Deepika Kundaji
Deepika Kundaji | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Deepika Kundaji in 2017 | |
| Born | c. 1963 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | archaeology |
| Known for | transforming land in India |
Deepika Kundaji (born c. 1963) is an Indian farmer whose methods gained national attention and an award from the Government of India. The Nari Shakti Puraskar award was made by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. The award is India's highest civilian award for women.
Life
[edit]She was born in about 1963 and she spent her childhood in Karnataka. She trained to be an archaeologist and she is married.[1]
She has created the Pebble Garden in Auroville near Pondicherry which is an experiment. The Pebble Garden is built on dry valueless land.[2] She is transforming the land without using external chemicals or even natural compost. She knows that plants are mostly created from the air and only a small part of them comes from the soil. If she can get a few varieties to thrive then they will create compost as they die and are replaced. Once this has started then other varieties can be introduced. She has worked with her huband Bernard Declercq since 1994 and they do not use external labour on their 9 acres of Pebble garden. The seven acres they own is an example of a type of land that was ruined they say by deforestation by French and British colonists. If they find out how to fix their land then there is 93 million hectares of land in India that also needs to be restored to productive and sustainable use.[3]
In 2009 she had spoken about the importance of seeds. She believes that the local farmers in Auroville need to concentrate on preserving their seeds. The poor land is being transformed slowly using 80-90 different seed varieties but to achieve success they need to save and distribute about 3,000 packets of seeds.[4] She ensures that the hardiest of varieties are conserved so that they can transform the land. She understands climate change is coming but it isn't new - climate does change. Kundaji notes that humans have been cultivating crops for 10,000 years and we need to exploit the varieties of crops that are available.[1]
Her award of the Nari Shakti Puraskar was made in the Durbar room of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace) by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, on International Women's Day. The award is India's highest civilian award for women.[5] She had not been expecting the award. She had flown to New Delhi the night before after an official had contacted her at the start of March to mention the award. She had been dealing with both her brother and her mother who had needed her support when the phone call came.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Chandrasekaran, Anupama (30 May 2013). "For Farmers Fearing Drought, Auroville Offers Some Lessons". India Ink. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ Ministry of Women & Child Development Govt of India (19 March 2018). "Deepika Kundaji - Nari Shakti Awardee 2017". You Tube - Ministry of Women & Child Development Govt of India. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Holding the Cosmos in Our Hands". National Geographic Society Newsroom. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Sowing seeds of consciousness - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)". India WaterPortal. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Nari Shakti of 30 women to be honoured at Rashtrapati Bhavan". The New Indian Express. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ "Prestigious government award for Deepika Kundaji | Auroville". www.auroville.org. Retrieved 16 May 2020.[permanent dead link]