Lukeswari Thakur and Rameshwari Sori
Marking the end of 2021 on the 31st of December an awareness program on traditional agriculture and uncultivated food of the Kamar people was conducted in the Primary School of Farsara village. Participants included 6 men and women village elders, 13 school children and their teachers. The village elders shared their knowledge about the traditional agricultural practices, uncultivated food and traditional medicines of the Kamar community with the school children. The children were also taken for a forest trail where they were shown and told about the benefits of different trees and plants with a focus on wild and uncultivated food and medicinal plants. The school teachers also explained the benefits of wild and traditional foods to the children.
School teacher Chameli Patel shared the benefits of natural and organic food with the school children. She told them about the relationship between the Kamar people and their forests on which they depended for a variety of wild and uncultivated food. She pointed out that in the past the children’s ancestors used to consume a variety of wild tubers, green leafy vegetables and a variety other wild foods which ensured their health and nutritional security. However, currently we are forgetting and losing this traditional knowledge and the associated practices.
