A dimension within Seed Saving Traditions
Explores natural and organic farming methods, including the use of manure for food production.
150 voices speak to this
Positive
Overall Community Sentiment
Traditional agriculture
— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha
We farm using the old method.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
We farm using traditional methods.
— Sunil oraon · Bero, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Our ancestors generally followed traditional farming methods using cow dung manure.
— Jogeshwar Naik · Kalahandi, Odisha
Farming
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our ancestors used to farm with plows.
— Batakrushna Sahoo
Traditional agriculture and heritage
— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha
My ancestors used to emphasize farming using organic methods.
— Madan Hantal · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha
Even today, we farm with a plough and oxen and earn our livelihood. Since ancient times, our ancestors have ploughed fields with a plough and oxen, and sow only the seeds preserved at home, such as kurthi, sawa, medo, and mijhri.
— Ram Kumari
Agriculture farming
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Farming and agriculture
— Sunita Kumari · Ghorawal, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Our ancestors used to follow cow dung manure and clay soil farming methods and found them profitable.
— Premsila Naik · Kalahandi, Odisha
We will do farming.
— Manjusha Marko · Dudhi, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
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
Old people used to do mixed farming, they used cow dung manure.
— Kachala Choudhary
In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.
— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha
Our ancestors used soil cultivation methods, farming with cow dung manure. They also used goat droppings as manure for cultivation.
— gobardhan pangi
In ancient times, which farming methods did your people use? They farm by holding the plow and applying manure.
— Niranjan Bisi · Boudh, Odisha
In ancient times, what kind of methods did your people use for farming? So, they farmed with plows and used oxen for farming.
— Rajesh Mallik · Boudh, Odisha
I will do traditional farming.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
I will do traditional farming.
— Devisingh Solanki · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh
Record it in 15 seconds. Yes, I practice traditional farming. I irrigate my fields with my oxen, plow them, and use organic manure from my animals.
— Vasudev Katara · Bichiwara, Dungarpur, Rajasthan
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
We used to farm using cow dung and goat manure; this was the fertilizer for the crops, and all crops like Kodo, Menjhari, Barley, and Saawa were grown with this agricultural fertilizer.
— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
They were cultivating paddy using organic methods or traditional soil methods.
— Gourang Adhikari · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha
In our village, earlier, people used to cultivate fields with ploughs and oxen and worked very hard. At that time, they would sow Kodo, Sawa, Medo, and Mizri, and grow them without fertilizer. They used to sustain themselves with that, from which individuals...
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
In ancient times, what method did your people use for farming? The answer is, they used to farm by using manure with a plow.
— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha
Before, we all used to farm with plows and oxen, and we also threshed paddy with them. Even for irrigation, we used oxen via a Persian wheel.
— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
In earlier times, what method did people use for farming? The answer is, they used to farm by applying fertilizer with a plough.
— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha
Our fathers and grandfathers used to cultivate traditional crops earlier, fertilizing them with cow dung, and grew pulses like moong, urad, kulthi, along with millets such as ragi and bajra.
— Parikshit Majhi
To do animal husbandry and agriculture.
— arun raja · Kon, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
In our home, we do farming using a plow and oxen. We cultivate the fields with them and also earn our livelihood through them. We farm all day; the plow operates, and by evening, it helps us sustain ourselves. This is how we carry out our agricultural work.
— Ram Kumari
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
I am a farmer. Our father, grandfather, and uncles used to cultivate using traditional methods. They used to farm without fertilizer and without chemicals. And that farming was good for crops like horse gram and ragi.
— Parikshit Majhi
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
From the very beginning, we cultivate a second crop without irrigation using old methods and traditional seeds. The method of storing these seeds is also traditional, and our fields are ploughed using bullocks.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
The methods that our ancestors taught, which is farming, and now if we implement that, considering the market's demand, if we adopt our old methods, then we...
— Upendra Kumar Mahananda
We sow with great effort without irrigation, and cultivate crops by plowing with oxen and a plow. We save seeds for many years, which come in handy.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
We used to do farming through the creeper/vine.
— Amar Lal Dhurwey · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Traditional farming, meaning Yudung, Pandala, Janana, maize, finger millet, and so on.
— James
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.

Even without irrigation, our traditional seeds and old farming methods ensure our crops ripen, providing food for our homes.

Our community remembers a time when farming with natural manure fostered both abundant harvests and deep respect for the land.

By transforming natural materials like cow dung, dry leaves, and neem leaves into compost, I nourish the soil and grow healthy crops using ancestral wisdom.

By cultivating a variety of crops, preserving ancestral seeds, and exploring animal husbandry, we build a resilient livelihood for our community.