Organizer: Vanastree Collective
Venue: Golden Beads School, 157, Richmond Road, Bangalore
Themes:
- Food gardens
- Seed saving
- Recycling
Description:
The Mela will have displays/stalls from Malnad and from a variety of organizations in Bangalore and elsewhere.
There will be a meeting and skill share space for experienced and aspiring organic gardeners and earth stewards to share notes, and we will help with discussions and queries to the extent possible. Lighting for the mela is with rechargeable LED lamps and solar lights. Our shamianas and sun shades are of recycled parachutes and cloth garden umbrellas.
Please help spread the word and pass this email around to family, friends, and your networks. If you can make print outs of the attached poster, please put it up in your apartment complex, neighbourhood store, school, college, office, etc.
This year we have 12 volunteers from Bangalore - school and college students, teachers and techies - a hopeful testimony that bridges between the urban and rural are being slowly forged. There are also 7 of us travelling down from Sirsi. The year gone by has been rather mixed - the whole issue of genetically modified (GM) seeds reached a head with Bt Brinjal slated to be introduced in India (with the decision revoked - for how long we don't know), there was too much or too little rain depending on where you were ( here in the malnad most of our food gardens got drowned out), the so-called food crisis that continues to make one wince every time you go out to buy vegetables, and the ongoing debate on the Food Security Act - the list is endless.
We have tried to voice our opinions where possible, while keeping up with what we know best - continuing to sow, garden, share, exchange seeds and food, and hope that small, local initiatives do have a place in a world that has spun out of control for the large part. Keeping track of a pan-perspective and macro vision while being anchored in our microcosms will always be tricky territory to navigate!
Our seeds seem to have fared much better in Bangalore than the malnad (proving yet again that Bangalore and environs are really perfect for vegetable growing) and several generous seed savers have been able to give back to us seeds to sow and give away.
Contact details:
Sunita Rao
VANASTREE
Karkolli Village
Hulekal P.O.
Sirsi 581336
Karnataka,India
Tel: 94802 99200
E-mail: vanastree@gmail.com
website: http://vanastree.org
/events/malnad-mela-2011-vanastree-collective-5th-6th-february-2011-bangalore