Forest & Local Foods

Earlier, we used to eat gethi kanda, nekuwa kanda, sarai mahua lata, and all the mahua lata.

— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Before, we used to eat saag roti, kurthi dal, urad dal, and mahua saag. Sometimes we would find amla and bael from the forest, and that's how we used to sustain our lives.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

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

— Batakrushna Sahoo

We used to eat greens from the forest, including Madhuranga greens, Nautia greens, Marisa greens, and all those other types of greens.

— Sanjukta Arukh · Tamando, Khordha, Odisha

In our past, we used to bundle seeds like Kulthi, Biri, Moong, and Dhudung in Sialpata leaves and store them, and these seeds would remain insect-proof.

— Parikshit Majhi

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

— Batakrushna Sahoo

We have preserved various items such as moong, beans, and gourds from ancient times.

— S Guruteli · Sindhiguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

Old seeds: Bhadi Kodo millet and Samal.

— Kachala Choudhary

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

In the past, we used to eat mahua, and also made four laddus by frying mahua. We would also cook rice with gulgi and eat it. Now, if Anganwadi...

— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha

We have the oldest seeds of pulses, oilseeds, and rice that we have preserved.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

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

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

— Padmini Bhoi

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

— Kachala Choudhary

Our oldest seeds are Bhadi, Kodra, Bati.

— Kachala Choudhary

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

— Kachala Choudhary

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

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

— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

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

— S Guruteli · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

In our area, in very old times, there were Sama, Kodo, Meijri (types of millets) for eating. Diseases were not caused by this. Today, whatever is being eaten as hybrid, all this is on the verge of causing diseases.

— ANIL KUMAR · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

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

We are the people of earlier times who used to eat mahua from the forest, eat chakad shak, eat millet bread, eat corn bread. Now people eat good food, and because they eat good food, they catch so many diseases.

— Sunita Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

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

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Ans - In ancient times, people used to bring tubers, leafy vegetables, fruits, and roots from the forest and eat them. They also ate boiled leafy vegetables. Village - Kutiguda Name - Devendra Madkami

— Champa Gatan · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We used to eat Mahua before, all kinds of Mahua, Rama Mahua. Because we ate all that, our body used to stay well. If you eat that, you too will stay well again.

— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, 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

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

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 we have are Hyacinth beans, paddy, moong beans, urad beans, and horse gram. We dry the seeds in the sun and store them by tying them in bundles.

— Anirudha Marai · Sambalpur, Odisha

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 have traditional varieties: our native rice, ragi, tuana, jhudunga, palat biri, and our kangu tuana.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

What are the oldest seeds you have? Finger millet, Pearl millet, Barnyard millet, Sesame, Horse gram.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

In ancient times, in previous eras, people collected nutritious foods like ragi, millet, etc., from the forest, ate them to stay healthy and strong, and lived for a long time. If farmers or tribal community people cultivate those essential crops of those ancient times again, it will guide them towards the development of their life's values in the future.

— Dillip pujari · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha

What are the oldest seeds you have? Mustard, horse gram, millet.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

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

— Jyoti Senapati

Chickpeas and gumbra are our old seeds, which we preserve and then sow.

— Vinita Singh Yadav · Mukasim, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

In the past, we used to eat various things from the hills, such as Kangu Jona Ganthia, and lived well because of them. Things that grew without fertilizer used to ripen quickly. Now, nothing is ripening from the hills, and they are not cultivating them anymore.

— Prakash ch Pradhani · Karubai, Rayagada, Odisha

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

What are the oldest seeds you have? Millet, rice, wheat, sesame, etc.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

Yes, I collect my own seeds. Mung and Black Gram are the most valuable seeds for our family. I have horse gram, black gram, bajra (pearl millet) and Mugeisal rice as old seeds. For us...

— gadadhar dash