MLCU students interact with custodian farmers during exposure trip at Nongtraw

On May 28, 2022, students of Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) Shillong from various departments and semesters participated in an exposure trip to Nongtraw which was facilitated by NESFAS. The visit made an impact on the outlook and perspectives of the students as they learnt about various topics during an interaction session with the custodian farmers- Kong Bibiana Ranee and Kong Jacinta Ranee. They also discussed the women’s participation in the Village Council (dorbar) to address community challenges and issues as well as finding solutions to these challenges. They also highlighted how women are biodiversity custodians, as the majority of Agroecology Learning Circles (ALC) members are women, with 24 women at the forefront.

During the visit, the students were taken to the Community Seed Bank (CSB), where they learnt about the importance of a CSB and inquired about climate-resilient food plants found in Nongtraw, to which Kong Bibiana replied that millets are the majority of the climate-resilient species.

Students also took part in an Agrobiodiversity Walk (ABD) walk to a biocentric restoration site and a nearby community/school garden. Kong Bibiana showed them around and pointed out different types of wild edible plants such as jali, jarai, jakhria, khoit kait, and the bamboo varieties found in Nongtraw such as U Ktang siej rniang, shken, dongla, and siejlieh.

During the process, the students inquired about the concept of ALC as well as composting methods, to which they were explained the concept of using naturally available resources for composting.

Kong Bibiana addressed the students, “I hope whatever we discussed today will be of great help to you all and I hope that you will impart and spread this knowledge about our Indigenous Food Systems (IFS) to your peers”.  

Kong Jacinta shared, “I am elated to share the work that we do with the students. I am happy to share and I would like to thank NESFAS for its intervention and the fact that our work is being recognized and has taken interest by students’. 

Janai Mary Nadon, Department of Social Work, MLCU expressed, “I would like to acknowledge NESFAS for giving us the opportunity to visit Nongtraw Village for our field work. As NESFAS’ main focus is to empower local communities, to promote the importance of local agriculture practices and preservation of indigenous culture and tradition, I am inspired by the work that NESFAS provides the local farmers a platform to showcase their product and let the world know their existence. Going with NESFAS team, I had learned so many new things about indigenous plants, how they preserved the seeds for the future. As one of my objective was “What is the role of women in community?” through NESFAS I could achieved my objective and learnt that Nongtraw village is one of the villages that allow women to participate in a Dorbar.

Shiningstar Aaron Dann, Department of Sociology, MLCU shared, “I am so thankful that NESFAS introduced us to Nongtraw and the communities, and the staff from NESFAS were very helpful, they guided us so much. I had an amazing experience, learnt a lot of good things, and I was inspired by the work that NESFAS has done”.