Explore the Link between Biological and Cultural Diversity
Basudha (= ‘Earth Mother’ in Bengali) is a 1.7 acre farmland, on rent in a tribal village, surrounded by forests and hills in Bissam Cuttack block, Rayagada district of southern Odisha. A small farm house can accommodate visiting activists, research students and farmers.
Basudha farm was established in early 2001 in Bankura district of West Bengal initially as a field station of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, and registered as an independent Trust body, which is currently comprised by Dr. Debal Deb (Chair), Prof. Tathagata Banerjee (Secretary), Dr. Goutam Saha (Asst. Secretary), Dr. Mita Dutta (Treasurer) and Mr. Debdulal Bhattacharjee, as Trustees.
All works related to crop genetic diversity conservation and field experiments are conducted on Basudha’s Odisha campus (19°42’32” N, 83°28′ 8.3994″ E see map here), founded in 2012.
In addition, Basudha’s old campus in Bankura (23°12’37.44” N, 87°16’52.932” E) has recently been revived as an agroforestry demonstration farm, as Basudha Aranya Krishi.
Basudha aims to conserve India’s vanishing rice varieties; encourage, demonstrate and support organic farming and traditional methods of multiple cropping; research on the human ecology of uncultivated foods from the wild; research and document ecoforestry practices; and preserve and develop local knowledge of biodiversity and its uses. Basudha is a partner of the nationwide anti-WTO movement, and locally engaged in non-formal education and heuristic science teaching for the rural youth. Basudha also gives practical training in ecological agriculture.
Every year, scientists, research scholars, students, activists and farmers from different parts of the world visit Basudha – to teach, learn from, and share ideas with, Basudha workers and farmers in the surrounding villages. WWOOFers find Basudha to be a favourite farm to stay and work in. The new Basudha campus in Odisha is open for WWOOFers and volunteers. The Annual Basudha Festival, held in Winter every year, is a special event in which students, environmentalists, artists and conservationists from different parts of the world come to participate.
| Read Prof. Steve Gliessman’s Editorial on Basudha’s Work |
| Read Article by Laconte and Remy on Basudha’s Work |
Over 1400 folk rice varieties and 30 other crops are being grown on this farm every year, as a model of ecological agriculture, with zero external inputs. The Basudha farmhouse is an example of ecological architecture with (almost) zero-ecological footprint: No kiln bricks, no cement, no plastics, no timber. Three hutments are made of adobe, stones, mud, and lime mortar with thatched roofs. It has three EcoSan dry toilets, whose dry compost enriches the farm soil. The campus is off-grid, and solar powered. We never extract groundwater, nor apply any external material for our farm inputs.
Basudha also demonstrates biodiverse agroecology in its polycrop home garden, where more than 30 species of crops are cultivated on zero external input.
Location
Basudha farm is located in a remote tribal village at the foothills of Niyamgiri (19.551618719208772 N, 83.47434239522173 E), in Rayagada district of Odisha. The nearest airport is Vishakapatnam, and the nearest railway station is Muniguda. Take a train to Muniguda in southern Odisha, and then ride an auto-rickshaw or taxi to Kalipanga village, then proceed across the railway underpass, to arrive at the farm gate of Basudha.
If you are a WWOOFer or volunteer, we will arrange for a pick-up from Muniguda station. Please contact us for road map and directions.
The old Basudha farm (23.20757747164646 N, 87.28180648051435 E) is located in Binodbati village, Bishnupur block, Bankura district of West Bengal. The nearest Stations is Bishnupur to the south and Durgapur to the north.
Basudha does not encourage pleasure trips by urban joy-seekers or picnickers, but is open to WWOOFers, research students, nature lovers, and activists who are willing to participate and assist in our activities.
N.B. Basudha’s work does not receive financial support from any funding agency – whether governmental or non-governmental. All activities are fuelled by personal donations from Trustees and friends. There is no tariff for accommodation at Basudha, but we would request visitors to make a donation according to their ability and pleasure.
We provide spartan, yet comfortable accommodation (with bed, pillow, blankets and mosquito net) and simple vegetarian meals, with rice and beans as staple, often with eggs. Anything extra (e.g. bread/ cheese/ beverages/ meat) will be at cost.
For more information about stay and work on Basudha campus, Click here.