Heritage Food Preservation

We cultivate paddy, wheat, and pulses in our village and want to preserve this as a heritage.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We save stable seeds and kuluth seeds are valuable for our family. We have old seeds like millet, kuluth, moong. We sell them and use them as food.

— Basanti · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

Here, our ancestors used to cultivate sava, medon, mijhari, and kodo, whose rice and bread were eaten. Today, they are slowly disappearing. Therefore, we should preserve them so that they remain a part of our lives forever. These are very nutritious and powerful food items.

— Ram Kumari

Sawa, Medo, Mijhri are our traditional crops, which our ancestors used to cultivate by plowing with bullocks and a plough. They consumed these crops throughout the year and saved seeds in their homes for the next year's sowing. We still practice farming today.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We have received our traditional native seeds from our ancestors, which we conserve and protect for the coming generation.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

We should still cultivate Saav Medon Mijhari, which has been passed down since ancient times. Our ancestors used to farm without fertilizer, and by eating it, they remained strong, healthy, and powerful. Therefore, these seeds should be preserved even today.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our plows and bullocks till the fields, we sow millet, maize, make furrows, and plant small seeds, and also save seeds for the next year. This is a legacy from our ancestors, which we still have today and which we utilize.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We will cultivate pulses using very old traditional methods, so that we can use them in our diet.

— Pushpalata Surtange · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

We cultivate seeds such as chickpea, lentil, mustard, and horse gram using traditional, possibly rain-fed, farming methods. We preserve these seeds and cultivate them using this traditional agricultural practice.

— Laxmi Sahu

The dance, music, and coarse grains in farming that we have received in our heritage are for the preservation of these people for the next generation.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Nature preserves the entire seeds. We also cultivate and sow what our ancestors were sowing, and preserve it as seeds.

— Ram Maravi

We want to preserve rainfed farming, including maize, millet, and barley, for our own generation.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We preserve old seeds for sowing work, which explicitly includes Moong, Kili, and Mustard.

— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

We cultivated rainfed crops like pigeon pea, mung bean, and black gram, and will continue to cultivate and preserve them for the future.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate zero-irrigation crops, including pulses and oilseeds, and also conserve them, as they are part of our heritage.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

These seeds have been inherited by us through many generations. We preserve them with the thought that they might not be available to us in the future or could become extinct.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

Previously, we used to cultivate all crops like moong, urad, and kulthi, and we want to continue doing so in the future.

— Jyoti Senapati

Yes, pulses are cultivated in this. According to our ancestors, we also preserve seeds.

— Jagannath Baraik · Bayang, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Jharkhand

In traditional farming methods, to preserve seeds, we need to conserve the oldest and indigenous varieties of seeds.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

We have traditional moong and urad dal. We cultivate them generation after generation. I will tell you what we have preserved.

— Gitanjali Bhoi · Karamdihi, Sundargarh, Odisha

We save seeds at our location and keep them for our family. And saving old seeds in a traditional way is our

— Anil Pargi

Yes, we cultivate and preserve traditional seeds.

— Selina Pangi

We have preserved various items such as moong, beans, and gourds from ancient times.

— S Guruteli · Sindhiguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We have traditional seeds here like Saadia, paddy, pigeon pea, semi-native gourds, Karaiguta, Chipra, etc. We preserve these every year and cultivate them using old traditional methods without irrigation.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We are a tribal community, we farm using ploughs and bullocks, and we sustain our lives. We clear forests and bushes to make fields, and we cultivate sawa, medo, mijhri, and maize, which were grown by our ancestors, and we also preserve their seeds.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Chickpeas and gumbra are our old seeds, which we preserve and then sow.

— Vinita Singh Yadav · Mukasim, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We will practice traditional farming and save seeds for next year.

— Sathimambalaka · Tado, Rayagada, Odisha

Our royal forefathers used to cultivate Birahi, Kulut, Mukh, Deshoris, and Badam in their lands. And all these seeds are very important for us.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

We save old seeds so that they do not become extinct or disappear in the future. We save them so that they remain available in the future and can be cultivated.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

We cultivate a second crop. The valuable seed of our family is Horse gram. Our ancestors have given us Green gram, Black gram, Horse gram, and Finger millet. We follow the farming methods of our ancestors.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

Our ancestors were cultivating. They grew urad and moong. The soil gave them a different kind of produce, and they nurtured the seeds for it.

— Mukunda Majhi · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

For our family, the most cherished seed is the bean seed. Our ancestors also used to cultivate it. We have been continuing this tradition. Preserve it.

— Jogeshwar Naik · Kalahandi, Odisha

Non-irrigated crops like maize, jute, and various other types that we want to preserve for our coming generation.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We want to preserve ancient languages, dances, songs, traditions, food, conservation, nurturing, etc.

— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha