Aamon: Tribal women in violence-hit Bengal province triple incomes with organic rice; revive traditional varieties
In India, rice has been considered auspicious and a symbol of prosperity and success since ancient times. For thousands of tribal and underprivileged women in Nayagram block of Bengal’s Jhargram district, caught in a cycle of Maoist violence and poverty, the cultivation of organic indigenous rice varieties has brought hope and prosperity.
Almost 5,000 women are now part of Aamon, East India’s largest all-women producer company, formed with support from Pradan (Professional Assistance for Development Action), a civil society organization working with the poorest communities in rural India.
Through regenerative agriculture, the women’s incomes have tripled and they have overcome the ill-effects of conventional chemical-based agriculture that has wreaked havoc on the ecology and human life.