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Auroville Botanical Gardens
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Annadana’s mission since inception was to promote the conservation, production, multiplication & exchange of heirloom /indigenous seeds of vegetable varieties, few cereals and flowers to safeguard the welfare of our farmers.
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A diversity of 30-40 heirloom varieties was propagated & conserved at Auroville Botanical Garden in 4 acres. A unique solar operated Seed Bank was created to conserve traditional & locally adapted varieties replicable in the farmer’s fields to serve tropical zones in South India.
Each year a seed catalogue was released to document indigenous crop diversity. ‘Seeds must flow forever’ was the mantra. Each year between 30-40,000 seed packets were freely distributed to marginal farmers across South India.
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Given the onslaught of erratic climate conditions & Tsunami’s taking a toll in our seed conservation efforts, Annadana Projects in Auroville closed operations.
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Ishana farms, Bangalore
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A conscious decision was taken to consolidate & shift Annadana’s operations to Ishana Farms, Bangalore city in 5 acres to a family property of Sangita Sharma, Founding Trustee of Annadana. Sangita’s visionary father Major Sharma in 1970 was the first to introduce & cultivate cereals like indigenous wheat, rice, corn & millets Till date, the Bangalore agriculture university (GKVK) scientists acknowledge his foresight vision.
In 2007, Annadana was formally registered as a Non-Profit trust in Bangalore operating independently with no funding received from any government or private organizations. Bangalore, being a large metro with strong links globally and across India also allowed for easier networking, exchange of ideas and resources.
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Safeguarding indigenous seeds, the origin of our food chain has always been Sangita Sharma’s passion. ‘My Right to Safe food’ was a campaign launched in 2009 by Sangita. This was supported by Bollywood film producer Mahesh Bhatt & Chandrashekar Nagathihalli (Karnataka’s leading film producer) to give consumers informed chemical -free food choices given the assault in the food chain.
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Bt Brinjal (genetic modification) was paving its sneaky path into our food chain, in 2008, opening the flood gates to losing over 2500 indigenous varieties of Brinjal (origin being India). The loss of 1000’s of indigenous cotton varieties to Bt Cotton there is ample research & evidence by molecular genetic scientists of repute.
As a tireless campaigner, Annadana is proud to have played a significant role in bringing about India’s 2010 moratorium on Genetically Modified Foods under the umbrella of Coalition for a GM Free India.
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In 2010, Annadana started to diversify its conservation efforts for safeguarding semi-tropical crop diversity at Ishana Farms, Bangalore. The focus was to create a knowledge hub in sustainable farming /gardening with Seed Bank at its core. Each season 55-60 vegetable varieties, flowers & herbs was conserved in an acre. A diversity produced for food production included cereals, corn, millets and spices.
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In 2011, Ashok Kamat, Managing Trustee, constructed Annadana’s unique insulated Seed Bank. Today, 1000’s of heirloom crop varieties is now being conserved.
All technical expertise was and still is Ashok’s forte. Teams of empowered farmers along with agronomists are now engaged in continuous research and development of best farming practices which are economical & ecologically safe.
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A demo agro-ecology food forest model in growing food sustainably started shaping up in 2012. Whilst its core remained the same with seed conservation & farmers welfare, a new dimension was integrated to produce seasonal crops ranging from vast diversity of fruits, spices, herbs, vegetables, grains, oils, spices both for food and seed production.
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Pre- booked orders for our excess farm fresh produce & value additions like cold pressed coconut oil, sugarcane delight, varieties of indigenous rice, grains, millets, pickles, conserves, organic elixirs & planting material is now being made available across India.
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Cows are central to farming, a mini-dairy comprises of inherited Holstein cows which were rescued from a military fire in 1970 by Major Sharma, their progeny are still being nurtured. Further, indigenous cows were acquired to support the farm, kitchen & community needs.
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The community kitchen is powered by biogas to produce the most delicious nourishing food, with farm fresh salads, fermented healing beverages, millet biscuits, dairy produce, quiches, cakes & more. Celebratory events from birthdays & special occasions are hosted too.
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We are proud to share that both our autonomous farm centres are driven by empowered farmers who have been with us since inception. Today, their enterprising youth drive not just our farm centres but our community projects. Our youth periodically upgrade & hone their skill set to be catalyst for change.
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Annadana’s has become a unique source of information and inspiration for farmers, students, interns, biological researchers, agronomists, urban gardeners, environmentalists & green enthusiasts.
Today it is recognised as a dynamic, experiential knowledge centre for promoting sustainable biodiversity as an alternative to modern corrosive agricultural methods of cultivation.
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