Category Archives: Green Initiatives/ Environment

Home-grown solutions to life’s little problems

September 15, 2014Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

GREEN REMEDIES:Her Atri Herbal Nursery has 15 plant varieties. She also has ready-made garden kits for people.Photo: R. Ravindran / The Hindu

Subashree has proved a home garden is all it takes to have good health, good looks and a good life, says K. SARUMATHI

You have cold, she has the cure. You want to look good, she has the beauty solutions. You want to go green, she has the expertise to show you how.

If Subashree Vijay of Alwarthirunagar has a ready answer for any problem, it is because of her garden, pesticide-free and organic.

Subashree’s love for gardening knows no bounds, a fact illustrated by how she has let creepers cover the four walls of her house, on the outside. The backyard, terrace and every other available space has been utilised for growing plants. She cares for these plants as if they were her children. She offers others all her expertise on growing a home garden.

“I have always had an interest in gardening. It however took me a long time to get into it full-time. Now, every vegetable we cook is home-grown, pesticide-free and completely organic. Even my beauty products are all natural and made by me, at home,” says Subashree, who takes a particular interest in nurturing medicinal plants.

In her terrace are various herbs that can cure aliments. There are also vegetables such as lady’s finger, varieties of gourd, tomato, brinjal, beans, four types of chillies, 12 varieties of spinach and numerous flowering plants.

The organic fertiliser used in the garden is made at home, mixing buttermilk and coconut milk.

“I ferment and then sprinkle it on the plants. It is growth booster and results can be seen in a week. It is also safe to handle. Also, all garden wastes are swept and put into the pots to be turned into manure,” says Subashree, who also supplies liquid fertilizer to organic stores along with soil mixture and grow bags.

Her Atri Herbal nursery has 15 plant varieties, which have some use in the kitchen, are easy to grow and multiply. She also has ready-made garden kits for people, where she grows the plants and then gives them away. She also makes face packs and hair oil from the plants in her house and sells them under the banner of Atri Health Products.

Her plans for the future include helping people set up their own terrace gardens. “They need extra care and regular maintenance. You need to have passion for growing plants to have a blooming garden,” she adds. Subashree can be contacted at 96771 01627.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / by K. Sarumathi / September 14th, 2014

Tamil Nadu farmers reap rich dividends through watershed projects

September 1, 2014Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Science & Technologiesadmin

Recreating water bodies, improved farming techniques yield better income

CHENNAI, AUGUST 15:

When the National Agro Foundation, a brainchild of the late C Subramaniam, the architect of India’s green revolution, set about sharing agro technology upgrades with farmers in Kanchipuram district near Chennai in 2003, their response was: All this is fine, but where is the water?

“This set us thinking. Kanchipuram was once known as the district of lakes, and gets an annual rainfall of 1,000 mm, but concentrated in two months,” says MR Ramasubramanian, Executive Director of the Foundation.

A double whammy was that along with the rainwater runoff, the rich top soil was washed away each year. An investigation with remote sensing maps and discussion with village elders revealed that numerous water bodies — tanks, ponds, wells etc had all disappeared over the years. So the Foundation, along with NABARD, launched a project to recreate water bodies through four watershed projects on 5,400 hectares at a cost of ₹4.62 crore.

The community was involved in repair and renovation, better use of water, modern farming techniques, resulting in better incomes and increased cropping cycles.

Crop cycles

Most of the farmers have small to medium landholding (2-3 hectares), and the project helped them move from one cropping cycle to two, sometimes even three, and profits went up by ₹20,000-40,000 per acre a year, says SV Murugan, Joint Director in charge of the project. The more enterprising ones, such as Nallamuthu, an IT graduate, went in for floriculture and horticulture and earned over ₹7 lakh.

Though planned in 2007, on a 50:50 basis between NABARD and the Tamil Nadu Government, grant of funds has been delayed, and work on only 1,000 hectares has been completed.

When work on the watershed programme began, both on farm as well as common land, all the land looked flat as the uncared for water bodies had filled up with soil and silt. Those renovated or recreated are now able to hold over one lakh litres of water; and one particular tank 7 lakh litres.

Apart from percolation ponds, groundwater recharge, water absorption trenches, supply channels were created or repaired, as also bunds, and water bodies linked to enable water to flow from one tank to another, one village to another; in one case 20 villages were thus linked.

Peak summer

“Based on land ingredient and slope we do different kinds of bunding so that natural harvesting of rainwater takes place,” says Ramasubramaniam, recalling the Tamil adage: “Running water should be made to walk and walking water to sit.”

With the water table going up, “in peak summer months the wells are filled to the top. The last two years have seen deficient rainfall but farmers have managed well,” says Murugan.

The green cover in the entire area has gone up, top soil is conserved, resulting in farmers getting additional income. “Once water is conserved and used optimally, next comes technology, nutritional security for women through kitchen gardens, and then upgrades in value through organic cultivation. We ask farmers to reduce agro chemicals and use them only as supplements where necessary,” says SS Rajsekar, Managing Trustee.

The biggest benefit is that 280 acres of underutilised land has now been made fertile and brought under cultivation, he adds. “Also, the children of educated people like Nallamuthu will be enthused to stay in agriculture and not leave it for jobs in cities. And, such projects are the first steps towards the linking of rivers,” adds Rajsekar.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Opinion> Columns / by Rasheeda Bhagat / Chennai – August 15th, 2014

Millets become Trichy homemakers’ favourite, health benefits raise hope

August 25, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Trichy :

Health benefits of millets seem to be slowly catching up with people in Trichy. Proof of it was the response which the traditional food fest, which recently concluded in city, received. The fest which attracted over 10,000 visitors, saw people thronging to know more about the cereal variety.

Probably, it’s the increased incidence of Type 2 diabetes among youth, and other health issues that has made people rethink about their food habits. Despite taking medicine for such diseases, the intake of junk foods is an obstacle. So, doctors these days advise people to look at the way their ancestors lived. Traditional food, including millets, used to be main part of their diet.

Kambu (pearl millet), Kezhvaragu (finger millet), Thinai (foxtail millet), Saamai (little millet), Makka Cholam (Corn Makka), Kuthiraivali (Barnyard millet), Panivaragu (Proso millet), Varagu (Kodo millet) are the various types of millets which are being promoted along with Kaikuthal arisi (hand-pound rice or brown rice) among the people. Doctors claim that millets, which are rich in vitamins, help improve the immune system. “We always advise our patients to have healthy food. People can take any millet variety which suits them,” said Dr SP Thiruppathy, former secretary of Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Chandra, a homemaker, who had put up a stall during the traditional festival along with her friends, said, “Her family were already using millets in their daily diet. It is not easy to switch to millet food from the contemporary food including junk. It will take some time, but once we get used to it, then there is nothing as tasty and as healthy as millet.”

In many cases, people avoid millets due to lack of recipes. Keeping this in mind, many recipe books were released in market which had millets listed as the main ingredient. “For the past two years, the response for millets has been good. The growing health consciousness makes millet a natural choice for people. Homemakers must make use of the recipe books to prepare variety of dishes using millets,” said Jambuga Ramakrishnan, co-ordinator of ladies club associations in Trichy.

Moreover, the awareness about the health benefits of millets is yet to reach the middle class and poor people, who still prefer contemporary food. “Millets produced in organic method is far better than the ones produced using fertilizers. People must realize they their intake of chemicals (Monosodium Glutamate) in the form of food is harmful before it becomes too late. The food was banned in China, the place where it was made. But here, we consume it not considering its ill-effects,” said G Sathiyabhama, joint secretary of International Naturopathy Organisation.

Until a few decades ago, a hand-pound rice or brown rice used to be an integral part of the diet of people in parts of rural Tamil Nadu. The innumerable health benefits of brown rice were well received by our ancestors. However, as generations passed, people started forgetting the values of healthy foods as junk foods started alluring taste buds. Fact is that, brown rice has now become a costly product which is available only in super markets. Moreover, the demand has come down drastically as people aren’t aware of the health benefits.

In order to promote the traditional food, the integrated child development services (ICDS) scheme conducted a nine-day ‘traditional food festival’ recently in the city. During the fest, millet varieties worth Rs10,43,702 were sold by the self help groups, which is a sign that magic of millets is spreading again among people.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / by Gokul Rajendran, TNN / August 21st 2014

Solar Power Keeps Petrol Bunk Running 24X7

August 12, 2014Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologiesadmin

Vellore :

A petrol bunk here has emerged as the unique outlet in northern part of the State as the bunk never stops functioning, thanks to the solar power plant that has been installed on its premises.

The plant has helped reduce the dependency of the bunk on conventional power supply by over 75 per cent and also maintain consumer satisfaction at one-go, said its proprietor Ravikumar.

According to him, the diesel power generator as a standby back-up was no longer used as the bunk was running on solar power round- the-clock. A couple of years ago, Ravikumar had toured European countries from where he got the idea of solar power for running the bunk. “I saw quite a number of bunks using solar power in Italy and Germany where sun energy was scarce. Vellore being blessed with sun energy all through the year, I wanted to tap that energy,” he noted.

He searched the Internet to identify solar power plant suppliers and after nearly a year, when the State was reeling under acute power shortage, he realised his dream with the help of Tiruchy-based company Energy Solutions.

Today, the 3 KW solar power plant, installed at a cost of `4.5 lakh, meets all the power requirements of the bunk throughout the day. “My workers used to feel lazy to switch on the diesel generator whenever the electricity supply was cut, causing inconvenience to consumers and losses to me. After the installation of the solar unit, they have no issues as power is available all the time,” Ravikumar said.

According to him, Vellore district has around 100 bunks and Ravikumar never misses the opportunity to convince his colleagues on the advantage of solar power. “But they are still skeptical about investing money,” he added. He is already dreaming of his next project of installing 50 KW solar power plant in order to supply power to the EB grid at an estimated cost of `10 crore, if he gets State government’s support. “I have been trying to avail myself of the subsidy from the government for the past six months but in vain,” he added.

Based on the good feedback on solar power plant, a mosque in Sholinghur has now installed a 1 KW solar power plant and a shoe unit near Vellore is opting for a 2 KW solar plant. “The government should simplify the solar power policy to motivate people to switch over to this energy,” said Sundar of ‘Energy Solutions’, who has struggled to install around 70 KW of solar power plants in Vellore and Erode districts since 2012.

“There is a huge demand from people to opt for solar power but government is not making use of it,” he said.

Social activist R Chandrasekaran said instead of offering subsidy, the government should offer income tax holiday for consumers who have installed solar plants. The local bodies could provide discounts on property tax and water tax as incentives for households that have installed solar power plants, he added.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by V NarayanaMurthi / August 12th, 2014

Chennai college whizkids glow in solar energy

August 6, 2014Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologies, Uncategorizedadmin

V.Vaikunth and S.Christopher pose with their rooftop solar panels and solar devices. (Photo: DC)

Chennai:

S.Christopher and V.Vaikunth are no ordinary engineering students. They are creating a revolution in the solar power industry, designing and manufacturing their own solar powered devices. These third year engineering students at Sathyabama University have started to make waves in the industry. They have installed their devices in more than 10 educational institutions and commercial establishments.

“There are several misconceptions about solar energy such as they can be used only for a short period. We wanted to disprove these, so we began a company to produce and install solar powered devices. We have been working together for six years on solar research and have done several installations,” Christopher, the mechanical engineering student said.

Asked about their unique selling proposition (USP), the young entrepreneurs instantaneously said, “We refurbish solar panels which are as old as 10 years and reuse it, which brings down the cost of the project, as people think solar is expensive.” The two young students started a company “Vaik & Chris Stalz” to commercialise their products. Vaik & Chris Stalz, which has a gamut of solar household products also plans to produce solar bike, solar car and solar quadrapros.

Continuing their success story, Vaikunth said that they had not only ventured into the solar power industry but computer accessories too. “We have come up with a change in the computer’s printer, according to which a person need not use the printer’s inbuilt cartridge, and can instead use an external toner, which we have developed so that your ink does not get exhausted,” Vaikunth, a third year electronics and instrumentation student said.

Presently, these young entrepreneurs have installed solar powered street lights at Sathyabama University, and a solar power generation unit at a voluntary service organisation in Chengalpattu.

Let’s make history in solar power and become a global leader in this technology to make India’s flag fly high, was what these students said when asked about their ambitions.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC Correspondent / August 03rd, 2014

Ancient peepal tree revered as God in Nilgiris district

August 4, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Udhagamandalam (TN):

A 900-year-old tree is still being revered and worshipped as “God” by the Kota tribe in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.

The tribe, with a population of some 3,000 people, including 1700 women, in seven villages, perform prayers in front of the 250-foot tall tree on auspicious occasions such as marriage, construction of a new building, or housewarming.

The villagers also make confessions or take pledge before this tree in Kunda Kotagiri, said Bellan, chief of the seven villages and a retired post master.

The diameter of the tree, said to be planted over 10 generations ago, is so huge that some 50 persons have to form a human chain around the tree, he claimed.

Kotas worship fire, moon, and nature and perform prayers in front of the tree for every single occasion and festival.

Despite having temples in all the seven village, with Ayyanoor Ammanur as presiding deity, the villagers’ foremost belief is the tree and they visit it first before conducting any function.

Tourists or general public are not allowed to stay for long near the tree and they are asked to leave immediately after offering prayers, Bellan said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / PTI / August 03rd, 2014

MADRAS 375 – Tales from leopard country

August 2, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

A leopard in Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu. / Photo: Jomish Mohan / The Hindu

“Those who have never seen a leopard under favourable conditions in his natural surroundings can have no conception of the grace of movement, and beauty of colouring, of this the most graceful and the most beautiful of all animals in our Indian jungles.”¯ Jim Corbett, Man-Eaters of Kumaon

Wildlife researchers say that in tiger-dominated forests, the leopards — smaller in build — keep a very low profile.

If we went by this theory, the leopards in the suburbs of Madras were lucky as there were never any tigers in this part of the State. Thus, the scrub jungles on the southern fringes of the city came to be known as leopard country. These majestic spotted animals still continue to come out of their habitat and encounter humans, who have encroached into what were once their lands. Given the fear the movement of a leopard causes among people, the outcome for the cats, more often than not, is rather unfortunate – they are trapped in cages and find themselves in a zoological park.

S. Subburayalu, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who served in the city, says Vandalur and its surroundings always had leopards. In those days, they would come out whenever there was a disturbance in their natural habitat, or if there was water scarcity.

Recalling the incident of a leopard straying onto the airfield at the old airport in Meenambakkam in February 1983, Mr. Subburayalu says they received a complaint from the airport police and security personnel that a wild animal strayed into the north-western sector of the airfield. Following this, a team of forest officials combed the Cowl Bazaar and Manappakkam areas, but the animal could not be traced, he says.

Later the Forest officials did a reconnaissance using the aircraft of the Madras Flying Club. However, the animal could not be sighted. It was later identified as a black leopard, which the officials tried hard to, but failed to trap. Similarly, in 2002 a leopard from the wild strayed into the Vandalur zoo. Authorities had to keep the zoo closed for a month, he recalls. The movement of leopards continues in the urban areas near the city even today.

“In those days, human habitations were not located so close to the Reserved Forest boundaries. So there was not much of man-animal conflict. This is one of the reasons for increased human-animal conflicts today,” he adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / P. Oppili / Chennai, July 31st, 2014

Alternative crops the new fad for Pachamalai tribes

July 24, 2014Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Trichy :

The Pachamalai hills, which is the only hilly area in the district, was so far popular for its tapioca cultivation. But, now, much to the delight of the tribes here, the forest department has planned to provide them training in alternative crops such as cashew and fruits.

Located 800 m above the sea level towards north of the district, Pachamalai hills has a varying temperature that ranges up to 27 degree Celsius. It is now being developed into a tourism spot by the forest department along with the help of the local tribes. The state government had sanctioned 2.3 crore for developmental work, which is now in its final stages. The project involves development of the entire forests into a tourist-friendly spot with many features like trekking, water falls, medicinal parks, children’s park etc.

Talking to TOI, a higher official from the forest department said, “We are now waiting for funds from the State Balanced Growth Fund (SBGF) which has been rolled out in phases across the state.” He further added that the funds will also be used to improve basic facilities such as drinking water, which is now being carried from bottom of the hills. “Digging percolation ponds for storing water, renovation of the existing ones and construction of small ponds to help people cultivate more variety of crops are our other plans,” he said

The ?Malayali’ tribes, who live in these hilly ranges, make a living by cultivating tapioca, which is their staple crop. It is been grown here for generations since the temperature and the slopes make it an ideal place for its growth. Jebakumar, a local here, says that the crop, which is their only source of income, fetches money depending on its size. “Since the entire hilly region has been protected, the cultivation has been smooth all through the years.

Farmers here hope that the eco tourism project which is currently underway and the SBGF will improve their livelihood and reduce their migration from hilly areas to urban areas.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / by Harish Murali, TNN / July 10th, 2014

These keerai farmers use cars, Facebook to sell their produce

July 23, 2014Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Natureadmin

Chennai :

When farmers are quite reluctant to encourage their kids to pursue agriculture, who head to cities for new jobs, a group of men have turned farmers, leaving their corporate jobs behind. Yes, you read that right! How many of us would give up high-paying jobs to be the change we want to see? Nallakeerai, a farming initiative, which was started by R Jagannathan, formerly a business manager with a city-based firm, and his friend, in 2011, aims to influence people to switch to organic farming.

Inspired by organic farmers in the State, including popular organic farming scientist who passed away last year G Nammalvar, this experimental cultivational venture has made many farmers in the Melappedu village take up organic farming, besides attracting more takers with their door delivery services of the organic produce.

Currently, Nallakeerai cultivates 30 varieties of spinach and sells 10 lakh bundles within the city per month. “Organic greens have a huge market. Even in half an acre of land, we can cultivate greens. I was able to produce 45 varieties of greens in one cycle,” says Jagannathan.

“The biggest challenge was to create a customer base. That’s where agriculture marketing consultants come in. We use Facebook to promote Nallakeerai and have volunteers who pick them up from certain localities and sell them.

About 15 people have invested on their land for their yearly produce,” he says. What started as a team of two in 2011, has now grown into a group of 30 metropolitan farmers ranging from an IIT graduate, management consultant, software architect, and so on. And they their keerai in a koodai just as easily as they do off the backseat of a car! So it didn’t surprise us when we discovered that theNallakeeraiFacebook page — https://www.facebook.com/NallaKeerai — has a massive 10,000 followers.

Ask Jagannathan why his choice of crop is spinach and he responds, “It requires a very short growth period and gives quicker returns, which eases the transition to organic farming.”

He goes on, people who produce food for the country, go to bed hungry and that’s the plight of today’s farmers. The idea struck me when I conducted a survey in my native, near Thirunindravur. I decided to do something about it and started to study the economy of farmers in my village. I found that the 240 farmer households in the village spent about `40 lakh investing in fertilisers and pesticides.

If this money was properly channelised within the farm, they would lead more comfortable lives.

So what does Nallakeerai do differently? “We help organic farmers by eliminating middle men, and connecting them to a direct consumer base in the city,” explains this farmer-preneur. This is apart from supplying to some of the biggest organic retail stores in the city and also renting out store space within the premises of large companies to sell the veggie.

In order to get youngster interested, Jagannathan conducts weekend workshops on organic farming and eco-friendly lifestyles, assisting a community of Irula farmers to market their produce.

“Organic spinach farms are profitable through weekly door-delivery of organic greens to residences and apartment complexes in the city. We want people to emulate our model,” says Jagannathan, explaining how he spread cow-dung on his planting beds once and harvested three bundles of spinach from tiny one sq ft area. “Today, if I am doing this with spinach, somebody will come up with organic milk and organic potatoes tomorow. If the pricing of organic food is feasible, organic farming can make it big,” he assures us.

Priced at `25 to 30, Nallakeerai’s organic greens are available in T Nagar, Virugambakkam, Vadapalani, Anna Nagar, Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur, Ambattur, Velachery, and Kodambakkam, and can be reached on 99626 11767/9840614128.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by S. Subhakeerthana / July 23rd, 2014

‘Milk Production in TN Up by 1.2 Lakh Litres a Day’

July 20, 2014Business & Economy, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technologiesadmin

Chennai :

Milk production in Tamil Nadu has gone up by 1.2 lakh litres per day and 18,356 new born calves were added to the cattle population as a result of the 36,000 milch cows distributed by the initiatives of Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, Animal Husbandary Minister TKM Chinnayya said on Saturday.

Speaking at the valedictory of the 21st Annual Convention of Indian Society for Veterinary Immunology and Biotechnology at the Madras Veterinary College, he said the 6 lakh goats distributed free by the government have more than doubled their population to increase to 14.86 lakh.

According to him in the three years that the scheme has been implemented, about 1.2 lakh people who have received milch cows and over 1.5 lakh beneficiaries who have received goats are reaping the benefits of the scheme.

He also informed that Tamil Nadu accounts for 17.71 per cent of the poultry population of the country and more than 90 per cent of poultry products exported from India originates from the state.

The minister distributed several awards to the participating students and prize winning presentations at the conference which has drawn several delegates from the US and UK. Secretary to Government, Animal Husbandary, Dairying and Fisheries Department, S Vijayakumar, President of ISVIB, RK Singh, Dean of Virginia – Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, USA, Cyril Clarke and Vice -Chancellor of TANUVAS, TJ Harikrishnan, were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 20th, 2014

Chennai First

a Celebration. Positive News, Facts & Achievements about Chennai, Tamilians and all the People of TamilNadu – here at Home and Overseas