Dasapalla : A Community’s biodiversity festival was organized on 24th September 2023 at Tanganadi village in the Kulurukumpa GP of Dasapalla Block in the Nayagarh district of Odisha, under the facilitation of NIRMAN, an NGO which has been sincerely promotong ecological agriculture, forest protection, and biodiversity conservation in the state for more than 20 years. The event was arranged with the painstaking efforts of community members from Tanganadi and 6 other neighbouring villages, alongwith the NIRMAN team; and people from about 60 villages across 8 panchayats visited this festival experiencing lots of ‘green enthusiasm’. The programme displayed various indigenous local paddy varieties, vegetables, traditional foods, and forest products alongwith a model on the Integrated Farming System; and the Odisha Millet Mission had a stall there to promote millet cultivation and millet-based products.
In his welcome address Sri Prasant Mohanty, Executive Director, NIRMAN focused on the significance of the local biodiversity elements such as the cycad Adanga which has a variety(Cycas nayagarhensis) specific to this district, and explained why conservation of the same is important. He shared that NIRMAN was in the process of developing various model initiatives in the area related to sustainable development, and drew the attention of the local people’s representatives to help open an exclusive stall for the products of the area. The chief guest of the programme Sri Ramesh Chandra Behera,MLA, Dasapalla touched upon his grassroots experiences related to the local biodiversity & its uses, and while suggesting for more such events in the Block, he promised to help open the said stall at Dasapalla. The MLA drew attention of the public on the dangers of climate change, and asked to take an oath of planting a tree for every child.
Despite heavy rains people from far & near assembled in the event, and the organizing communities were excited to see the response. One of the dignitaries frankly shared that the arrangement impressed him so much that his perspective of NGO was just overturned which is why he wanted more such events in the region.
Communities which had made significant contribution in protecting & preserving the local biodiversity of the area received awards from the dignitaries, and the event ended with various cultural programmes on stage.
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