World Environment Day 2015 Celebrations
The World population stands at around 7 billion and is increasing at a rapid pace with it hitting the 9 billion mark by the end of the century. For this rising population there is need to feed them as well. With Today’s agricultural practices there is great amount of stress on the Ecosystem services. Due to extensive use of Chemical fertilizers and water to increase the production the ecosystem services (ES) are rendered infertile/useless after prolonged use with no time to undergo natural rejuvenation. Unsustainable usage of water leads to depletion of ground water, one of the main sources of irrigation.
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We at Govardhan Eco Village (GEV) are committed towards Sustainable Agriculture through organic farming with the aim to conserve the Biodiversity & the Ecosystem services and at the same time meet the food requirement of the GEV. This is assured with combination of the Traditional Vedic Knowledge and scientifically proven technology.
As per the traditional Vedic knowledge, sustainable agriculture is possible only through proper care for both land and cows. Hence the Environment Day 2015 Celebrations in GEV were centered on this theme of Cattle Care and Sustainable Agriculture. The four day long celebrations had 2 days (June 3-4) workshop on Cattle care and 2 days (June 5-6) workshop on Sustainable Agriculture.
Cattle Care Workshop – June 3-4, 2015
Is protecting one’s child is all about just not killing them? No! It’s about making them happy, isn’t. One feels happy by being loved, and love is expressed through care.
Animal cruelty can be either deliberate abuse or simply the failure to take care of an animal whether it is a pet, a farm animal, or wildlife. Neglect is not giving an animal the right food, water, shelter or health care. Cow care workshop focused on these aspects through interactive seminars and practical sessions with cows.
Cattle care workshop was conducted by veterans in the field like Dr. Pachegaonkar, Dr. Barahate, HG Sanat Kumar Das, HG Damodar Dulal Das. Wisdom and expertise gained through decades of practical service to Mother Cow were shared with the audience. The workshop witnessed audience from various parts of Maharashtra and therefore was a good amalgamation of various cases, experiences, concerns, success stories, etc.
Interactive seminars brought forth various concerns regarding cow care and the economics behind it. Seminars shed a strong light on how cow is useful in many ways and not just limited to her milk. Also how when cow is cared and nurtured with love and devotion it brings prosperity in many facets.
The practical sessions in the Govardhan Eco Village Goshala kept the workshop balanced with hands-on practical experience along with the necessary knowledge.
The workshop delved into various aspects of cow care, right from grassland management to disease identification and treatment. The workshop also focused on
• Daily Cow Care Tips
• Specials Tips for Pregnant Cows
• Special Tips for new born calves
• Disease identification and treatment methods
• Fodder and how to enhance fodder quality
The workshop brought home how caring cows involve proper management, keen observation and good fodder, also how such a care can bring out a positive change in any herd of cows.
Sustainable Agriculture – June 5-6, 2015
Over 200 farmers from Pune district of Maharashtra, India participated in the sustainable agriculture workshop conducted by H.G Sanat Kumar Das and his team of agricultural experts. Participants were shared with knowledge about sustainable agriculture, community based agriculture, Integrated Farming Practices and importance of chemical free farming. Also practical sessions in the farming fields of Govardhan Eco Village were also conducted along with the overview tour of the Eco village.
The Sustainable Agriculture workshop participants were also introduced with the following practices which make the agricultural activity sustainable.
Safe and healthy & nutritionally adequate
The organic farming practices adopted in GEV ensures that no chemicals enter the system. This makes the agricultural produce safe and healthy to consume. The food crops produced are having a high nutritional value as they are grown in a nutrient rich organic field.
Economically Fair and affordable
The cost involved in organic farming is very low in comparison with the Conventional farming practices as the cost of the using expensive chemical products is avoided.
Culturally acceptable
The practices followed are based on the traditional Vedic wisdom and indigenous knowledge.
Biodiversity & Ecosystem Conservation
The basis behind GEV organic farming is to maintain the landscape in its natural state and carry out the farming activities without altering it. This has ensured the local trees to stand tall in the agricultural field and have become a part of the agro-ecology. In fact, these tall trees prove out to be beneficial for the shade loving crops. Also, the farm design at GEV is West side planting; this ensures enough sunlight to all the plants.
Recycled SBT Water
All the waste water is treated in Soil Biotechnology Plant and is supplied to organic fields across GEV. This has greatly reduced the dependency on river and groundwater.
Symbiotic Relationship
The operations in GEV are carried out in such way that there is a symbiotic relationship inbuilt in them. The waste from one system forms input to other system. E.g. Cattle dung from Goshala forms an important input as manure in our organic farms. Similarly, waste water is used for irrigation. Saw dust from carpentry or waste cardboards are used for mulching in order to maintain moisture.
We live in a world of finite resources and so we cannot afford to make too many mistakes in decisions related to sustainable agriculture. Agriculture is totally dependent on the Water, Soil, Biodiversity, Cows and Ecosystem Services. There are dangers accrued with Chemical intensive and highly mechanized way of farming even with a high yield. Hence GEV brings home that there has to be an environmental friendly and sustainable organic farming policy and practice in place that will cater to both the current human needs and also give time for the natural rejuvenation of the Ecosystem as part of its World Environment Day 2015 Celebrations.
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