Sow a seed, save the world

A seed festival celebrates India's bio-cultural heritage

The lack of knowledge amongst citizens about India's rich seed diversity and the impending threat of genetic modification has prompted six individuals from different non-government organisations to conceive the first-of-its-kind seed festival in Mumbai.

The three-day event, which kick starts from February 19 at Tardeo, features a seed diversity exhibition, discussions with seed savers, film screeningsu00a0 and traditional Bastar Tribal dance and song performances.
The festival brings together groups from Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Pondicherry, working for conservation and promotion of seed diversity.

These seed savers will also be speaking at parallel events at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS); Indian Institute of Technology (IIT); Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), among others. Ruth Sequeira, one of the organisers, says, "The central government is planning to introduce the seed bill that will propel genetic modification and affect our farmers and the growth of natural, organic seeds. We aim to create awareness about these issues through our festival."

From: 9 am to 7 pm, February 19 to 21
At: Janata Kendra, near Mumbai Central Station (W),
Call: 9594024202