A two-day state workshop on agroecology learning circles (ALCs) and natural resource management approaches concluded today on the occasion of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples here.
Gunanka DB, Additional Project Director of the Meghalaya Community Led Landscape Management Project (MCLLMP) was the chief guest. Custodian farmers and representatives from more than 100 partner villages, like-minded organisations and various officials attended the workshop on August 8-9, co-organised by NESFAS, the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) and others.
The event witnessed community-led sharing of best practices and peer learning based on traditional farming methods and management of soil, pests and seeds and also covered various topics such as forest management plan, payment for ecosystem services, water resource management, living root bridges, etc.
During these sessions, farmers and experts shared their experiences and testimonials. The event also launched two documents – the Community Seed Bank Catalogue and a booklet on Natural Pest Management.
The workshop aimed to create and strengthen partnerships between different stakeholders, celebrate the achievements of grassroots innovators and recognise the contribution of traditional knowledge holders.
It also included an exhibition that showcased a variety of local seeds, biopesticides, biodiversity-based midday meal initiatives and natural resource management practices implemented across communities. This was done to provide a platform for different stakeholders to come together and share and disseminate rich and unique traditional knowledge and information and the diversity of indigenous peoples’ food systems in Meghalaya.
Speaking on the occasion, Gunanka congratulated NESFAS, its partner communities and CLLMP for the successful implementation of the ALC project and also drew similarities between Meghalaya and his home state of Karnataka, as both were staple consumers of millet before gradually shifting to rice.
Addressing the audience, he said, “We need to maintain and strengthen our rapport with the community so that the project does not end here. We need to keep the movement alive”.
The ALC project is funded by the World Bank and supported by the MBMA under the innovation fund, with 100 ALCs established across Meghalaya.
Otilia Mukhim, a custodian farmer from Jatah Lakadong, shared her thoughts on behalf of her fellow farmers. “We have received a lot of information from the two-day workshop. There is a need for the conservation of forests and water resources and we must strengthen our food systems for a sustainable future. We wish to carry this knowledge further as ALC members through self-help groups and awareness programmes, especially for the youth since we need to showcase our traditional food systems to the world,” she said.
