A Passage Through India By Abby Youngblood This article was written by Abby Youngblood during her travels in India from January through May of 2002, with sponsorship from a Watson Fellowship to explore food security issues and the potential of organic agriculture for small farmers in developing countries. She is currently in Russia and will return to the United States in August of 2002. Her future plans are to find work as a farm apprentice and eventually start her own CSA. We have a joke in my family. Some families talk about the weather if they want to make conversation. In my family, the Youngblood family, we talk about food. I've discovered that I fit in here in India. When I first arrived in India, I tried to figure out how to greet people in the local language (Kannada). After some weeks, I finally figured out the greeting. Oota ita? Which means, "Have you eaten?" This is a culture of food, a culture of giving food. People spend a lot of time cooking, talking about food, eating food...and giving food to others. It's how you show that you care, so as a visitor to India, I've been very well-fed. India is heaven for a vegetarian! I feel like I eat something new at each meal. I've been introduced to so many new types of fruits and vegetables, whose existence I was not aware of before coming to India. For example, I've tried jack fruits, a gigantic fruit with a bumpy green skin full of seeds that are surrounded by a sweet yellow fruit. Every part of the jack fruit can be eaten, including the seeds which can be roasted. It can also be cooked as a vegetable before the fruit ripens. One of my Indian friends claims that this vegetable is so delicious that it can be used to persuade meat eaters to become vegetarians. I've also tasted chickoos, small brown fruits that look like potatoes, custard apples, wood apples and cocum, a red fruit that looks like a plum and is used to make a refreshing drink. I've eaten oh so many delicious papayas and mangoes, an every day fruit in this tropical climate. And when thirsty, you can always find a tender coconut along the streets of South India — usually bunches of them are attached to the back of a bicycle and for a dime, you can drink the coconut water and then cut the coconut open to eat the white flesh. (I was shocked when I discovered that the liquid inside the coconut is clear in color rather than white, like the coconut milk you buy in cans.) Another discovery is the drumstick, a vegetable that grows on a tree and is used in South Indian sambur (a kind of soup), invaluable from a nutritional point of view because it is one of the richest sources of vitamin C. People here often ask me what our staple food is in the United States. I guess we don't really have one, do we? Maybe it's meat. Or bread? Here in India, the staple food varies depending on the region. In the south it's rice, while in the north, usually wheat (from which people make chapattis, rotis, parathas, puri, and other types of bread). In some regions, people still rely on coarse grains, like millet (ragi) and sorghum as their staple food, especially dryland areas and regions that have not been so impacted by market influences. The food diversity in India matches the incredible cultural and geographical diversity of the country. In all honesty, I don't think I had any idea of the diversity in India before coming here. It must be the most diverse country in the world, with an extraordinarily complex social system, an intricate blend of religions and castes. Tribal peoples and urban yuppies — both have a place within this society. And there are over 20 languages spoken here. India encompasses deserts, the snow-capped Himalayas, the lush coconut coasts of Kerala and the forested Western Ghats, one of the world's biodiversity hot spots. During my four and a half months in India, I had a chance to explore some of these regions while pursuing a deeper understanding of the agricultural system in India. Food security in India is directly linked to food diversity and biodiversity. For this reason, it is critically important to preserve the traditional seeds of farmers. One result of the Green Revolution (and hybrid seeds) is the loss of traditional seeds. The impact of hybrid and high yielding seeds is two-fold. Firstly, farmers lose control over their seed supply since they cannot save hybrid seeds from one year to the next (hybrid seeds lose their characteristics in the second generation, forcing farmers to continuously buy seeds from companies.) In addition, farmers, in an effort to produce higher yields, have shifted cultivation of important food security crops such as millet to high-yielding Green Revolution varieties of rice and wheat. When meeting farmers groups in South India, I would always take the opportunity to talk to elders in the villages to find out what changes have taken place in their lifetimes. Again and again older people describe how diets have changed. For example, farmers in Tamil Nadu who now grow cotton and peanuts as commercial crops and paddy for home consumption describe a time when they also grew millets and sorghum. They also tell me that they have watched as 2/3 of the trees have been cut down, the rains have stopped coming regularly, their land has become depleted of its fertility (this region is a near wasteland now), diseases such as cancer have become increasingly common, and the children have been migrating to urban areas in search of work. It was here in this dryland region that I saw the potential of organic agriculture and in the importance of trees in reviving wastelands and restoring the fertility of the soil. I was especially impressed by the work of an organization called Kudumbam (which means "family" in the local Tamil language) to assist farmers to create economically and ecologically sustainable farms and to revive wasteland areas. I had the opportunity to visit farms that had been transformed from barren land to a productive farm within the span of ten years with the help of trees and organic farming techniques. Kudumbam coordinates a network of 82 NGOs and over 2000 farmers to introduce appropriate technologies and the methods of Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA). I also spent three weeks during my visit to Tamil Nadu in Auroville, an international, ecologically-focused community of 1500 residents founded on the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Auroville has been turned into a pleasant forested region, after over 30 years of efforts to transform wasteland into a habitable city of the future. The Auroville community is noticeably cooler than in nearby Pondicherry and sometimes even receives greater rainfall due to tree cover. It was here at Auroville that I was able to attend an international conference focused on the establishment of a South Asian Seed Saving Network to preserve traditional open pollinated varieties of seeds and protect the farmer seed system (as opposed to the corporate seed system of Monsanto, Novartis, et al). Farmers in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of Kudumbam, have actively protested genetically-engineered seeds, bt cotton, the privatization of water, and other corporate schemes to make money off of farmers' desperation to survive. Why is it that there are still so many people in India who go hungry and who are malnourished? This is a country that is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, with a four thousand year old tradition of sustainable agriculture and a culture that celebrates the abundance of food. Besides, this is a country that now produces surplus of grains. While many people believe that as a result of India's growing population the country cannot produce enough food to feed itself, in actuality the food is available in excess, but many families (and farmers!) cannot afford to buy it. Tons upon tons of grains sit and rot in storage facilities and are even dumped into the sea! Even the scientists and promoters of the Green Revolution, such as MS Swaminathan the father of the Green Revolution in India (whom I met while in Chennai), admit that the Green Revolution has many failures including depletion of soil fertility, overuse of chemicals, environmental pollution, negative health impacts, destruction of the farmer seed system, and social inequalities. While opinions are mixed regarding whether or not the Green Revolution was necessary in India to stave off famine, I personally believe it is the traditional technologies, knowledge, and agriculture systems of India in combination with new, appropriate organic techniques, rather than so-called "modern" industrial agriculture, that can ensure the future food security in India. The good news is that we have the technology already to ensure that the earth's population is free from hunger (as I've already described above in my visit to wastelands in Tamil Nadu, the earth is incredibly robust and can recover from environmental destruction if given the chance). Farmers who produce food for themselves first are much more food secure than farmers who produce food commercially then attempt to buy food in the market. It's not easy to understand the agricultural system in India, nor is it easy to generalize. My collection of impressions, sensations, and reflections from my travels in India cannot capture the country nor the culture. It's just the tip if the iceberg. India was a challenge for me. It's noisy, it's crowded, it's polluted and it's patriarchal. So many aspects of the culture are unfamiliar and life here is very real and in your face. During my visit to India, I was overwhelmed by the cultural complexities, the politics of the NGO world, and the mixed emotions that people feel towards America and her citizens. At the same time I'm going to miss the sights, sounds and smells of South India. Women dressed in brightly colored sarees with flowers in their hair, nose rings, earrings, bangles, and anklets. Men in longhis, a piece of woven cotton, often a beautiful shade of light purple, that is wrapped around the waist and then tucked between the legs. Bullock carts with the tall, white indigenous cows, complete with humped backs and long horns decorated with balloons and flowers, pulling heavy loads with the family on board. Using a banana leaf as a plate, a papaya stem as a straw, eating with my hands. And the festivals... Somehow, I know I'll be back! If you have any questions of comments, please contact Abby Youngblood at abby_youngblood@yahoo.com or by postal mail at 4013 Glenwood Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76109.

AmeriCorps to the Rescue! by Colleen Cranney After being understaffed all winter and early spring, Maysie's Farm had the privilege of hosting a group of 11 volunteers from AmeriCorps for three weeks in April and May. AmeriCorps is a national program whose mission is to strengthen communities by assisting nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. It is comprised of teams of 18- to 24-year-olds who sign on for a 10-month commitment of 1700 hours of community service in exchange for room, board, a small stipend, and a $4725 grant to be used for their education. The group that came to Maysie's Farm is based in Washington, DC, but the team members were from all over America. They've been together since October, and their stint at Maysie's was their first farming experience. In October they assisted the Red Cross with disaster relief in New York City. They then moved on to Virginia where they helped low-income families with home renovations. After that they did an education project where they tutored inner city school kids in a program designed to keep the kids drug-free. Most recently they did maintenance work at a state park in Virginia. From Maysie's, they're off to West Virginia where they'll turn an old school house into a resource center for the town. There were lots of jobs to keep them busy at Maysie's Farm. They spent many hours bringing the irrigation system closer to completion: they installed filters, pressure regulators and header lines at each of the hydrants, buried the header lines enough to keep them from being damaged by mowers or other equipment, and ran two lengths of drip tape down every bed in the Church Field, Barnyard Garden, Below Lawn area, and Field 2. They repaired damage to the recently reconstructed diversion and waterway, which was the result of fire trucks responding to a fire that swept across Field 4 in early March when a neighbor's trash fire got out of control. They also helped with a lot of the more routine tasks of the farm, such as planting potatoes, transplanting strawberries and other crops, and weeding, weeding, weeding. They enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. Their only regret is that they won't be around to taste the fruits of their labors! To find out more about AmeriCorps, visit their website at www.americorps.org. We thank our team for all their hard work, and wish them luck in the future. Education Committee Update by Dawn Lawless The Education Committee has had a busy spring and is looking forward to an even busier summer. For starters, we held our first "Growing Families, Growing Gardens" workshop at Maysie's Farm on Saturday, April 27. It was a beautiful day and we had an enthusiastic group of families come out to the farm to learn about starting their own family garden. Adults learned the "ins and outs" of compost, while the youngsters participated in a "treasure hunt" to find all the rocks that needed to be taken out of the freshly tilled Children's Garden. They filled their buckets and were a tremendous help! Next, everyone helped to spread compost and rake the beds flat. Some eager participants tried their hand at using the Mantis tiller to mix in the compost. We had fun planting potatoes and erecting the new and improved tepee (made from last year's sunflower stalks). Wait until you see it! The group then mulched the triangle garden area with plenty of straw. Next, we were off for a visit to the newly rebuilt greenhouse (we've moved it to the Church Field) to gather a tray of lettuce that we transplanted into a garden bed in the Children's Garden. The greenhouse is a splendid sight this time of year with everything being so fresh and green. The group enjoyed a leisurely lunch and ended the day by seeding some trays with zucchini and beans to take home. Families were also given tomato plants and a few other goodies, including bags of compost, to help them get their gardens started at home. The Education Committee is hard at work planning our summer "Down to Earth Organic Gardening" workshops for youth which will be held Tuesdays, July 16 and August 6 (for 6-10 year olds) and Thursdays, July 18 and August 8 (for 11 year olds and up). We are also planning a new program to assist teachers in meeting the newly adopted PA Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology (specifically on Agriculture & Society and Integrated Pest Management). These two-day teacher-training workshops, scheduled for July 9-11and July 30-August 1, will be partially funded by a $1,000 education grant that Maysie's Farm Conservation Center was awarded by Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection. Dawn Lawless, one of our Education Committee members, will be attending training at Penn State University this summer to increase her knowledge of Integrated Pest Management and learn new Agriculture in the Classroom teaching methods that we can share with teachers in our workshops. Two new "educators" have joined our Education Committee (and there's still room for more, in case you're interested in being involved in planning or producing any of our educational programs). Dan Berringer will be taking a little time away from his 24-hour-a-day job as a Preserve Manager for Natural Lands Trust, Inc. He manages the Crow's Nest Preserve near Elverson and has developed programs there that include a summer camp. Charlene Briggs, formerly the Executive Director of the Chester County Agricultural Land Preservation Office, is creating a sanctuary for endangered native medicinal herbs in the woods just below Field 2. She's been clearing multiflora rose and other undesirable things from the sanctuary area and has begun installing medicinal herbs through a grant she procured from the United Plant Savers. She plans to offer workshops and write newsletter articles about native medicinal herbs and would welcome assistance in the creation and maintenance of the sanctuary from anyone interested in herbalism.