Sharmin Akhter from Singair, Manikganj
BARCIK has been working since its inception to promote the consumption of safe foods which are the very sources of good health, through its different activities such as conservation of uncultivated food plants, encouraging and facilitating farmers adopting sustainable agriculture that does not requires intensive use of external and harmful inputs (Chemicals, pesticides), arranging organic food fair, seed exchange among farmers etc. BARCIK believes sustainable agriculture boots the production of safe foods as external inputs are not used in this farming system. There exists food diversity in our country (Uncultivated food plants if considered as foods, livestock,) but the modern agriculture abandoning the natural foods has encouraged farmers to practice monoculture and allured farmers using external toxic inputs which contaminate the foods, for high yields. Due to this, the abundance of foods though seen but there is crisis of safe foods! The shiny smooth and delicious food of the market has become more popular in rural or urban families.
However, today, most of the people in the rural areas have forgot and sometimes abandoned the naturally grown uncultivated food plants such as Helencha or arum, and other leafy vegetables and spinaches. Consuming Ghotashak or Nunkuti Shaak today hurts the self-esteem of the new generation as well. As a result, it is feared that at one stage the biggest source of nutritious or safe food for the people in rural areas will get extinct due to lack of use and conservation. Nonetheless, BARCIK has been conducting continuous activities to raise mass awareness both in rural and regional levels regarding the importance and significance of the uncultivated food plants. The organization motivates and facilitates women, and farmers to identify, conserve and multiply the use of these plants known to be the sources of safe foods. As part of the awareness initiatives, recently in collaboration with the women and youth organizations BARCIK arranged ‘Uncultivated food plants fair at Matikata village of Jamsha union of Singair upazila of Manikganj. The slogan of the fair was ‘Safe food is the basis of next generation’s well-being’.
About, numbers of people comprise women, farmers, students, adolescents and other occupational groups participated in the fair. The women collected and displayed a total of 27 types of uncultivated food plants in that fair that attracted the attentions of the participants. The uncultivated food plants which were displayed in that fair include: Kesharja, Gotashak, Kachu, Nunkuta, Baushak, Takathankuni, Chinigura, Kanailta, Tulsi, Dhekishak, Telakucha, Dudhakchu, Pipul, Sechi, Pathar Kuchi, Katakhira, Daigo, Daigo, Katakhira, Daigo. Additionally the women also exhibited some of the safest vegetables made from organic manure that included: red spinach, jute, eggplant, sweet potato, potato, mustard, local gourd, tomato etc. They also shared and described the quality of the displayed plants and vegetables to the people who came to see and want to know about the safe foods and spinaches.
Attending the fair Rozina Begum said, ‘Most of the time we buy vegetables from the market. But the way the safe foods grown around us today have been highlighted, it seems that it is necessary to increase the habit of consuming them instead of buying from the market. I will try to consume these twice a week from now on.’ College student Zakir Hossain, who was present, while expressing his said, ‘Thanks to BARCIK for organizing such an event. We hope that BARCIK will organize more such awareness programs among us. So that we could know and value the naturally grown foods which are the very sources of our good health.’
Foods are very important for human survival. But the foods should be safe and nutritious. Non-toxic and safe foods are very important for a healthy life. Therefore, it is important to conserve and protect the sources of uncultivated food plants for our own survival.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
