sector are useful.However, they can’t be put at the same level

sickle was both rapturous and painful. It wasrapturous because of the sheer amount ofconcentration that the blacksmith was devotingand it was painful because everybody knewdespite a day of uninterrupted dedication, hewill earn nothing but a paltry sum. Mostprobably, the blacksmith himself knew that allhis efforts will only fetch him a day’ssubsistence but he reminded the yatris thatperfection is not determined by award,appreciation or approval. Zest for perfection is

a way of life that depicts the constant strivingto reach pinnacle despite low gains. But if notaward, appreciation and approval, then whatmakes people pursue perfection? There was noanswer with the yatris. The question stilllingers.

On the way to Kozhitholu, the yatris metMr Thomas Myladyil and his wife Thresiammawho developed an organic bio pesticide fromarrowroot (Maranta arundinacea). Traditionally

Manual pollination process of vanila

Continued from page 13: Visiting wisdom....

with that of the unaided grassrootsinnovators. This raises a seriousquestion about the space forinnovators from the lower rungs ofthe formal sector. Undoubtedly, NIFwill facilitate the linkage ofinnovations like mini-microscope orlow cost septic tank with that of therelevant bodies, which supportinnovations from formal sector.However, there are many innovatorsfor whom, furthering theirinnovations is not as important as‘a pat on their back’. This bringsinto picture the role of Honey BeeNetwork and SRISTI. Honey BeeNetwork, supported so far by SRISTIand other collaborators has createdspace for innovations of variouskinds including institutional

innovations, educationalinnovations by primary schoolteachers, and innovations at thecommunity level. The missing spacefor innovators like Jayant Das orChandra Narayan Bairagya can becreated with the active support fromHoney Bee Network. SRISTI isseriously considering honouringsuch innovators with the ‘SRISTISamman’ in the annual Honey BeeNetwork meeting. Hopefully, agesture like this will enable theHoney Bee Network to maintainplurality in the innovation portfolioand inspire more and moreprofessionals from lower rungs offormal sector to come out of morassof mediocrity and toy with the spiritof innovation.

arrowroot is grown in coconut farmsfor avoiding the pests and termites.The tuber of the arrowroot is groundseveral times with water. The watercollected after the grinding is dilutedand sprayed as pesticide. It is widelybelieved that the tuber containscyanide and the decanted watercontains the toxics which help incontrolling pests. It was indeedironical that a few kilometers fromhis house, farmers had beencommitting suicide consuming thepesticide and an environmentalfriendly and effective bio-pesticidehad remained unknown.

Some Random Reflections

Every morning of Shodhyatra beganwith all-religion prayer andconcluded with some kind ofreflection on daily learning,community experience, futurechallenges, etc. During theshodhyatra, the reflective nightmeetings evoked spiritedparticipation from Shodhyatris onsuch issues as traditional methodsof conflict resolution, traditionalmethods of education, andcomplaints of young generation overthe older generation etc. Yatris hadtheir own light moments: a bitterdefeat in tug-of-war from the localyouth, a trek to the hills of

Ramkelmeetu, an educationalapproach to New Year celebrationetc. ‘Before attending shodhyatra,I thought what I knew aboutfarming, veterinary diseases wasenough. But now I realize, thevastness of the things that I am yetto learn’ expressed Vajubhai Bala,young farmer from Saurastra,Gujarat. Shodhyatra created a kindof dilemma in the minds of many.Sense of satisfaction over getting tolearn something that previouslythey did not know was contrastedwith the feeling of restlessness overthe thought that there is so much tobe done for furthering the cause ofgrassroots creativity.

The Shodhyatra, as confessed byseveral Shodhyatris, taught severallessons: from the importance ofoutstanding standards of cleanlinessobserved in Kerala villages to theknowledge about the importance oforganic farming, ayurvedicperspective on sustainable healthand victory of will power over oddcircumstances as exemplified by BijuVerghese and Ninny. The learningbasket of the Shodhyatris is still halfempty; for learning is not only iterativebut life long.

(For detail report on sixteenth Shodhyatra,log on to our website www.sristi.org).



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he role of traditional knowledge in theconservation of nature has beenestablished beyond doubt. It has

flourished where formal knowledge system hasnot yet reached or failed. Local or regionaltraditional knowledge in different parts of theworld is deeply entrenched in the religious and/or cultural ethos of the region. This holds trueeven in the case of Kham, in the TibetAutonomous Region of China.

Kham is situated in the eastern end of theHimalayas, between Qinghai-Xizhang Plateauand the Central Plain of China. It has beenidentified as one of the places with the richestbio-diversity i.e., over 12,000 species of vascularplants. The region is strongly influenced byTibetan-Buddhism and indigenous religiouspractices.

Like most indigenous people, the people of Khamattribute a spiritual significance to conservation.They are not deliberate conservationists orecologists, but for them, the spiritual significanceof conservation is more important than theecological one. The people of Kham believe thatthere is an intrinsic value to Nature. They believethat life is sacred with an innate, intrinsic valueand all creations are vested with a spirit, meaningand purpose. All elements of the sacred wholeare interconnected, interdependent andinterrelated at the deepest levels and should betreated with utmost respect.

The Tibetans have two categories of landscapes,neri - the mountains and locales which areembodied by divinity and yul-lha – those with ahuman personality. These local divinities arehonoured and appeased through the buildingof lartse, the wooden or stone cairns on mountainsor hilltops which are constructed annually, basedon the lunar calendar. The yul-lha and gzhi-bdaand other folk divinities are part of Tibet’sanimistic and shamanistic tradition respectively,which has not been overcome by Buddhism.

There are three ethnic groups of people inhabitingthe region, the Naxi, the Musuo and the Pumi,whose distinct but definitive beliefs contributeto the conservation in the area. Some of theirpractices are presented below.

The Naxi people have a presiding deity Shu,who is responsible for governing Nature. Everyyear, the people worship Shu and pray for theircontinued health and prosperity. They usuallymake offerings at a spring or pond as means ofrepayment for the forest products excludingtimber collected from the woods andreconciliation with Nature.

The Mosuo people are animistic, embodyingdivinity in lifeless object, and this is expressedthrough the veneration of Gan Mu embodied byLion Mountain and by Shin Ami embodied byLake Lugu, a sacred lake. The people believethat animals and trees should not be killedwithout reason. They also have sacred trees andwells and they appease their spirits at local altarsor during festivals.

The Pumi people have traditionally conservedforests, plants, fish and wild animals. They havetaboos about polluting sacred lakes, killing ofanimals or trees in sacred areas. Those whotransgress these taboos are expected to go forrepentance to either a Tibetan Lama, a local Lamaor to the local wizard, hangui, to appease thelocal gods and sacrifice a ploughing animal forthe village feast.

Lake Lugu is embodied by a Pumi goddess TaiAn Yan Soo and is believed was created from thetears of the goddess Gan Mu , the Lion Mountain.

CONSERVATION

Conservation Ethics of Kham Communities in Tibet

T


Excerpted from‘Sustainable

Knowledge Systemsand Resource

Stewardship: InSearch of Ethno-

Forestry Paradigmsfor the IndigenousPeoples of Eastern

Kham’, by JohnStudley,

LoughboroughUniversity, 2005.


source: http://www.vwmaps.com/tibetdetail.html



32

hellanam is a coastal belt in Ernakulamdistrict of Kerala. Fresh water isdifficult to come by here. Piped water

that comes from far away is not dependable. Sometimes people have to collect drinking water evenat midnight.

The poor fishermen of this region havedeveloped an inexpensive and tank less methodof storing water. The system works on theprinciple of a lower density fluid floating onhigher density fluid. Thus, fresh water that hasa lower density than brackish water forms alayer above the latter, if poured slowly. Ashallow well is dug near the house. Rainwatercollected on rooftops is released into this wellafter filtration through a down pipe pierced withsmall holes. The fresh water is lifted with a handpump when needed. Care is taken while fittingthe system to ensure that the pipe drawing waterto the hand pump is kept slightly above the pipefeeding rainwater to the well. Use of motors isdiscouraged because it agitates the water andmix the brackish layer with the fresh one. Itrequires some experience to position the handpumps correctly. After installing the PVC pipes,the well is refilled with sand. This method ofrooftop rainwater harvesting has now become

popularly known as the ‘Chellanammethod’. The system can be adoptedonly in seashores where the watertable is rather shallow and it isbrackish.

In Wayanad district of Kerala, sincetime immemorial, adivasis havebeen harvesting rainwater simply byguiding it over leaves tied to acoconut or jackfruit tree trunk.Erecting a pandal made of bamboosplits is another method, as alsotying a sari as a pandal for fourwooden poles to guide the rainwaterto the desired location is equallyeffective. Both - the Chellanam andWayanad systems are still in vogueand are effective only duringmonsoons.

Filter well is another fast andinexpensive water harvesting system.In Cheruvathur, Kasargod district ofKerala an estimated 50,000 filter wellsare functioning. They are possibleonly in the sandy layers of theseashores. Filter wells are dugmanually and are shallow-between15 to 20 ft. Points where freshwater would be available are located

by experience. Initially with the helpof auger and later with a sandscooping device, a vertical bore holeis dug till they get potable water. Afterthis, a perforated PVC pipe coveredwith coir rope is inserted, with a handpump fitted on top. Filter wells areused for both drinking and irrigationpurpose. Though the water is mainlydrawn with hand pump, there arecases where a small electric motor isalso used for irrigation. Filter wellscan be dug by two people within afew hours. In Thirthahally,Chitradurga, Tumkur region ofKarnataka, filter wells dug into riverbanks and old courses of rivers. Ithas been observed that wherever waterextraction is controlled in suchregions, filter wells serve as long asthere is substantial rain waterpercolation into the sandy layers ofsoil.

Horizontal bore wells are anothersource of potable water. Generally,such wells are dug inside a dug wellwhen the latter almost dries up.Unlike machine-drilled vertical borewells, these do not pierce the rocky

Local Water Harvesting Systems

C

WATER

Popularly used rain-water harvesting modelFilter well used for water harvestingin Kasargod, Kerala

Shree Padre

Pandal made of bamboo splits forstoring water, Wayanard, Kerela



33

layer and the underground aquifer. It drawswater from the shallow layer of earth just like adug-well. It is inexpensive and cannot go beyond80 ft or if it encounters a rock in its course.Another advantage is that the same water liftingdevice, maybe a pulley & rope or centrifugalmotor that used to lift water from the dug wellearlier can be used after digging horizontal borewells too. Each horizontal bore has a watersource of the size of a cigarette. In DakshinaKannada district of Karnataka, they are beingdug manually.

In Indi and Sindhagi taluks of Bijapur district ofKarnataka, such horizontal bore wells have beenso popular since 1970’s that even the local banksgive loans for the purpose. Here the bore wellsare dug with diesel engines. The method for both,the mechanized as well as manually dughorizontal bores is similar. The drilling bit ispushed inside the selected point. Once it entersthe hole, another small pipe is fitted to its back.Water is sent inside this pipe to wash out thedug out soil.

After the publication of articles on the two typesof horizontal bore wells in Adike Patrike, a farmpublication in Kannada, farmers at Raichuradopted this system. Initially specialistmechanics were invited from Coimbatore.Within a few years about 60 such horizontalwells have been dug inside the tanks that havehelped augment shrinking water resources inthe arid regions of Thirthahally.

In Kundapur area of DakshinaKannada, Karnataka, bore well arebeing dug vertically. Chandran, amechanic has made alterations tothe usual drilling bit of the oldestslow rig. This drilling bit has adiameter of two feet. With the helpof a diesel engine or electricitymotor, he digs the bore-hole insidethe dug well till it reaches the rock.If in the process, the bore wellsucceeds in intercepting any watervein, due to its pressure, the waterlevel inside the dug well increases.A perforated PVC pipe is insertedinto the bore-hole and blue-metalpieces are packed around it to permitfree entry of water inside the pipe.This whole process is cheaper thandeepening the whole well.

Such is the success rate of borewells, both horizontal and vertical,inside dug wells that more andmore people are going in for them- sometimes even more than one.However, a word of caution.These ‘water augmenting wells’cannot be taken as permanent ifsufficient rainwater harvesting isnot carried out in the catchmentarea. Else, these ‘new’ sources ofwater would also dry up indue course of time if there are nosmall rain pits all over thecatchment area.

([email protected])

Virdas

The virdas are rain water harvestingwells for storage of fresh water andare dug upto the point beyond whichthe stored water becomes saline. Itis similar to a conventional well,circular in shape and with a diameterranging from 1 m to 2.5 m. Thispoint is determined by monitoring thesalinity of water or soil moisture asthe work on the well progresses.

The virda has been further modifiedthrough different designs accordingto the varying conditions of soil. Inone form the part of the Virda wherethe recharging of water takes placeis lined with concentric layers of arope made of grass in order to preventerosion of soil and to avoid caving inof the walls. The rope is plasteredwith clay and soil to keep it intact.The bottom part from where the

water oozes into the well is left bare.Whenever, the water yield is reduced,lateral holes are drilled to increasethe flow. In certain cases, virdas maymanifest signs of failure either dueto caving in of its walls over time orrapid extraction of water whichmakes the water saline.

Lateral extraction of groundwater iscertainly more sustainable in this casebecause of the risk of salinization dueto excessive groundwater extraction.

(See editorial, Honeybee vol 6(4) 1995;Chokkakula S and Patel S R, Honeybee, vol5(3) 1994; Ferroukhi L and Suthar J,Honeybee, vol 5(2) 1994; Rajpurohit B andPrajapati P, Honeybee, vol 7(2) 1996)

The new drilling machine developedby Chandran, Kundapur, Karnataka

Horizontal bore well (see box on virdas) being dugmanually, Bijapur, Karnataka




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Solar Bullock CartWe can use shock absorbers in bullock carts andploughing machines in order to reduce the jerks

as the roads are not very smooth. One can alsomount solar panels on carts and use a dynamoto generate power and charge batteries

Abhishek Poduri, 2005

Buses with Notice Boards!!!Our public transportation system is a miss whenthe buses never run on time. Why don’t we haveelectronic notice boards put up on all bus stopswhich shows which bus is due next on that stopin how many minutes. For this, we will requireelectronic transmission system installed in eachbus and a central control room monitoring theopposition of buses on the route and relayingthat information on all notice boards. This willhelp people avoid over crowded bus. They couldwait for the next bus by knowing time of itsexpected arrival. It might help in avoiding overcrowding of public transport. People can alsoplan their travel accordingly if timing chartsalong with actual expected time are displayedon electronic notice boards at very bus stop.

Anurag Khetan, 2005

Owner Alert Alarm SystemBurglar alarm System in cars/athome: very often, when the alarm goesoff, if nobody happens to be nearby,it just goes unattended. The ownerhas no way of knowing that somethingis wrong. Similarly with smoke/firealarm system when the owner isaway. If these alarms could somehowbe connected to a small beeper orvibrator that the owner can carryalong, it will alert the owner thatsomething has gone wrong and he/she can further alert the neighboursor call up the nearest police stationor fire station and try and reach homeas soon as possible. Some of this couldbe true for offices and warehousesalso. That would be better than alarms(particularly in cars) that keep blaringbut nobody hears.

Neha Bhatia, 2004

Doormats with SwitchesElectric switches can be placedbelow the doormat area so that

lights automatically go off whenthe person leaves the room and areswitched on when the personenters.

Problem areas: If there are alreadytwo people in the room and onegoes out then lights shouldn’t gooff. Maintain an electronic counter,which increases as people enterand decreases when they go out.How to distinguish between peoplecoming in and going out? Twoswitches one inside the door, oneoutside.

Out – in sequence -> coming in.In – and sequence -> going out.

Manish Badwal, 2004

Idea Buzzz...The first year post graduate students at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, pursue the possibilities of learning fromcommon people and socio-political realities around us in the course Indian Social and Political Environment. Idea is to provoke youngminds to respond to the growing cynicism in society with an urge to make a positive difference, howsoever small it might be. A studentwhen exposed to creativity and innovation in informal sector once asked Prof Gupta as to why he could not bring out the creativity inthem too. That’s how the session on ideas for new products or services, improvements in existing products or service (or even a utopia),started as a part of ISPE.

With this issue of Honey Bee, we start a series of ideas proposed by students that may initiate a rethinking about whether youth are notresponsive enough? Or, is it that we, the teachers and elders, are to blame who are unable to challenge them to bring out the best in them?We invite entries from the young India across universities and educational institutions for our new column – “Young India Imagines”.

YOUNG INDIAIMAGINES



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Power Generation from a Speed BreakerInstead of a traditional speed breaker on a road,we could have a cylindrical rotating drum thatwould turn every time a vehicle passes over it.This rotation could be used for power generation.

(Many such ideas have already been received in NIF,still, idea seems to intrigue many people mainlybecause unlike shri Parathey (who lives near Nagpur) and a few students in Chandigarh who havedeveloped a working model, most just leave it atthought level).

Rangarajan J , 2004

Baby Safety MonitorA tracking device to be clipped onto the baby’sclothes, with a video camera equipment at theworkplace of the mother (say for workingparents or while he is in the kitchen or doingother household work). A sound alarmmechanism in the device to hear the baby call orcry immediately. A warning alarm which will

send off a beeper if the baby enters a dangeroussection of the house or ventures outside e.g. store-room, backyard, near electrical gadgets, etc. Anautomatic reply/voice recorder where themother can talk to the baby even when she isaway. Baby should be able to see the mother onscreen.

Swapna Dey, 2004

Do all of us Throw Away Our FusedTubelights? We generally throw away a tubelight that is fusedat any one of the ends, as it is supposed to beuseless. But, there is a simple circuit that canmake it glow again and for quite a number ofdays to come. The best thing about the circuit is,it consists of four diodes (which cost you Rs 2)and a few meters of electric wire. You don’t needa choke for the lamp to glow (The choke is one of

the most expensive components ofthe tubelight system). If the circuit,which not everyone is expected tobe knowing, is made availablereadymade, it can light up severalhomes. As such tubelight consumesmuch lesser power than the fluorescentlamps (40W Vs. minimum 100W).Discarded, (fused) tubelights alsocome for free. This could be a verycheap source of lighting.

Anshuman Sarangi, 2002

Blood Monitoring SystemA chip will be placed in the path ofblood flow (or more than one chip atdifferent locations). This should beprogrammed to monitor the following:i) blood pressure ii) Concentrationof RBCs, WBCs, etc. iii) commoninfections. It should be able to do thaton its own or by transmittinginformation about the blood, e.g.through photographs to a nearbyreceiving unit. This unit will amplifythe signals and transmit them to thenearest health care unit. Or, an alarmmight be sounded. - Useful for heartpatients - AIDS victims who have tobe protected from common infections.Other uses would be a simple warningsystem that might ask the patient tocalm down.

T.R. Sahasranaman, 2002

The New Age Car Protection ServiceSomewhere along the lines of a mobilephone, cars can have an integratedGPS + registration system whichcauses it to register into a centralcontrol tower in a city/cell –usingthe GPRS/GSM technology.Advantages being that in the caseof breakdown, accidents, or one gettinglost, the car can be tracked and helpcan be reached. At the same time, inthe case of theft, or even breaking inat night by burglars, it can remote –notify the police station/authorities.Availability of the network, reach andcost feasibility have to be sorted out.Also it should not lead to a totalitariansolution where state can monitorindividuals using this

Srijit Menon, 2002

Free cleaning up of carburetor/engines of vehiclesPublic transport and badlymaintained vehicles are one of thelargest source of pollution on Indianroads. The owners do not have theresources or the interest toperiodically maintain them. If therecan be a pool of engineers/studentswho could volunteer some of theirtime in a week or a month to servicethe corburreters of eh affectedvehicles , it could make a differencealbeit small. For engineeringstudents, this could be done as partof their course work. I am sure thecost of time is not all that great, oncewe realize that users may feel slightlyembarrassed. A voluntary organiz-ation could do an audit of pollutingvehicles and share every day’sperformance score at prime time onTV in a city and display the list ofowners of least polluting vehicles.Positive incentive for maintainingvehicles better to reduce pollution.Any takers!

Jacob Kuruvilla, 2002

Where are you: Inclusion of a simplepositioning device within a mobile phone

Since many of the calls made to mobiledevices involve just thecommunication of where the personis, the inclusion of this device willhelp in saving a lot of bandwidth/costs etc. It will also save a lot of hasslesto the receiver who at times getsdisturbed if he/she is on the road orin the middle of a meeting.

The positioning device is not veryexpensive, but needs support fromsatellite network and this could makeit expensive. But if the customers arewilling to avail the facility/convenience then it would be worthan attempt.

Nirjhar Goel, 2002

Cooking gas safety deviceAttaching an automatic cut-off switchin LPG gas stoves which can cutoff





36

person; (b) Helps in reducing the knee pain; (c)Gives the effect of acupuncture in lower part ofthe legs; (d) Helps in curing / avoiding piles;(e) Treats Constipation; (f) Increases Bloodcirculation – helpful to remove blood clods; (g)Gives rhythmic effect to body; (h) Gives a reliefto the knee and other aches in the lower part ofthe body; (i) Helpful to paralytic patients (j)Reduces obesity; (k) An effective exercise kit forpregnant ladies.

The structure of the equipment is like a swing,where the modifications have been made onthe sitting platform in the form of a chair. Theplatform is a parallelogram structured as side

Continued from page 20: Maruti Jhula....

view, with the vertical arms extendedin opposite direction. The link, whichextends away from the ground, is thebackrest for the chair and the linkextending towards ground is the legsupport for the person sitting on thechair. The vertices of the parallelogramare hinged, so as the entire setup canfollow a specified path and the chairmay be used as an easy chair or as abed. The innovator calls the swingas a “Jhula – cum-chair” also he hasprovided some additional links sothat, one can even exercise his limbswhile lying back or sitting. The

structure is balanced in such amanner that if one transfers his\herentire weight on one side of the swing,he will not topple. Also the entireunit is collapsible and portable.

GIAN, Bungalow No. 1, SatelliteComplex Jodhpur Tekra, SatelliteAhmedabad- 380015 Tel: 079-26769686Fax: 079-26760398Email: [email protected]

Sakrabhai Prajapati Village: DinguchaTaluka: Kalol , District: MehsanaGujarat Tel: 9879519331

‘Panchgavya’ is the remedy of animal originmostly from cow for the treatment of healthdisorders and agricultural problems. Usedto improve soil health and to protect plantsfrom diseases, it is both a bio-fertilizer anda bio-pesticide.

Over a period of time, the basic Panchgavyahas been modified with the addition ofother organic material to include sugarcanejuice, banana, water of tender coconut,toddy (optional) and gobar gas slurry besidesthe original components of fresh cow dung,cow urine, cow milk, curd made from cow’smilk and ghee made of cows’ milk. Theconcoction is stored in a wide-mouthedearthen or concrete pot in a shady placefor a week. A three percent solution of thepreparation is reported to be an effectivepest repellant and growth promoter. Thepreparation is reported to have beenvalidated by Tamil Nadu AgriculturalUniversity, Coimbatore for the organicproduction of maize, sunflower andgreengram and found viable with highestnet returns, while maintaining soil fertility(TNAU report-2003).

Seeds soaked in a three per cent solutionof Panchagavya for about thirty minutes, orseedlings dipped in the solution prior to

sowing have shown good resultsfor production. Based on a reviewof organic farming practices andthe efficacy of castor manure asa good plant immunity boosteragainst pests and diseases thepreparation of Panchagavyarecommended by SEVA is: Cowdung (5 kg), Cow urine (3 lit),Cow milk (2 lit), Cow curd (2 lit),Castor seeds (1 kg), Bajra flour(250 gm), Banana -10 numbers(Poovan variety if possible),Jaggery (1 kg)

Method of preparation

Grind 1 kg castor seeds and mixwith cow dung. Cover this mixturewith gunny cloth and then sprinklewater over it. After three daysadd mashed bananas, cow urine,milk, curd, bajra flour andpowdered jaggery to the mixtureand let it set in a drum. Stir thecontent clockwise and anticlockwise for 2 minutes everydayfor 18 days. After the 18th day,this organic liquid manure is readyfor spraying. Dissolve 300 ml ofthe solution in 10 litres of water

to prepare a 3% solution andspray for all crops. For one acreof crops, three litres of mixtureis required. Repeat the spray atan interval of 15 days. Forpaddy at least 3 sprays arerequired at 20 days’ intervalfrom the date of first weeding.Over 100 farmers and womenfrom self help groups have beentrained by SEVA in the last oneyear and the farmers havereported resistance to pests anddiseases and enhanced growthof foliage in the plants.

References

Rathore, Dhama K, Rajesh, ChauhanRS, Tomar Simmi. 2005.Panchgavya (Cowpathy): Anoverview. International Journal ofCow Science 2005 1 (1).ISSN0973-2241; Somvanshi, R. 2006.Veterinary Medicine and AnimalKeeping in Ancient India. AsianAgri-History 10 (2): 133–146; Dave,Jayantilal. 2002. ManavchikitsamaGaumutra Ane Panchgavya.Navbharat Sahitya Mandir,Ahmedabad; Singh, S. N. 1971,Krishi-Parashar, Varanasi, India.

“Panchagavya” – An Organic Liquid Fertilizer



37

Letter Box With Coloured Light Indicator

Utkalika Pattniak, a class X student, fromKhurda District of Orrisa was worried aboutthe inconvenience and losses which mightoccur to the people due to failure in monitoringthe letter box content regularly. This failurecould result from hectic schedule that peoplehave in their offices and also at times theirlaziness to open and check the mail-box everyday. Her teacher Susama Kumari Patnaik,inspired her to develop a letter box which hadclear light signals. Utkalika developed theletterbox in a short while consisting of a baseplate, electronic circuit, two LEDs. (viz, greenand red) and a three volt battery. When a letteris received in the box it hits the base plate,which in turn completes the electrical circuitresulting in glowing of green light. While,glowing of red light is indicative of letterboxbeing empty.

Letter box with buzzers are available, in which sirenis announced automatically. When a letter is droppedin the box, the circuit is completed. If the arrangementis of such kind that after once announcing, circuit willbreak automatically; people present at home may collectthe letter at their convenience. People may not likethe system which makes continuous sound until theletter is removed.

United States Patent 5247282 describeda delivery signal and appliance controlsystem. It generates audible or visualsignal within a dwelling to indicate thata delivery, such as a newspaper or pieceof mail has been deposited in a remotedelivery container, such as a mailbox.The system consists of deliverynotification switch, control box, electricalwall receptacles and electrical appliances.

Micro Balance

Master Rajkumar Soni, a class IX student, ofNarsinghpur (MP) belongs to a traditionaljewelry making family. For last severalgenerations, they have been involved inpreparing ornaments from gold, silver and otherprecious metals. Raj thought of developing aweighing balance which is small in size, handyas well as light in weight. He developed a verysmall size mechanical balance that weighs 8.2gm and is made of silver. Size of the balance is

24 mm x 38.1 mm. It can accurately weighprecious metals and stones between 0.20 - 2000mg.Innovator claims to be the youngest personin the world to develop a micro balance andrequires only four hours to develop the same.

Micro balances having capacity of 5 -5000 mg withleast count of 0.0001-0.01 mg are available in marketbut these are digital and the costly appliance. (http:// b a l a n c e . b a l a n c e s . c o m , h t t p : / w w w .a n a l y t i c a l a n d p r e c i s i o n . c o m , h t t p : / / w w w .scalesonline.com)

Manually Operated Vaccum Cleaner

Mr Vikas M Waghmode of Ahmadnagar(Maharashtra) has an idea of developing amanually operated vacuum cleaner. Theconcept involves using kinetic energy producedby pedaling to run the vacuum cleaner. Themachine looks like the way shown in figure.The rotary motion of pulley is to be usedto rotate the fan inside the aspirator (sucking-mechanism). When backward curved faninside the aspirator will rotate with highspeed, pressure inside it will result in thecreation of the vacuumto suck the dust.

Similar, motorized vacuum cleaners are available in theart (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blvacuum.htm, http://marnanel.org/writing/gasoline-powered-pneumatic-carpet-renovator) but, the ideadeveloped by Mr. Vikas has importance, because apartfrom cleaning it may also serve as an exercise (healthcare) machine.

US Patent no. 634,042 described worlds first vacuumcleaner, ‘Gasoline Powered Vacuum Cleaner’ (patentedin 1899)

COOLSKOOL

Creativity Unlimited

Readers may recalla special issue on

children’s creativitybrought out last

year (Honey bee16(3)2005). We havedecided to challengethe elders with the

creative potentialthat children of our

country have fororiginal thinking inalmost every issue.

Our hope is that itwill force us all to

rethink our ownways of dealing

with children andhow we stifle their

ways of autonomousthinking,

unconventionalimagination andlinking up with

societal concerns atthe same time. Pl

send us yourexperiences inlearning from

children’s creativity.




38

Device for Protection from Rats & Fire SensorActivated Switch

Mr Nitin Kumar Tyagi, a 12th (science) studentfrom Meerut (UP) was annoyed by the losses/damage caused due to the rats. He could haveeasily used wide range of chemical poisonsthat are available in the market to control therats, but he was aware of the harmful effectsthat these product have both on the rats andalso on the human beings. Hence, he thoughtof developing such a mechanism of rat controlwhich is not harmful. Further, inspired by histeacher’s suggestions, he developed therepellant using ultra sonic waves to irritate therats. This repellant operates on electricity. Itemits ultrasonic waves in the range of 20-37KHz, which irritates the rats. According toMaster Nitin the pulse frequency of 20-37 KHzhelps only repels rats. Human beings arereportedly not affected. The device developedby Nitin costs hardly Rs 250/-.

Sonic and ultrasonic waves are being used as deterrentagainst birds and animals like rats and moles. (http://pestproducts.com, http://www.alibaba.com)

Rodent repellants patented in USA: US Patent 6,301,194describes an insect and rodent repellent device whichis thermo electrically powered and provides a meansfor ultrasonically repelling insects and rodents.

Master Tyagi also developed a fire sensoractivated switch. Based on the temperaturechange the signal/alarm is generated whichalerts people and this can also be used tooperate carbon dioxide cylinder valve or watertank valve in order to extinguish fire. Thisalarm turns ON when the temperature touches

between 45-50°C & automaticallystarts releasing carbon dioxide toreduce the oxygen supply to fire.This fire sensor device has athermometer which helpsmonitoring the temperature andregulating the alarm system. It costsabout Rs 250/-.

Automatic fire extinguishers available,they have flame detector sensor which isreported to be more efficient thantemperature based sensing mechanism.(http://www.alarmscctv.com, http://www.chiefsupply.com/Fire)

United States Patent 6960987 describesa fire alarm system for connecting a

plurality of fire sensors to sensor lines,and giving an alarm in response to fireinformation output from the fire sensorin a line unit. The fire alarm systemincludes a current modulation sectionand an address specification section.

Smokeless Stove With Drier

Ms Remya Jose of Malappuram(Kerala) has developed a smokelessstove with drier. The stove can beused to burn charcoal for gettingheat. It consists of trays. The smokeand dust go out throughdetachable chimney. Three burnersattached in the assembly can beused at the same time. Apart fromthis it has two drying chambers(driers) attached on the rear end ofthe assembly which, can be utilizedfor baking bread and biscuits,drying fish, etc.

Miss Jose was awarded presidential awardduring NIF’s third award function forher washing cum exercise machine(nif.org.in/node/953). Smokeless stovesare available in art but the efforts madeby a student to use ambient heat fordrying are appreciable.

Minding Money in the ElectricityMeter

Mr G Sathish Kumar a class Xstudent from Tamil Nadu wasworried about the increasingelectricity bill. He thought of anidea of developing such meters,which would show the units

consumed in terms of rupeesinstead of units. According to SatishKumar his idea would facilitateoptimal consumption of theelectricity as people will now bemore conscious about the activitiesthat consume more money and thusmay economize their consumptionHe further suggested collecting thepower tariff amount with the helpof pre-paid SIM card. Inbuiltfunctions in the card will help tocut off power supply based on thebalance amount in the SIM cardand renew supply after onecharges the card. Generally peoplelimit their expenses to the leastpossible extent when balance leftis small (as is evident on cellphone). Power consumption thusmight come down.This idea is already known and suchcards are available.



39

Banumurthi, 47, is a school dropout froma family of traditional weavers from VillageThurugam in Thiruvannamalai district. Hehas been engaged in weaving sareessince 1971.

Usually, border weft yarns are inserted bytwo persons on two sides. The modificationnow carries out the weft insertion on bothsides automatically. There are two bobbinscontaining border weft thread kept on lefthand side and right hand side of the looms.Weft yarn passes through a guide bar, thelifting of which is controlled by the jacquard.The body warps are controlled by the healdframes and the border warps on both sidesof body warps are controlled by a jacquardseparately. The cost of fabricating the newdesign in the loom is Rs 2000/-. He hashowever priced his model at Rs 12,000.The modification on the hand loom hasbeen tried and benchmarked by Sustainable

Environment and VoluntaryActiongroup (SEVA) andKalakshetra, Chennai, both ofwhom have ratified the results.SEVA has now organised a weeklong training programme for fiveof its member weavers on thismodified handloom. Thisnew loom is also expected to savethe time required for a weavingoperation by 50 percentagainst the conventional timerequirement for a double-bordered saree.

With the assistance of Rs 50,000/- as micro-venture capital supportorganized with the help of NationalInnovation Foundation,Banumurti has developedprototypes of two models. Thesehandlooms were installed in

various places in TN includingT Ramanathapuram.

S S M Institute of Textile Technology& Polytechnic College,Komarapalayam has assured thatthey would take up this project forfurther refinement before adoptionin other areas. KalachetraFoundation in Chennai, which hasdesigned the new model based onsuggestions of the innovator, hasconfirmed that this innovationreduced the labour cost by 50%in the border weft design handloomsarees (Korvai thari).

Mr P L BhanumurthiThiruvannamalai Dist, Tamil NaduPhone : 04173 243453 ; 243452

Documented by : Mr.Sathyananthan, SEVA, Madurai.

Weaving double-bordered sarees in half the time

the supply of gas to the stove if it is not lit for athreshold period e.g. two minutes might addto the safety

Nishith Kamthan, 2002

Agarbatti having built in matchstickMany Indian homes/offices/shops useagarbattis daily. Normally, it is lighted usinga matchstick which is then thrown away. Instead, the tip of the agarbatti itself can bemade like the matchstick head. So, in order tolight it, we can simply strike the agarbatti againstan abrasive surface. This will save a lot of naturalresources like matchwood, paper for matchbox.

Sumedh Jaiswal, 2002

Rotating headlights in Cars In cars, the two front headlamps are usuallyfixed to focus the light beam ahead. Theseremain constant in the night while turning. Ifwe can have two additional headlights whichrotate in the direction of the steering wheelmovement, the driver can get a better visibilityof the direction in which he wants to go andthus reduce accidents.

Anubhav Gupta, 2002

Continued from page 35: Idea Buzzz

When did you talk to nature last ?

From the past

Source: HB 5(1) 1994



40

Ama Akha Pakha(Oriya version of Honey Bee)Dr Balaram Sahu, Editor, 3-R-BP-5/2,B P Colony, Unit-8, Bhubaneswar-751012, Orissa.Email: [email protected].

Honey BeeSafety-Nuts, Borers Beware

sanctum L.) leaves. The paste isboiled together in 60-100 ml. of waterwith a teaspoon each of cumin seedsand black pepper (Piper nigrum L.).One cup of the decoction taken onan empty stomach for three days hasshown relief in asthma.

Kanchan Ravi Kumar, Nayapalli ,Bhubaneswar

The leaves of the Ocimum sanctum plantare used in bronchial asthma and found tobe highly efficacious (http://www.exoticnatural.com/asthma-ocimum.htm).Piper nigrum is mentioned very beneficialin treating asthma (http://www.p u r e p r o d u c t s . n e t / a r o m a t h e r a p y /black_pepper.htm, http://www.tibetmed.org/questions/question_42.htm ).

17204 Taming Bold Cold

Warm around 200 to 250 gm ofcommon salt and ghee made fromcow’s milk, and pour over a cloth.Placing this cloth over the chest givesimmediate relief from congestioncaused by cold and cough.

Sri Rajendra Narayan Biswal,Languliabed, Angul.

Cow’s ghee with mruga shringa bhasmacan alleviate the pain of angina (http://www.baidyanath.org/diangina.shtml). Forthe treatment of heart diseases, the clinicalsyndrom of characteristic chest pain,Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight& Arn.) is boiled in cow’s ghee, and thismedicated ghee is given to the patients( h t t p : / / w w w . a l l a y u r v e d a . c o m /ail_heart.htm)

17205 Borers Beware

The branches of “Karada”(Cleistanthus collinus (Roxb.) hook.f.),a wild plant found in the forestsduring rainy season, planted in thepaddy field at different places helpscontrol pests. The juice of thedecomposed fallen leaves flowingwith the water in the paddy fieldhelps control stem borer and otherpests in paddy.

Duryodhan Biswal, Lodhani,Kamakhyanagar subdivision, Dhenkanaldistrict. Orissa

“Karada” (Cleistanthus collinus) tree hassome toxic property and it has been usedfor pesticide against Silvanid oryzarphiluspest (Prakash (1985), Souvenir of CentralTobacco Research Institute, ICAR, 1990).Also called as Parasi, it was successfullyused against rice yellow stem borer,gundhibug and gundhi - a harmful greenalga occurring in rice field (http://crri.nic.in/crri_nljanmar03.pdf).

17206 WWW: Web Woe Worms

Sri Duryodhan Biswal, also a keenobserver of ecological conditions inpaddy fields, noticed that spider netsaround the edges of a paddy fieldimprove its yield. He also found thatseveral spider colonies had burrowsin them, which were very good trapsfor various pests and improvedharvests.

Duryodhan Biswal, Lodhani ,Kamakhyanagar subdivision, Dhenkanaldistrict. Orissa

Spiders are an important group of predators.However, their role in pest control and cropprotection has not been utilised properlyin India. Rearing spiders as biological pest-control agents is very useful (http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol4/Rearing%20spiders.pdf).

17207 Bel: Safety-nuts

Generally coconut kernel gets easilyinfected by fungus, when kept in theopen. Sri Sahu observed that, those

17201 Herbs for Healthy Living

Hormonal changes in menopausal women oftencause great discomfort. Backache, headache andirritability are common. About 40 gm ofpowdered Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi (L.)Sprague ex turrill) seeds, taken on an emptystomach everyday for 30 days is believed torelieve the condition.

Kanchan Ravi Kumar, Nayapalli, Khurda.

Ayurveda has counted Trachyspermum ammi (ajwain)among the 10 foremost herbs known for their anti-colic oranti-spasmodic action. Ajwain is also known for itsstimulant action on the uterus and the digestive andcirculatory systems. (http://www.morphemeremedies.com/arthcareoil.htm).

17202 Sipping Simple Salt

Five grams of common salt in a litre of water,sipped through a freshly plucked hollow stemof a papaya plant (Carica papaya L.), has beenfound to be very effective in stomach pain.

Sarat Ch. Pradhan, Village Paika Sahi, Athmallik sub-division, Angul district

Carica papaya aids in the breakdown and metabolism ofprotein, exhibits anti-ulcer action, and helps relieveindigestion. Papaya is one of the active ingredients incarica papaya which has digestive properties. (http://www.viable-herbal.com/herbdesc3/1papaya.htm)

17203 Allaying Asthma by peppery doob

Fifty grams of the aerial parts of Doob grass(Cynodon dactylon (L.) pers.) is ground togetherwith 20 grams of Basil leaves (tulsi Ocimum



41

coconut kernels kept with ‘bel’(Aegle marmelos(L.) corr.) leaves did not get contaminated byfungus. He tried it repeatedly and foundconsistent results. According to him ‘bel’ leaveshave antifungal action and can be used in kernelpreservation.

Sri Dillip Ku. Sahu, Tulasipa, District Angul, Orissa

Essential oils isolated from the leaves of ‘bel’ (aeglemarmelos) have been evaluated for antifungal activity.The oil exhibited inhibition of spore germination of fungiat 500 ppm. (Rana BK, Singh UP, Taneja V. 1997.Antifungal activity and kinetics of inhibition by essentialoil isolated from leaves of Aegle marmelos. (Journal ofEthnopharmacol. 57(1): 29-34.).

Publisher's Information

Statement about the ownership and other particularsabout Honey Bee, required to be published underRule 8 of the Registration of Newspapers (Central)Rules, 1956.

FORM IV (See Rule 8)

1. Place of Publishing : Ahmedabad

2. Periodicity of publication : Quarterly

3. Printer’s Name : M/s Bansidharoffset

Whether citizen of India : YesIf foreigner, statecountry of origin : Does not apply

4. Publisher’s Name : Ms Riya SinhaWhether citizen of India : YesIf foreigner, statecountry of origin : Does not applyAddress : B-4 Raviniketan

Apts,Nehru ParkCircle, Vastrapur,Ahmedabad-380015

5. Editor’s Name : Prof. Anil K GuptaWhether citizen of India : YesIf foreigner, statecountry of origin : Does not applyAddress : Indian

InstituteManagement,Vastrapur,Ahmedabad-380015

6. Name and addresses : SRISTIof individuals who own Innovationsthe publication and B-4, Raviniketanpartners or Apts, Nehru Parkshareholders Circle, Vastrapur,holding more than Ahmedabad-one per cent of the 380015total capital

I, Riya Sinha, hereby declare that theparticulars given above are true to the best ofmy knowledge and belief.

Dated: July 31, 2006

Sd/-

Riya Sinha(Signature of the Publisher)

bins with leaf and leaf tendrils of vitex orneem (http://www.hinduonnet.com/t h e h i n d u / 2 0 0 0 / 0 2 / 0 3 / s t o r i e s /0803000a.htm ).


Continued from page 31: Conservation..

They believe that polluting the lake will incurthe wrath of Goddess Tai An Yan Soo, hencethey have traditionally used a system of zonedfishing by families.

The knowledge system of the various ethnicgroups living in and around Kham is diverseand heterogeneous. Conserving the diverse,contextual and yet compatible knowledge ofsmall communities is an uphill task. Peopleliving barely 100-200 mt away from each otheruse different conservation strategies for thesame resource. Unravelling the heuristics ofsuch diverse knowledge system is a challengefor the academicians and intellectualsstudying this system.

Conservation strategies based on traditionalknowledge thrive on contextual, cultural andreligious values. We need to provide theinstitutional space for such knowledge. Unlessthe deep interconnection between context andknowledge is understood, no developmentalstrategy can be compatible with the traditionalknowledge based conservation practices andvice versa. ([email protected])

17208 Annona Keeps Flies Away

Sri Antaryami Pradhan recalled thetraditional advice of rubbing leavesof custard apple (Annona squamosaL.) on an open injury in children.The wounds healed quickly with noinfection. Generally flies sit on thewounds of domestic animalsresulting in maggot infestation. Apaste of custard apple leavesprevent flies and maggotsinfestation.

Sri Antaryami Pradhan, Village Tainsi ,Sub-division: Athmallik

In scientific studies of wound-healing,significant inhibition of growth ofstaphylococcus aureus, streptococcuspyogenes, corynebacterium spp.,escherichia coli, and pseudomonasaeruginosa was observed by annonasquamosa (Thaker AM, Anjaria JV. 1986.Antimicrobial and infected wound healingresponse of some traditional drugs. Ind JPharmacol. 18 (3): 171-174.).

17209 Preserving Paddy Herbally

Dehusked rice is easily attacked byinsects. To preserve it, Sri LaxmidharSethi uses dry leaves of 'Kala valia','Begunia'(Vitex negundo L.) and'Neem' (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.). Atthe bottom of the gunny bag orcontainer he keeps a layer of dryKala valia leaves, over which,dehusked rice is layered. Then heputs another layer of dry Begunia(Vitex negundo L.) leaves, over whichrice is placed. Then he places a layerof dry neem leaves over whichanother layer of rice is placed. Likewise, different layers of leaves arearranged over which the rice islayered. Finally the gunny bag or thecontainer is sealed. This preservesthe keeping quality of rice.

(It would have been ideal and true to thephilosophy of Honey Bee Network, if SriSethi had also noted the name of thevillagers, community etc., from whom hehas collected this knowledge: Ed.)

Rice weevil (Sitophilous oryzae) is a majorpest among beetle pests that cause heavydamage to rice and other cereals in theworld. The stored grains are protectedagainst the pests successfully by paddingthe lower and upper parts of the storage



42

Hittalagida(Kannada version of Honey Bee)T N Prakash, Editor, Hittalagida,Department of AgriculturalEconomics,University ofAgricultural Science, GKVK,Bangalore-560065, Karnataka.Email: [email protected]@yahoo.comPh: 080-23620025

Ini Karshakan Samsarikkatte(Malayalam version of Honey Bee)James T J, Editor, Peermade Development SocietyIdukki-685531, Kerala.Email: [email protected]: 04869-232496/7

17210 Developing a new Tapioca Variety

Tapioca/cassava (Manihot utilissima Pohl) isconsidered the staple food of the people in themidlands and high ranges of Kerala. There areseveral varieties of tapioca, of whichAmbakkadan variety has emerged as the mostpopular due to its taste and high yield of 120kg per plant. This variety was spotted by lateAmbakkadu Thommi way back in 1964 and hetook the initiative for popularising the varietyin Kerala by giving cuttings free to the farmers.The farmers of Kerala are quite impressed bythis variety.

In 1964, Ambakkadu Thommi sold half of hisland and was moving all the resources to hisnew property as per ‘muppirakkuka,’ thepractice of taking all resources from the oldland to the new land. He also took a cuttingof tapioca which he had grown by germinatingthe seed rather than through stempropagation. He had grown and kept thisvariety in his field for using it as a base to

prepare rat-poison to protect hiscrops from rodents. Usually farmersdo not prefer tubers propagated byseeds because of their sour taste.While uprooting the tapioca, henoticed that the outer skin of thisvariety was dark, almost black andthe inner part was red. He boiledand tasted this tapioca and found

that it was delicious. He plantedseveral cuttings of this variety. Onmaturity, he found that each tuberweighed more than 8 kg. The nextyear, he planted 25 cuttings, andthe yield was an amazing 120 kgof tuber from each plant. The restas they say is history.

17211 Natural time piece – adevice for getting up early in themorning

This is a simple device, developedby Biju during his school days as analarm. Two bottles were kept on thewall at different heights. While onetube connects the two bottles, theother tube extends from the bottle atthe lower height to Biju’s bed. Waterfilled in the upper bottle, first flowsto the lower bottle and then spillsover. The time required to fill thelower bottle is calculated e.g. sixhours, after which the wateroverflows from the second tube andsprays the face of the person on thebed, waking him up. Someadjustments of time can be made byfilling the lower bottle accordingly.

Biju K Alexandaer , Kandathil,Eattupara, Nellikutty, Chemperi,Kannur , Kerala

(For related practices see HB 11(4)and 12 (1) 2001)

17212 Multi Purpose Harvaster

Shivasangappa Nara, a mulberrycultivator has invented a poweroperated mulberry harvestermachine. The low cost machinecuts five plants in a minuteresulting in an acre of mulberryplantation being harvested in 11hours, thus saving time and labour.This machine is also useful forharvesting sugarcane, jowar straw,cotton plant, grass grown aroundthe field and on the bunds andeven weeds. Harvesting mulberryby using this machine leads to arapid increase in plant population.

Shivasangappa Nara, VillageGuledagudda, District Bagalkot,Karanataka

17213 Vanilla Punch KeepsRobbers Away

Ravindra Bhatt, a diploma engineerand agriculturist from Yallapurtaluka in Dakshina Kannadadistrict has designed a silver coatediron punch for vanilla beans toprotect them from thieves. Thiscauses no damage to either thevanilla beans or the vine. Thosewho want to take advantage of thisdevice should give their ownidentification e.g. a number, nameor telephone number, toMr Bhatt, who will then prepare apunch for the interested farmer.Most farmers in Yallapur are takingadvantage of this punchingmachine. By this punch any stolen

Practices from Jammu & Kashmir

A self-regulatory valve for drip-irrigation

This device controls wastage of water duringgardening, while ensuring that the plantsreceive the requisite quantity. Based on theproperty of expansion of wood when in contactwith water, a piece of wood and a rubbertube are tied together in a limited space. Thetube carries water to the plant. When wateroverflows from the tube, it falls on the woodenpiece and the piece expands. As soon as thepiece expands, the narrow opening closes andthe flow of water through the tube stops.

Pankaj is a very enterprising youngexperimenter. He runs a shop in Jammu andhas also attended many Shodh yatras. Hestrongly believes in spreading sustainablepractices for resource use.

Pankaj, Bakshi Nagar, Jammu



43

Loksarvani(Gujarati version of Honey Bee)Ramesh Patel, Editor, c/o SRISTI,Post Box No. 15050, Ambawadi,Ahmedabad-380015.Email: [email protected]: 079-27913293

17214 Powerful Salvadora persicaL. for Making Crops Healthy

Mohanbhai Jhala from Kalesarvillage of Mahemdabad Talukauses the leaves of Salvadora persicato augment fertility in his farm.Sprinkling the powdered leaves ofSalvadora persica L. in the furrowsof crops like brinjal, chilly, potatomakes the crop healthy, reducesthe infestation of pests and theeffects of wilt. Using the leaveswith organic manure is beneficialeven during the cultivation ofcereal crops like paddy, millet,wheat. About 20 kg Salvadorapersica leaves are required for onevigha. The branches should be cutand left aside so that the leaves drynaturally in about a week.

(similar practice is found in many partsof Gujarat for controlling weeds in paddynursery, also for hastening the growth ofseedlings and mulching in thefields. Similar Community practice inOnganej and two other villages ofAhmedabad district was recognisedduring Third National AwardFunction of National InnovationFoundation)

Mohanbhai Lalabhai Jhala, Mu:Kalecar, Post: Zaravat, Taluka:MahemdabadDist: Kheda

salvadora persica is wellknown for soil protectionand improvementh t t p : / / w w w . f a o . o r g /d o c u m e n t s /show_cdr.asp?url_file=/d o c r e p / X 5 3 2 7 e /x5327e06.htm ( Its usefor protection from soilpests is less wellknown).

17215 Jatropha Provides not JustFuel!

Rajnikanth Ushabhai Patel controlssucking pests in rice and cotton byusing decoction of three kg Jatropha(Jatropha gossypifolia L.) leaves in20 lt. of water. The mixture is boiledtill 5 lt. of extract remains in thecontainer. About 200 ml of extractis added to 15 lt. of water forspraying on the affected rice andcotton crop.

Rajnikanth has also used 5 lt ofJatropha extract mixed with 500 mlkerosene. About 50 gm powder ofSoap nut (Sapindus emarginatusVahl) or 50 gm washing powderare mixed with water before addingkerosene. This mixture is thensprayed on fennel, chilli, mango orpomegranate crops..

Rajnikanth Ushabhai Patel,Modassa,Gujarat

jatropha curcas has been reported asa bio-fungicide. http://www.asnapp.org/country-progs/senegal.html, http://wwbota.free.fr/XMLPublication/text+index/biopesticides.htm, http://www.asnapp.org/country-progs/senegal.html#BIOPESTICIDES

17216 Aphids Under Attack

Cotton gets infested by suckingpest like aphid, jassid, thrips,whitefly and ball worms quite

In a related practice, Gaffarbhai Qureshiof Village Ramlechigir in District Junagarh,Gujarat, signs each and every ‘A’ grademango from his farm, before packingthem into boxes. According to him thepractice makes his organically grownproduct indelibly identifiable and inspiresconfidence among consumers.

bean/s can quickly be traced to the rightfulowner.

Ravindra Bhatt, Yallapur, Dakshina Kannada,Karnataka.

When did you talk to your grandparents last?

Signed Mangoes



44

Practices from Arunanchal Pradesh

Preservation of manuscripts by methi (fenugreek)

The innovator suggests that fenugreek (trigonella foenum-graecum L.) powder could be used for preservation of booksand manuscripts, as a substitute for the chemicalsused presently. Fenugreek powder, unlike the chemicalswould not cause any health hazards to the curator as wellas readers.

Shri Krishna Kumar Pandey, Bomdilla, West Kameng, ArunachalPradesh

Fenugreek is known for its pest control properties. The dried leavesare used as an insect repellent in grain storage. http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipsfenugreek.htm. Fenugreek had larvicidal action againsthouse fly larvae at low concentration as well as affected the adultfecundity also. Abdel Halim A.S., Morsy, T.A.. Efficacy of Trigonellafoenum-graecum (fenugreek) on third stage larvae and adult fecundityof Musca domestica. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2006 Apr;36(1):329-34.Seeds and leaves extracts of Trigonella foenum-graecum were foundeffective against stored product pests Tribolium castaneum andAcanthoscelides obtectus. Pemonge, J. , Maria Jesus, P.V., Regnault-Roger, C. Effects of material and extracts of trigonella foenum-graecumL. against the stored product pests tribolium castaneum (Herbst)(Coleoptera: tenebrionidae) and acanthoscelides obtectus (Say)(Coleoptera: bruchidae) J Stord Prodts Res, 1997. 33 (3) 209-217.The desert and semi-desert plants like Fenugreek have revealed a rangeof compounds (alcohols, alkaloids and terpenes) that are repellent andcould possibly be used for crop storage protection. Because of itsefficacy against different insect pests, fenugreek powder can be usedfor the preservation of books.

toxic to two greenhouse pests, thecarmine spider mite, Tetranychuscinnabarinus (Boisd.) (Tetranychidae,Tetranychini) and cotton aphid, Aphisgossypii Glov. (Aphididae, Aphidini).In general, a minimum dose of 0.5 µl/l air and 2–3 days of exposure wasrequired for 99% mortality usingessential oils of the plant (Tuni &Ahinkaya, 1998: EntomologiaExperimentalis et Applicata, 86(2):183-187)

Extract obtained from cuminumcyminum was bioassayed as larvicidesand adulticides against Culexpipiens and it showed 100%repellency. http://www.eonseed.com/catalog501.html. Tobacco is well knownfor its pesticidal property.

17218 Spices Control Aphids

To control the infestation of aphidsin crop of radish (Raphanus sativusL), Prahaladbhai uses extract of 500gm waste of ripe cumin (Cuminumcyminum L) and 250 gm powder oftobacco in a litre of water. Ten litresof water is added to the cooleddecoction, stirred and then sprayedon the crop. The result are noticeablein 24 hours and the insects arecompletely destroyed in four days.This method has been practiced bythe farmer for 25-30 years.

Prahaladbhai M Patel

Vapours of essential oils extracted fromCuminum cyminum were found to be

commonly. Aphid and whitefly are seriouspests in monsoon and winter season. Theplant becomes weak due to stunted growthand reducing productivity. For controlling thispest, Balubhai uses one kg leaves of custardapple (Annona squamosa L.) boiled in 16 lt ofwater. The mixture is boiled till it is reducedto 4 lt. The cooled and filtered solution is usedas a stock solution. About 100 gm of theconcoction is mixed in 10 lt water and sprayedon aphid and whitefly infested crops. To avoidthe pest infestation, repeat the spray at aninterval of 8 - 10 days or as needed. This alsoacts as a growth promotor. This is a traditionalcommunity knowledge.

Balubhai Dudabhai Makwana

Custard apple is well known as an insecticide andfish poison (Kapoor & Kapoor, 1980: Medicinalplant wealth of the Karimnagar district of AndhraPradesh. Bull med Ethnobot Res, 1: 120-144.

17217 Aphids Unstruck

Aphids attack intensifies in cloudy weather,especially in crops like groundnut. These small,black or greenish insects infest the lower partsof the plant initially and gradually reach theleaves and flowers. They release and deposita sticky substance from their bodies, as a resultof which leaves become sticky and mouldy.Aphid is known as ‘Galo’ or ‘Sakariya’ in thelocal language. To combat infestation of thispest, Govindbhai first boils 500 gm custardapple leaves in 1 lt of water till about onefourth remains in the vessel. He also boils 100gm tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) powder in500 gm water and filters the solution. He thenmixes both the solutions and adds 50 gmmilky sap of Crown flower (Calotropis gigantea(L.) Ait. f.) and then sprays the mixture ongroundnut, castor, pigeon pea crops. It giveshim good results in controlling aphidsinfestation.

Govindbhai Desai, District Junagadh, Gujarat

Calotropis gigantea: Insecticidal, antinematodal,antimicrobial and antiradical properties are reported byDhar et al., 1978 : Antifertility studies of some indigenousplants. Proc XI Ann Conf IndianPharmacol Soc, New Delhi. Grange, JM, Davey,RW (1990): Detection Of AntituberculousActivity In Plant Extracts: J Appl Bacteriol,68 (6): 587-591. Nicotiana tabacum: It has been reportedas insect repellent (Schmedahirschmann, 1992).Schmedahirschmann, G, Rojas De Arias, A (1992): Ascreening method for natural products on triatomine bugs.Phytother Res, 6(2): 68-73.



45

NIF Signs MoU with ICMR

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) andNational Innovation Foundation (NIF) organiseda brainstorming session on ‘Benefit sharingthrough validation and value addition intraditional knowledge’ on December 24, 2005,at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.It was chaired by Dr R Kumar, a professor ofeminence at Indian Institute of Science, Bangaloreand attended by some of the outstanding scientistsin the field, besides Dr Vasantha Kumari, DyDirector General of ICMR, and several grassrootsherbal healers and members of Honey Bee network.The Group tried to learn from healers as to howdid they solve the local health problems in a valuecontext based on sharing and caring culture. SRISTIhad also helped some of them in developing localherbal gardens or Gyan Van (knowledge forest).The purpose of the the session was to build anetwork of institutions to help in validation andvalue-addition to the herbal knowledgedocumented by NIF in collaboration with HoneyBee Network. NIF has documented more thanfifty thousand practices across the country; outof which around thirty thousand are herbalpractices. There is a need to scale up the validationand value addition process of this knowledgeand ensure proper benefit sharing with thecustodians of such knowledge. The GoverningCouncil of NIF decided that entries related toherbal health practices will be conferred NationalAwards, only after scientific testing and propervalidation. Since, only general appreciation lettersrecognizing contributions of herbal healers havebeen given so far, without reference to any specificclaims, they are yet to reap any real benefit. Itwas decided that NIF would focus on only suchpractices which a) included plants not includedin codified and classical texts, or b) not for thepurpose for which local healers have claimedthese, or c) a combination of both.

'India Innovates' and 'Avishkar India' setthe Indian Mind Rolling

NDTV Profit and NDTV India aired a programmeson grassroots innovation called ‘India Innovates’and ‘Avishkar India’ (in English and Hindirespectively) in the past few months in associationwith National Innovation Foundation (NIF). Sincethe airing of the show, NIF and GrassrootsInnovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) havereceived 113 inquiries. Out of them three are fromabroad (Two from UK, and one from Australlia)and rest are from India. The programmes generatedqueries from twenty seven districts spread overfourteen states. Maharashtra threw highest number

of inquiries (18) followed by four eachfrom Andhra Pradesh, Delhi andGujarat . Very interestingly, NIFreceived queries from many suchplaces which are not considered asentrepreneural destination e.g.Bilaspur, Farukabad, Gondia, Patnaetc. Out of the total queries, maximumwere product queries (52) and restof them were general queries. Afterthe programme, through NIF andGIAN, the audience have got in directtouch with at least nine of theinnovators. Maruti Jhula designedby Sakrabhai Prajapati from Gujaratreceived the highest audience andbusiness queries (14) followed bybullock operated pumpset designedby Ram Naresh Yadav (5) from UPand windmill generator designedinnovated by N V Satya Narayana,Vanrai pump developed by C V Pathakand milking machine designed byRaghawa Gauda (4 each). Otherinnovations that attracted themaximum attention were air curtainblower by Yagnesh Mehta, car forphysically challenged persons byMujib Khan, scooter for physicallychallenged person by DhanjibhaiKerai, incense stick making machineby Usman Sekhrani, Groundnutdigging machine by Yusuf Khan,garlic peeling machine by MNatarajan etc. After the airing of theprogramme, NIF has received as manyas twenty innovations from theviewers.

Indian Patent OfficeCatches up

Honey Bee Network, particularly NIF,GIANs and other associatedorganizations, have been regularlyfiling patent applications on behalfof the grassroots innovators to protecttheir intellectual property rights. Since1998, eighty two patents have beenfiled on behalf of the grassrootsinnovators both in India and US.Between 1998 and 2002, in total 20patents were filed, out of which sixwere in US. However, the scenariohas completely changed since 2003.Between 2003 and 2006, sixty twopatent applications have been filedand out of them sixty have been filed

in India itself. Very interestingly, outof seventy four applications filed inIndian Patent office, only four havebeen granted where as seven patentsfiled in US, three have been granted.Mansukhbhai Patel got an US patentin the year 2003 for his cotton strippermachine and Mansukhbhai Jaganiwas awarded US patent for hisadaptive agricultural machine in theyear 2005. Bhanji Bhai got it in 2005for three and four wheel flexibleattachment in tractor. However, patentoffice in India is gradually pickingup the pace. In the last six monthitself, 19 Indian patents have beengranted to Indian innovators. ManubaJadeja was awarded Indian patentfor liquid lifting devise, Kurupiah forfruit harvesting machine, MansukhPatel for cotton stripper and RamKumar Patel for motorized device forremoving weeds. There is no doubtthat in the days to come, there willbe more Indian patents coming tograssroots innovators with ease.

Recognition of TraditionalKnowledge

The University of DevelopmentStudies (UDS), Tamale, Ghana, hasconferred an Honorary Doctorate onHajia Salamatu Ibrahim Taimako, aprominent practitioner of Herbalmedicine in Tamale. Although,Taimako has not received any formaleducation, she started learning aboutherbal medicine from her mother fromthe age of ten.

Taimako has treated ailments suchas hypertension and diabetes withlocal herbs. She is also associated withthe Tamale Regional Hospital for thelast two decades, providessupplementary health care to patients,training to traditional birth attendantsin the area and also counsels HIV/AIDS patients. She has also madeuseful contributions to agrobiodiversity conservation andsustainable agriculture in the area.

The UDS decision to confer anhonorary doctorate on Taimako is afine example of academiaacknowledging and appreciatingalternative systems of knowledge. We

NEWS&

NOTES



46

await such instances of academia acknowledginggrassroots innovators and custodians of traditionalknowledge in India.

Source Graphic Ghana, 28/1/2006http://www.graphicghana.info/article.asp?artid=10190

Advocating Pastoralist’s Rights

Honey Bee Network coordinator, MrVivekanandan, attended the 4th Ad Hoc Openended meeting of Convention of BiologicalDiversity (CBD), held in Granada, from January23- 27. He presented a paper in association withTom Loquang of Uganda, on Conservation ofIndigenous Animal Breeds by pastoralcommunities. The event held on the sidelines ofthe Convention was organized by League forPastoral Peoples, Germany and focused on theissue of live-stock keepers’ rights.

Many pastoral committees are denied grazingrights in forests. The issue of pastoralists’ rightsis not adequately covered by CBD. Representativesfrom Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya,Russia, Bhutan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Indiaattended this event at the convention.

Local Communities and Social Activistsfrom India and Canada Meet

Mr Karimbhai Sumra, a herbal healer from Gujarat,Mr Kirit Patel, Mr Ramesh Patel, Mr T J Jamesattended the ‘Tsleil-Waututh InternationalGathering on Indigenous Perspectives on Accessand benefit-sharing from the Use of GeneticResources’ at Vancouver, Canada. The conferencewas organised by Canadian Government inassociation with Assembly of First Nations from25th February to 1st March 2006. It was organisedto help local communities prepare their positionbefore the CBD meeting scheduled in Brazil. Theconference deliberated upon providing indigenousperspective on genetic resources and traditionalknowledge as it relates to the Convention ofBiological Diversity (CBD). Karimbhai and theHoney Bee Network representatives shared theirexperience of Prior Informed Consent (PIC) andhow a sustainable benefit sharing formula canbe worked out using the concept of PIC.

New Ideas for Honey Bee to work on:Telugu Honey bee launched

Taking advantage of the Research AdvisoryCommittee meeting of the National InnovationFoundation, a meeting of all the collaborators ofHoneybee Network who attended RAC, was heldto think through the strategies of the Network.

Brig Ganesham, the Honey BeeNetwork collaborator from AndhraPradesh gave a brief account of thelaunch of Telugu version of HoneyBee and informed that educationalinstitutes under Singareni Collierieswould take the lead to organise an‘Idea Competition’ amongst itsstudents on August 15, 2006. Theorganizers expected thousands ofideas to be collected during thecompetition. There have been severalqueries from the general public,especially after the coverage from‘Enadu’ newspaper. He added thatNational Institute of Technology atWarangal has extended their supportin development of some of the shortlisted innovations from AndhraPradesh.

Shri Vivekanandan, Coordinator ofHoney Bee Network from Tamilnaduinformed that 150 eco- clubs hadbeen formed in schools of VirudaNagar district for promotingconservation of biodiversity andnature. SEVA has compiled andpublished Tamil version of ethnoveterinary practices. He stressed theneed to publish Honey Bee in Bengaliand more Indian languages toincrease its reach to the North-easternpart of the country.

Dr T N Prakash, the Honey BeeNetwork collaborator from Karnataka,explained the tie up with NABARADfor funding the value additionactivities of selected innovations fromKarnataka. He sought cooperationfrom Dr Sahasranam of Grassrootsinnovations Augmentation Network(GIAN Cell in Karnataka) in increasingthe subscription of Kannada versionof Honey Bee. Dr Shahasranam agreedto mobilize at least 100 subscriptionsfrom the institutions under hisjurisdiction. He also emphasised onthe need for better inter-institutionalpartnership to generate greaterbusiness opportunities for innovationslike coconut climber, coconutdehusker etc.

Mr Ramesh Patel from SRISTI sharedhis experiences of organizingTraditional Food Festival (Saatwik

2004 and Saatwik 2005) and creatingmarket for minor millets, lesscultivated crop, traditional foodvarieties and recipes. Based on hugeresponse from urban populace, it hasbeen decided to organize suchtraditional food festival every year.He also shared that the work of SRISTIvolunteers in the scouting anddocumen-tation of innovation andtraditional practices for NIF hascontinued. Mr Patel urged thecollaborators to actively utilise theresources of Honey Bee Network inscouting, documen-tation anddissemination activities.

Mr TT Arun Covenant centre fordevelopment (CCD) reassured CCD’scommitment to the cause of grassrootscreativity. He also shared theknowledge about the indigenousclassification of winds by the localfishing community, who could thenpredict the type of catch likely thatday. He narrated his experience about24 types of wind based on thedirection and intensity.

Dr Arun Chandan from HimachalPradesh suggested the need to explorethe possibilities of an ‘audio’ HoneyBee. Dr Ranjay Kumar Singh fromArunachal Pradesh also supportedthe idea. Mr Sunda Ram Verma fromRajasthan initiated a discussion onthe possibilities of forming a seedcompany to propagate farmer’svarieties. Mr TJ James from Keralasaid that Peermade DevelopmentSociety (PDS) is organising acompetition for pooling the bestpractices for entrepre-neurshipdevelopment among the women.DrBalaram Sahu, from Orissa, sharedhis experiences of 17th Shodhyatrain Koraput, where he got anopportunity to document numeroustraditional knowledge practices.

The biodiversity of the regionmanifested through the rich culinarytradition of the region was anexperience in itself. He also sharedhis vision of connecting the HoneyBee Network with all the librariesschools, colleges and also state Govtagencies.



47

Honey Bee Network conveys heartfeltcondolence to the family members of all thedeparted members of the Network and praysthat their soul may rest in peace.

Mr Sarfuddin Amanudin KaziPillu Mashidjaval, DharangaonTal: Dharangaon, Jalgaon, Maharashtra

Mr Sarfuddin Kazi, 47, wasa machinist and owned aworkshop where hemanufactured componentsof stoves. His innovation‘pumpless stove withkerosene heating’ receivedan award by National

Innovation Foundation in 2005. Though he hadlittle formal education, his desire to invent wasvery strong and his motto was, “Don’t dream,just keep on doing what you have to, things willhappen. Don’t even mind the criticism.”

He was deeply pious and donated his servicesin making a tall lamp of 40 inches and weighing40 kg from the bells and other metals for thelocal Chintamani Moraya Temple. He also madeand donated a metallic decorative piece usedin processions to the local Masjid. Once whena local school needed 130 benches, he made itfor them at a highly concessional rate.

Sarfuddin wanted to start a commercially viablebusiness with his innovations. To help him realisehis dreams, he received some financial supportfrom NIF and he had begun his project. We hopehis family will carry on with the project andrealise his dreams by diffusing his innovation.

Mr S Harishchandra ShettyShetty Nursery, Sompady, Savanoor (P.O.) Puttur(Dist), Karnataka 574 202Phones: 08265-642207, 621403

Mr Harishchandra Shetty, 68,an innovator propagatedSompady variety of jackfruitwith minimal latex content.He is survived by twochildren.

Mr Shetty won accolades forcreating and popularizing a variety of jackfruit,which has almost no latex content. This wonhim the appreciation of the Karnataka StateGovernment and CPCRI. While thousands offarmers through out Karnataka have benefitedfrom this variety, the state horticultural departmenthas obtained grafted materials from him. Grafting

fruit trees was his hobby and his‘Shetty Nursery’ is very popular inthe locality.

In all these years, he has distributedmore than one lakh gum less jackfruit(sompady jack) seedlings all over thestate and also to other states like TamilNadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Mr T Sony RoyC-96, S. R. Nagar, HyderabadAndhra Pradesh - 500038

Mr T Sony Royhad been avaluable memberof the networkand hadreceived anaward for hisi n n o v a t i o n -

‘Email Informer’. He had severaltechnological solutions to everydayoffice problems to his credit. TheElectronic mail informer can informthe concerned person about the receiptof an email through different modesof communication such as Phone,Printout, Computer messages, fax,cellular, pager, post or telegram. Sonywas a man of action and he met withthe tragic electric accident that claimedhis life while experimenting with oneof his innovations.

Mr Ram Naresh Yadav

Few peoplededicate theirwhole life andinvest allresources inpursuit of amission as Mr

Yadav did. He sold most of his landand other assets in pursuing designof an engine that would work throughmanual, bullock or electricity or otherfuels. In addition to that, hediscovered that the design of the pistonin the engine contributed considerablyto the consumption level of fuel. Heconceived of a fibre glass piston sothat fuel consumption couldconsiderably come down. He usedto repair watches and fabricatemachines which would help society.With great difficulty, he found an

entrepreneur who was willing toinvest in his engine. Before he couldhave enjoyed the fruits of his labour,he met with a fatal accident. Hewas awarded by NIF and was anactive member of Honey Bee Network.

Mr Gobinda Chandra Gogoi, Assam

Mr C Gogoi,after retiringfrom Govt.Service devotedhimself to createsolutions fore v e r y d a yp r o b l e m s .

Gogoi developed the idea of the L-drop auto protector in 2000, for whicha patent has been filed in 2003. Hehad authored a book on phrases andidioms. He is survived by his wife,son and three daughters

Dr K N ShuklaDean, GB Pant UA T,Pantnagar

Dr K N Shukla,Dean, College ofTechnology, G BPant Universityof Agricultureand Techno-logy, passedaway on way to

NIF for its RAC meeting this year.He had more than thirty five yearsof teaching, research andadministrative experience atdifferent levels. He had severalwell acclaimed publications tohis credit.

Mr Kailash Chandra Mishra

Originally fromR a j a s t h a n ,settled inG u w a h a t i(Assam), MrMishra, was aherbalist par

excellence. His innovation of a herbaldrug for curing alopecia was acceptedat NIF. His son was also pursuingayurvedic profession. He servedsociety with his knowledgeunhesitatingly.

OBITUARY



48

After all independence is a beautifulfeeling

Amit Manga, New [email protected]

I saw your show ‘India Innovations’ today,covering a very interesting story by MsHarsha Kumari Singh from Jaipur on a mannamed Mujjaid Khan who makes hand-controlled attachment devices for cars fordisabled people. I’m myself less-abled. Itwould really help if you can email me thecontact details of Mujjaid Khan, so I cancontact him to get somemore information about the possibility ofretrofitting a similar device on my manualtransmission car.

I’m sure your show was a great ray of hopefor lot more less-abled people across thecountry. After all independence is a beautifulfeeling.

(We greatly appreciate your queries about the recentNDTV program. I will ensure that you get theaddresses of two particular innovations (costing Rs750 and Rs 5000 respectively). One of them wehonoured in the 16th shodhyatra in Idukki was BijuVarghese. He has developed a device which costs onlyRs 5000 only approx. He can not walk and has tobe lifted from his seat. We will send you moreinformation soon. Large number of queries have beenreceived for this innovation. Ed.)

Forging Partnership for Mentoring

Amy NichollsAntibes, France, [email protected]

I am working with Lucy Hooberman inLondon on a project called ‘MentoringWorldwide’. Idea is to create a globalmentoring partnership from person to person,

country to country, peer to peer.We want to do what we can, fromwhere we are and wherever weare. It is a personal and ethicalresponse to living in aninterdependent world. We want tobuild mentoring partnerships asindividuals, with individuals andinstitutions in the developingworld. Ideally we are looking formentees engaged in a practicalproject or undertaking in India -those who might be starting anew business, want to learn howto blog, or to set up a new NGOfor example. I would mostappreciate your initial thoughtson potential of the project in India.

(We definitely need mentoring supportfor Innovators from the best professionalsworldwide at National InnovationFoundation (NIF) and GrassrootsInnovation Augmentation Network(GIAN) where we have grassroots leveltechnologies being incubated for beingconverted into businesses. Please do seeindiainnovates. com and I am sure therewill be synergy between your platformand the innovators in our country. Ed.)

Query about the HerbalMosquito Repellent Cream

Dr Lalit KathuriaGurdaspur, [email protected]

I am interested in buying herbalmosquito repellent. Can you letme know whether these areavailable in Punjab? If Yes, Whatare their contents? And howmuch do they cost approximately?

Are there any side effects of theseherbal mosquito repellents?

(To the best of our knowledge, there isno side effect of the herbs used in thisrepellent. SRISTI Natural Product Labhas developed a mosquito repellentcream. We will get a sample sent toyou. If you are satisfied, please spreadthe word around and we will then beable to generate economic opportunitiesfor the herbalists whose knowledge madethese products possible. Ed.)

Partnership to Serve theLocal Communities

Dr S GokaleMAHE, [email protected]

I watch your program ontelevision and am very happy tonote that the grassroots inventionsare bringing changes in the localcommunities. I fully agree withyour remark that along withfinancial aid, the inventors needrecognition. We at ManipalAcademy of Higher Educationhave programmes which couldfacilitate recognition of theinventors as well as publicity tospread their knowledge andinventions in the widercommunity. May I request you tolet me know the types ofinventions and their intended usesto take the matter further?

(There are many ways in which we cancollaborate. There are a lot of technologiesfrom Karnataka which might have

DIALOGUE

!!!!!

!!!!!

!!!!!

!!!!!

Look! This is a tuber with alot of carbohydrates. It is astaple diet for many poor

people in Bangladesh. I havewritten a paper on this........

Do you only writepapers, or do

something about it ?

Oh... we also make herbal pesticidesin our lab developed by pooling the

knowledge of people

GRASSROOTGURU



49

Kiosks for Bridging DigitalDivide in Karnataka

Padmavati KorideComat Technologies, [email protected]

I work for Comat Technologies,based in Bangalore; Comat hasbeen working on e-governanceprojects for the past ten years. Weare currently setting up 800 kiosksacross Karnataka. We plan to bridgethe digital divide through ourinfrastructure. We want todisseminate farm related and otherrelevant information to the localpeople through Kannada CDs. Iunderstand that Honey Beenetwork works for spreading farm-related information and fordocumenting innovations therein.We would like to explore apartnership with Honey Beewherein we convert the informationinto CDs. We would like to hearyour views on this.

(By all means, we will be most happy toencourage this possibility. The 800 kioskoperators in Karnataka can become scoutsof HB network and NIF to help usuncover rural genius and innovators, TKholders. Let us firm up the closercooperation soon. Ed.)

New Variety of Cauliflower

P K [email protected]

Through years of experimentation, Iwas able to grow 13 buds of

cauliflower in a single plant inDecember 2005. The innovation hasbeen covered by various print andelectronic media. Presently, thisachievement is being submitted toLimca Book of Records & GuinnessBook of Records. Now, I want topatent the above process of growingmore buds in a single plant. Kindlyguide me about the procedureregarding this. Your early and sincerereply will be highly appreciated.

(Please send full information along withphotos, videos and agronomic data thatyou have about the variety. We will alsorequest you to describe the entire processof discovering or developing this varietyso that we can help you file claims beforethe Protection of Plant Variety andFarmers’ Rights Authority in Delhi.Please also appreciate that India does notallow patents on plants. We look forwardto receive all the information. Wecompliment you on your achievementand hope that you will continue yourinnovative experiments. Ed.)

Help for Rural Genius.

Dr N K MalpaniMumbai

I was pleased to read aboutVishnu Bhachuabhai Dumania inthe September 2005 issue onchildren’s creativity. I can adoptone poor deserving student forfurther studies. Please let me knowthe amount for tuition fees, hostelcharges etc. Also arrange to sendme the photograph and detailparticulars of the candidate.

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applications in your area of interest and operation.I will also request Dr T N Prakash, our HBNcollaborator and Dr Sahasranam in Karnataka to meetyou at mutual convenience and explore the possibilityof taking the issue forward. You could encourage yourstudents to take up rapid screening test on herbalmedicinal insights and claims contributed by localcommunities. You could also help students to scout,document new innovations and traditional knowledge.We hope a fruitful cooperation shall begin soon. Ed.)

Promoting Traditional Knowledge inKerela

VR Ajith KumarKerela State IT Mission, [email protected]

I am the Mission coordinator of Kerala StateIT Mission, a society registered under theDept. of Information Technology, Govt. ofKerala. I personally appreciate the sincereeffort of your organization in promoting theinnovations and traditional knowledge ofrural and traditional scientists. You may beaware of the Akshaya Centers, the communityservice centers, started and run by KeralaGovernment. Is it possible on your part to joinhands with us in promoting grassrootsscientists who may not have a degree to theircredit but have enormous amount of creativityand traditional knowledge!

(We will be most happy to join hands with yourefforts. The cooperative action has to start right away.You can translate the contents of NIF CDs inMalayalam and put it up on your server. You mayalso put up an announcement seeking new entriesabout grassroots innovations, traditional knowledge,new applications of old things etc., backed up by theprizes at national and state level in cooperation withyou. Your visit to NIF in Ahmedabad recently wouldpave the way for long term cooperation with KeralaInnovation Foundation, NIF and Honey BeeNetwork. Ed.)

But, have you tested thispesticide in this region?

Will it work for my fields? Aa....errr....we will do the testsand certainly get back to you

Then go back...... and cometo me only when you knowthat it will work for my fields

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(We are very grateful to you for yourkind support and inspirational initiative.Such a line of action between knowledge-feeling- doing is what makes us authentic.We will arrange to send you the details.Vishnu is son of a salt making workerand is extremely poor. He will benefitfrom your kind gesture. Looking towardsyour continued support. Ed.)

Herbal Treatment forOlympic Horses

Kapil ModiSoorya Inc, New [email protected]

I am the National DressageChampion (equestrian) of India. Iread about your innovation awardto Shri Becharbhai DosabhaiParmar. Since I have world classhorses and am preparing for theOlympic games to represent India,I would like the contact numberand address of Shri Parmar to helpme with natural treatment of myhorses. Please inform me aboutthis.

(My colleagues will get back to yousoon and we are very keen to help yousolving the problems of your horsesherbally. We feel honoured that wemay be able to make a smallcontribution in your much-deservedsuccess at the Olympics. Ed.)

Offer for Volunteering

Dr Dwijendra SinghDeputy Director (Scientist-F)CIMAP, Lucknow,[email protected]

I am working as Deputy Director(scientist-F) at CIMAP, Lucknow. Ihave served in researchand development inEntomology since lastthree decades. I havecontributed towardsthis branch of scienceby publishing 70articles in national andinternational journalsand patented four newtechnologies at CIMAP.I could know about SRISTI throughone B.Tech. Engineer working in a

company, who met me duringHoney buyer-seller MeetConference, during 26-27 June 2006at Jamia Hamdard organized byISAP, New Delhi. Thereafter, Ivisited your web and found thatSRISTI is doing a great job.

Kindly let me know how I can beuseful to SRISTI being a scientistand contribute towards the cause.

(I greatly appreciate your interest andhope that you will help us in validatingherbal knowledge of local communities.You could also guide our team at SRISTI-Sadbhav-Natural Product Lab and helpus strengthening the database ofmedicinal plants. Please also suggest anyother way, we can benefit from yourimmense wisdom and insights in theservice of local communities. Ed.)

Engineers without Boarders

Elizabeth McDermott LongColumbia [email protected]

I am the president of ColumbiaUniversity Engineers withoutBorders (www.columbia.edu/cu/ewb), a student group whichdesigns and implements technicalsolutions that address problems ofglobal poverty and environmentaldegradation. We currently haveactive projects in Ghana, Ecuadorand India, and have also completedprojects in Thailand.

Columbia University Engineerswithout Borders is in the verybeginning stages of a microhydroelectric project inUttaranchal. We are planning an

assessment trip inJanuary to furtherclarify the scope ofwork and collectinformation. Iwould appreciateany advice youmight have onworking in the area,as well as anythoughts on how

our organizations might interact. Iwould also love to meet with you

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Promotion of Traditional Knowledge forChildren in Argentina

Cecilia Eyssartier Argentina,[email protected]

I´m Cecilia Eyssartier, from Argentina. I´m abiologist. At the moment, I’m working on aproject about Mapuche´s homergardens and allthat is related to the traditional ecologicalknowledge and social networks. The Mapuchepeople are aborigines, who have been in touchwith Earth for ages. They know a lot aboutplants and their uses. However, over a periodof time they have been forced to move awayfrom their original dwelling places and theyare strongly discriminated. I read a paper about“Biodiversity contests: Indigenously Informedand Transformed Environmental Education”which I found extremely interesting. Aftervisiting your web site, I was convinced oncemore how important is it to improve theeducation! These days, every school is lackingthe connection to life, experiences, earth and Iwould like to do whatever I can to change thissituation. I’d like to take all these traditionalknowledge to the schools so that children beginto listen to the voice of the earth. I think childrenare very special in order to transmit all theseknowledge to their parents and futuregeneration. I’d would like you to give me youropinion and advice.

(I am extremely happy to get your mail and learn aboutexcellent work that you are doing to keep the knowledgetraditions of your society alive and vibrant. Please dowrite to us about Mapuche community and theirecological knowledge traditions, nature related songs,stories and their local community institutions understress or otherwise to conserve nature. You mayconsider organizing biodiversity contests amongchildren and then use this mechanism to connect grandparent’s generation with that of grand children.Encourage young children also to bring out new ideasand innovative projects they have in mind. We shouldlet children fuse modern with tradition at their ownterms.

Also you can encourage them to set up knowledge forestor park where they put small sign board on each planthaving information about local and Latin names, usesand other imp information. Whenever any new personcomes to community knowledge garden, he/she is askedto share his/her specific knowledge about that plant withthe community representative. Please think about theway the children also learn to make herbarium sheets,make exhibition for plants, invite community membersand then churning of knowledge, folk lore and othercultural knowledge takes place. They make notes of thesame and keep in community library. Ed)

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We welcomecontributions ofless known talesdepicting someaspects of ourrelations with

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Drawing Inspiration from NationalInnovation Foundation

Surabhi [email protected]

I am an Indian Forest Service Probationerundergoing training at IGNFA in Dehradun.I was going through the innovations ofNIF some days back and could link acouple of them as solutions to certainforestry problems. I will certainly make useof such innovations when I go to the fieldafter a year. I visited bird sanctuary nearAhmedabad in February. One of theproblems in the park was that of patrollingas motor boats were bulky and expensiveto operate. The amphibious bicycle couldcome in handy in such situations. Thecycle can also be of use to people studyingwater fowls and also bird watchers. Furtherthe amphibious cycle could be used forpromoting eco tourism where locals couldhire out such cycles to tourists. Since itinvolves only hiring and not physical workper se, it can be carried out by women,retired persons or handicapped people.Canopy studies are very important forecosystem management. However,reaching up to the canopy is a problem.The palm tree climbing device with somemodifications can be utilized by canopyscientists.

These are few ideas that came to my mind.I am sure that the work done by NIF willalways inspire me to work innovatively.

(It is certainly nice of you to have thought aboutso many creative possibilities. You should nowsuggest the ways of taking these issues forward.I certainly find this very helpful. Ed.)

while I’m in India in January tolearn more about your work.

(We would love to hear the latestdevelopments at your end. We can discussseveral other ways in which members ofyour network could join hands withgrassroots innovators in India. Ed.)

Innovation MovementBrewing in Kenya

Tollanda WabwireNairobi, [email protected]

I am a graduate of BSc in foodscience and technology, MSc ininternational businessmanagement and an MA indevelopment studies. I have beenthinking very much about theissues of harnessing localtechnology and innovations andthe role it has to play indevelopment of Africans andpeople in other developingcountries. While reading, I cameacross your site (www.sristi.org)and thought it has a lot of usefulinformation.

I want to pool together similargrassroots technologies andprojects from Kenya and otherAfrican countries but I need ideason how I can start. It would workwell this way and then we canrequest to have a link on your site(and vise versa) in order to widenthe network even further. Also withtime, I hope to gain informationfrom other resources (internet, printetc) and organizations that aredoing similar work. If we can fanthis vision from many small places,soon it will become a completerevolution in developmentthinking.

(I am very happy to hear from you aboutyour interest in pooling anddisseminating the creativity andinnovations at grassroots in Kenya. Ihave no doubt that if you started thisprocess through a deep voluntary spiritand made a network of friends in formaland informal sector, you will eventuallysucceed. Looking forward to hear fromyou about some examples of creativityand traditional knowledge, which helpspeople survive with dignity and selfrespect. Ed.)

Commercializing grassrootstechnology through youngentrepreneurs

Surendra AgarwalChairman, BYST, [email protected]

I am the chairman of MentorsAdvisory Panel of BYST (BhartiyaYuva Shakti). This is a trustsupported by CII and we mentorbudding Entrepreneurs drawnfrom less privileged part of society.I would like to explore thepossibility of exploiting theinnovative technologies promotedby NIF for the buddingentrepreneurs. Could you let meknow some of the technologieswhich can be commercialized?

(NIF will be very happy to explore theopportunity of working closely with you.This will in fact resolve one of the majorbottleneck in our efforts to diffusegrassroots innovations widely. Theentrepreneurs from your network couldselect the technologies and then we cansign Non Disclosure Agreement beforegiving more details. We will also try toconstitute mentoring teams for eachentrepreneur so that incubation processproceeds smoothly. You may also havemany members who might agree tomentor such entrepreneurs. Ed)

Q. 1 - How many Shodh Yatras have been held so far?Ans. - b) 16

Q. 2 - Which year was the first Shodh Yatra held?

Ans. - c) 1998

Q. 3 - Which route did the first Shodh Yatra follow?

Ans. - d) Gir to Gadhada Hassan BhatKreri Doru

Winner

Honey Bee Vol 16(4) December 2005, Competition Result

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