Local Food & Farming

We should use nutritious foods in our daily diet that are available locally.

— SHIVRAM YADAV · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

The main food of the tribal community includes things like little millet, which provides them with nutritious food. They mostly cultivate maize, whose porridge...

— Ram Maravi · Mandla, Madhya 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

Name - Madhab Majhi. In our region, a large amount of ragi, arhar, moong, and kodo millet are cultivated from the forest. It can be used as nutritious food or in the form of PDS (Public Distribution System).

— Prabhasini Batkar

We get our nutritious diet from the forest, such as Mahua fruit Doli oil in the form of fat, Kodo, Bhaddi, Kulthia, Mahua flowers, Jamun, Mahua kheer, Bhaji, etc.

— Surajsingh Parmar · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

After we harvest the paddy, we cultivate chickpeas, moong, urad, and gudasua here. We also eat it, and we sell it to sustain our family.

— Parikshit Majhi

We will cultivate pulse crops, specifically batri and lakhri, so that we can use them as food in our daily lives, and the remaining seeds...

— Pushpalata Surtange · Bemetara, Chhattisgarh

Pulses, millet, grains, and green leafy vegetables

— Maya kumari Damor

In our area, people used to build palaces, then they would cultivate Kudamodia (a type of rice or crop) and eat it, and we would also eat it, and all of us villagers too.

— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, Odisha

Food, festival, traditional agriculture, traditional medicine etc

— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha

And our local seeds are paddy, jowar, and among pulses there is tur, and groundnut, so we rely on our local seeds.

— Kachala Choudhary · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Local food in our village includes maize roti, millet roti. In the rainy season, children like vegetables such as okra, chaula, papdi, etc., which should be included in the midday meal.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Let's cultivate and eat barnyard millet, little millet, and wheat. They contain vitamins, and the body will remain healthy.

— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, Odisha

Yes, in our culture, nature-related foods prepared during rituals like Dev Diwari, Pora Pithora, Nawakhai, etc., nourish and promote the well-being of society.

— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh

In ancient times, in previous eras, people collected nutritious foods like ragi, millet, etc., from the forest, ate them to stay healthy and strong, and lived for a long time. If farmers or tribal community people cultivate those essential crops of those ancient times again, it will guide them towards the development of their life's values in the future.

— Dillip pujari · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha

The traditional nutritious food of our community like Kodo, Kutki, maize, sorghum, wheat, arhar, sesame, masoor, moong, chana, batla etc. should be included in PDS (Public Distribution System) and mid-day meals, and the government should promote them.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

My name is Ramesh Majhi. We cultivate millet, kodo, and arhar. These can be used as nutrition or for the PDS (Public Distribution System).

— Prabhasini Batkar · Tumudibandh, Kandhamal, 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

In our region, 'Gati Kandha' is available/common. People of the past used to eat all such things, and because of that, their bodies remained healthy. Nowadays, people are consuming foods that contain fertilizers (or are chemically treated), which is causing many types of diseases to arise.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our ancestors have been cultivating Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Finger millet, Horse gram, and Barley since ancient times, which are very nutritious. We always preserve their seeds and cultivate them every year.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The government should promote the most nutritious foods easily available in our region, such as kodo, kutki, maize, along with tur dal, gram, and horse gram lentils, and include them in PDS and mid-day meals.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Our most nutritious locally available food items, which should include wheat, maize, and pure fresh food, and be promoted by the government.

— Laxmanlal

Before, all of us tribals used to plow the fields with a plow and bullocks. We would sow medo mujri and also kurthi, which was very nutritious food. It was sown without fertilizer and would grow readily.

— Babulal Ayam · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The nutritious food we have, like gourds, brinjals, and other vegetables after harvesting, I should feed to the government.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

We can also cultivate dates, which will provide us with food items.

— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Nutritious diet from the forest: seasonal fruits, jamun, mahua, mango, charoli, jaggery, peanuts, and Shegaon vegetables.

— Surajsingh Parmar · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

We Adivasi communities are communities that depend on nature, collect roots and tubers from the forests, and use them as food, which is very nutritious and also serves as medicine.

— Ram Kumari

Local forest produce like Kendu, Chaar, Jamukoli, and Mahul are rich in nutrients. Wild leafy greens and traditional foods should be included in school midday meals to provide more nutrition for the physical and mental development of children. During festivals, we do not provide packaged food and market/shop items to guests.

— Kumudini Chhanchan · Bhojpur, Sambalpur, Odisha

Certainly, we cultivate a second crop in Shuneshwar Sachin and also follow traditional farming methods and seed protection. Our traditional foods include Mandia (Ragi) and Kangu (Foxtail millet), among others.

— jitendra khila · Lachery, Malkangiri, Odisha

Before, we used to eat saag roti, kurthi dal, urad dal, and mahua saag. Sometimes we would find amla and bael from the forest, and that's how we used to sustain our lives.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Kodo kutki, maize, wheat, and kulthi and pigeon pea grown in our region should also be included in mid-day meals and PDS.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

From the forest, we collect ruguda mushrooms, mudhi saag, kuiler saag, girel flowers, bhindua kadi, and so on. If all these are nutritious foods for us, they should be included in the midday meal.

— RINA BEHERA · Hemagiri, Sundargarh, Odisha

Local forest produce such as Kendu, Chaar, Jamu Kali, and Mahul contain nutrients. To provide more nutrition for the physical and mental development of children, wild leafy greens and traditional foods should be included in school mid-day meals. During festivals, we do not include packaged food and items from markets/shops to offer to guests.

— DASHARATH SINGH · Sambalpur, Odisha