Inspiration
This 24-year-old is a bridge between traditional knowledge and modern learning
Swetcha Poladi, a SBI Youth for India Fellow currently posted in Jawhar, Maharashtra is enlisting village elders to help transfer traditional knowledge about the culture, art, bio-diversity to the younger generation.
Imagine sitting on a gold mine of traditional knowledge handed down from generation to generation and not even realising the extent of it, much less benefit from it. Children in villages of Jawhar taluka in Thane district of Maharashtra were similarly not aware of the traditional agriculture, art, and conservation practices adopted by their elders until very recently. Swetcha Poladi came in the lives of these children as a timely teacher, helping them learn about their rich local culture and heritage.
“I am playing the role of a facilitator – helping in the transfer of knowledge from people of the older generation to those of the younger generation,” says Swetcha Poladi, who is an SBI Youth for India Fellow currently posted in Jawhar, Maharashtra.
Jawhar boasts of many rare species of plants, seeds, crops, etc and is considered to be an agro-biodiversity hotspot. But the younger generation which is picking up modern education from schools is far removed from their local roots and are not aware of traditional facts related to respecting and preserving nature, farming, fishing, art, and more.
“About 7 local communities have been practicing Warli art for ages. And yet, children there are oblivious of the intricate details associated with the art form. Another saddening example is that of the limited information among young people about indigenous crops and fishing. Many of the villagers are into fishing and there is a distinct way in which they place the net to catch the downward flowing fish. Then there are many medicinal plants and wild food resources that are very useful. This kind of knowledge is missing these days,” she says
Sensing a large disconnect and an imminent danger of losing this invaluable knowledge forever, Swetcha decided to work on biodiversity and traditional knowledge conversation in 7 schools in Jawhar. The children are in Classes 6-10.
Only 24, she understands that learning is better when it revolves are activities. In the initial period she conducted guest lectures but soon noticed they weren’t much fun and contributed very little in terms of learning about trees and fruits while sitting inside the classrooms
“I am working in collaboration with an organization named BAIF, which is involved in the field of conservation of indigenous crops. During the initial days of my fellowship, I was asked to click pictures of crop in the area. I was really surprised to know that more than 120 varieties of rice are grown there every season. And while each variety is native to the villages, the sad part remains that not many from the younger circles are aware of this. This, in turn, can lead to a reduction in diversity of the food they have and grow. So for the first activity, I collected many varieties of rice and conducted experiments in the schools – teaching children about them, showing them how to differentiate one variety from the other, etc.”
When Swetcha discovered that many plants from the region can be used to extract organic colours, she infused life into the learning by designing an activity for holi.
“We made colours from 14-16 kinds of flowers, barks, and fruits to play Holi together. It was really fun.”
Her next focus is on educating the children on wild plants because there are many endangered plants in the villages, which if not cared for will soon be extinct from the region. Swetcha is setting up many nurseries to grow plants in several pockets in the region.
Swetcha also conducts unique field visits for children to the forest where the elders from the villages are invited to guide students.
“In one village, the kids and I got together with the local herb healers and other people to make the map. And we came across many new and interesting things. Like there is a 150-year-old well in the village. Everyone knew about its existence but not many were aware of the history. Then there are trees as old as 200 years. There was so much to learn. We have already made one map and converted it into Warli art with the help of local artisans. We will be installing the resource maps in the schools,” she says.
Swetcha has about 3 months left before her fellowship tenure ends, and she is already seeing some effective impact of her work – “I organised a medicinal plant awareness event in which 6 schools came under one platform along with an Ayurvedic doctor, a herb healer, and people from the forest department. I requested them to share some saplings for children to plant in schools. I basically wanted to see what they will do with the plants – it was like a test of what I am doing and what they had understood. Some days later, I visited the schools and was really happy to see that children had actually taken the effort of planting the saplings and taking care of them – delegating work among themselves,” she remembers.
A graduate in management studies, Swetcha is among the growing tribe of youngsters who are chucking up stable new-age jobs to work in sectors which involve in giving back to the society. She worked in the e-retail sector for more than a year in Hyderabad, before started working for her first love – the environment. She picked up permaculture with an NGO and then decided to make a career in the field of environment conservation. Fortuitously she enrolled in the fellowship program as it seemed to be a great platform for her to gain the kind of experience that she needed and create substantial impact.
It sends happy signals to the society to see youngsters actually taking the initiative to work for the environment, culture and biodiversity. It is a reflection of grow consciousness of the power the young wield in bringing about a positive change in the society.