Heritage Grains & Pulses

The things we used to cultivate before were black gram, green gram, cowpea, horse gram, etc.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Our ancestors used to cultivate Bhadi kodra, jowar, pulses, and oilseed crops.

— Kachala Choudhary

Our ancestors were cultivating. They grew urad and moong. The soil gave them a different kind of produce, and they nurtured the seeds for it.

— Mukunda Majhi · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We used to cultivate various crops extensively. Additionally, I cultivated mustard, moong bean, guava, horse gram, etc. All these seeds are important for my family.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

The oldest seeds we have. Millet, foxtail millet, horse gram, green gram, lentils.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

Our fathers and grandfathers used to cultivate traditional crops earlier, fertilizing them with cow dung, and grew pulses like moong, urad, kulthi, along with millets such as ragi and bajra.

— Parikshit Majhi

The rice crop we cultivate, the valuable horse gram of our family; our ancestors have provided us with green gram, black gram, horse gram, and finger millet.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

Previously, we ourselves used to cultivate moong, Didhan Lar Golandi, Mahipal paddy, red paddy, Kalachu paddy, and Sarai paddy.

— Padmini Bhoi

Our ancestors have been cultivating Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Finger millet, Horse gram, and Barley since ancient times, which are very nutritious. We always preserve their seeds and cultivate them every year.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The oldest seeds like Kodo, Mejdri, Sawa, Maize, Bajra, all these crops were cultivated with agricultural fertilizer.

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate a second crop. The valuable seed of our family is Horse gram. Our ancestors have given us Green gram, Black gram, Horse gram, and Finger millet. We follow the farming methods of our ancestors.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

Traditional farming, meaning Yudung, Pandala, Janana, maize, finger millet, and so on.

— James

Here, we grow varieties of crops like paddy, black gram, pigeon pea, Kodo millet, Little millet, Barnyard millet, and others.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

Our ancestors used to cultivate mung bean, urad, horse gram, ragi, and mustard. At that time, it used to rain, and there were forests.

— Anirudha Marai

We save and sow our traditional seeds. Such as chickpea, sorghum, Bhadi, pearl millet, etc.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

The best and strongest seeds cultivated earlier were kodo, menjar, sawa, maize, and millet. These were all the crops grown.

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our traditional items are finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, black gram, paddy, all these are ours. Then there's black gram, pigeon pea, and all these things.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

We do farming. We save some seeds beforehand and then cultivate. This way, we get many crops, including green gram, black gram, and pigeon pea.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

The traditional seeds are pearl millet, smooth sorghum, and Bhadi kodo millet.

— Kachala Choudhary

We cultivate seeds such as chickpea, lentil, mustard, and horse gram using traditional, possibly rain-fed, farming methods. We preserve these seeds and cultivate them using this traditional agricultural practice.

— Laxmi Sahu

I cultivate pulse crops without irrigation. We save pulse seeds, among which horse gram, black gram, and pigeon pea are the oldest varieties. We save these seeds for cultivation every year. Our ancestors used to cultivate using manure and traditional ploughs.

— DASHARATH SINGH

We have inherited the seeds of Bhaadi, Kodra, Bati, Jowar.

— Kachala Choudhary

Precious seeds: Pearl millet, Black gram, Sorghum, Bhaadi Kodo millet, Barnyard millet, Bati.

— Kachala Choudhary

Finger millet, black gram, green gram, etc.

— Abhimaneu Sabar

We save stable seeds and kuluth seeds are valuable for our family. We have old seeds like millet, kuluth, moong. We sell them and use them as food.

— Basanti · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

Sawa, Medo, Mijhri are our traditional crops, which our ancestors used to cultivate by plowing with bullocks and a plough. They consumed these crops throughout the year and saved seeds in their homes for the next year's sowing. We still practice farming today.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Previously, we used to cultivate all crops like moong, urad, and kulthi, and we want to continue doing so in the future.

— Jyoti Senapati

Here, we cultivate Sawa, Medon, Mujhri, Kodo, and pulses using the 'Batririri' method. We also store the seeds at home for the following year and then re-sow them in the field; this practice is a legacy from our ancestors.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

The oldest seeds we have are horse gram, black gram, green gram. Name - Padu Madhi Village - Kodeguda Panchayat - Potrel Block - Korukonda

— Champa Gatan · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

Old traditional farming includes Kodo, Menjri, and Sawan, which have been cultivated according to age-old traditions. Protect your crops.

— bachcha lal · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Before, we used to cultivate crops without water: bajra, maize, kodo, mezhri, and arhar (pigeon pea).

— Kamleah Kumar · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We still have traditional seeds like Kodo, Kutki, Maize, Sorghum, Kulthi, Arhar, etc., which we sow using old methods even without irrigation facilities. Even then, our crops ripen.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We preserve old seeds for sowing work, which explicitly includes Moong, Kili, and Mustard.

— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

Old seeds, including those of Kalahasu, Lalat, and Kendu flowers, were carefully considered. Fruit seeds, sem beans, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, and okra were cultivated by adding fertilizer and loamy soil to the land.

— Anirudha Marai

We have traditional seeds here like Saadia, paddy, pigeon pea, semi-native gourds, Karaiguta, Chipra, etc. We preserve these every year and cultivate them using old traditional methods without irrigation.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Our royal forefathers used to cultivate Birahi, Kulut, Mukh, Deshoris, and Badam in their lands. And all these seeds are very important for us.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Pearl millet, maize, kodo millet, Mejri, barnyard millet, black gram, horse gram

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Old seeds: Bhadi Kodo millet and Samal.

— Kachala Choudhary

The traditional dishes are our corn, moong, black gram, horse gram, and our moong, and jana, etc. All these.

— S Guruteli · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha