A Unique Experience with a dual role of a virtual farmer and plant pathologist

Pictures of microorganisms isolated from the seed coat of Jatropha Curcas
Gram Positive Rod


Gram Negative Cocci


Aspergillus


Rhizopus

Dear readers of our blog,
As we have received a couple of emails with inquiries about the training we underwent in Labland Biotechs in August 2009, we thought of sharing our experience. Labland Biotechs is a plant biotechnology company located in Mysore, India. It has a modern biotechnology lab and a green house for mass multiplication of different plants, including Jatropha curcas.They are our collaborators and advisers. They supplied the high quality Jatropha seedlings to the farmers and provided agronomic training. They have also made a commitment to buy the seeds from the farmers in two years. We thought of undergoing a training in order to get a first hand experience in Jatropha cultivation. It wasn't easy, but it was very educational. In the morning, we were virtual farmers getting ready to sow the Jatropha seeds. By afternoon, we were botany students learning about seed germination. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. Next day we entered the farmers' world again as we created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout. For a couple of days, we wore the masks of plant pathologists involved in isolating fungi that grows on Jatropha seeds. We have posted a couple of pictures of the fungi that we isolated. In addition,we wore the hats of a factory laborer and extracted oil from the dried seeds. Then, we became students of chemical engineering, as we learned the process of conversion of both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. The training was a huge deal and by the end the day, we were extremely tired, but content. We are very glad that we underwent the training and developed a new respect for the farmers. We thank Dr. Sudheer Shetty, Dr. Geetaa Singh for giving us the opportunity to undergo the training. We also would like to thank Ms. Subina Narayan and Mr. Abignan Gurukar for training us.

Thanks for Reading!
~Apoorva and Adarsha

Our New Logo!

Hello Followers of the Project Jatropha blog,

Adarsha, Apoorva, and I have decided that it’s time for Project Jatropha to have our own logo (shown below). I created about 10 different logos, and we choose this one because it shows our Earth delicately wrapped by a small seedling. In addition, we decided on it because our Project Jatropha symbolizes starting with small actions and growing to affect the entire globe. After all, our goal is to start on the small scale, and with trust, collaboration, and action build and build to spread awareness and change on a larger level. So, tell us what you think!

Thanks for following,
Love,
Callie

A global call to youth by Project Jatropha Team

We are asking all youth from each and every corner of the globe to take responsibility and participate in the fight against climate change by planting at least one useful seedling. Let's plant one seedling at a time. You can start at your own backyard, school, or anywhere-you pick the place. If you try to understand the magnitude of the situation, and the difference that one action can make and how that action can influence others, then you can find a place to plant even one seedling. We are asking individuals, groups, organizations, schools to join us in this venture. If you do decide to do so, please let us know by dropping an email or writing on our blog so that we can include you as a participant member in this effort. We are setting a goal to plant one million trees in 10 years. Project Jatropha has kick-started this endeavor by planting 15,000 seedlings in Kirijaji and Thippalapura, two villages in South India. Please visit our web site to see the details. To help us achieve our goal, we will contact as many local schools as possible. In addition, we are also donating useful seedlings to selected schools which need financial assistance for buying plants. Please contact us and join the fight against climate change.

The ways in which you can help:

1.Planting seedlings and letting us know

2. Donating funds (which are tax-deductible, thanks to our NPO status) to purchase seedlings

3. Volunteering to help us plant in different schools

Sincerely,
Adarsha Shivakumar

The Size and Effects of the Tobacco Industry in India

Adarsha and Apoorva with Puttaswami, a Tobacco Farmer near our farm in Hunsur in 2007


Apoorva and Adarsha with Puttaswami in 2009. We are trying to convince him to grow Jatropha in his farm by intercropping with Tobacco.



Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

The tobacco industry has such a hold in southern India, it's really hard to believe the scale unless you see the area itself. To give you an idea of the scale, the plot where Jatropha and ragi( finger millet) was around 30 by 120 feet. All the eye could see for miles in each direction was fields of tobacco. The scale of the industry means that all of the environmental impacts of tobacco get magnified as well. For instance, one kilogram of tobacco requires 5 kilograms of burnable material to cure it. Around 2 of the kilograms comes from cow pies, coconut husks, etc. However, the rest of the material is firewood. Now, when one considers that several hundred pounds of tobacco can be harvested per plot, one realizes that there is a lot of firewood is consumed in order to do so. Since even one village can have many acres worth of tobacco, it becomes apparent that vast quantities of firewood must be used, which consequently has profound effects on the forest. Right now the effects of deforestation are most noticeable on the edges of the nearby forest, where the wood is most easily accessible. I am sure that as the years pass by more and more of the forest will disappear. The deforestation and burning of the wood causes several problems, including large carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions, animal-human conflicts, and a loss of biodiversity. Let's not forget the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which mandates the halving of tobacco production by 2020. The farmers are confused and they need help. We at project Jatropha are trying our best to provide alternative crops. As long as the farmers are open-minded, something will work out. We have to be optimistic.

Sincerely,
Adarsha

The startling connection between tobacco and village culture

During our stay this summer, we came across many interesting stories, which we'll soon be sharing with you one by one; however, we've concluded that the one we're about to tell you is the most shocking of all. The first time we heard this, we completely ignored it, thinking that the story was a gross exaggeration, or even a fabrication. But wherever we went, this story kept coming up from various sources. We'll narrate this story as one of the villagers. However, we cannot share the name of those involved to protect the confidentiality of the source(s). In rural India, almost all marriages are arranged. It's basically the boys' choice. The process goes something like this. Whenever there is a boy or a girl of marriageable age, it's mainly the parent's responsibility. The parents send words through friends and relatives in search of a groom or bride. Once they come to know there is an eligible match, the girl's side prays that the groom should agree to marry their daughter. Most of the time they aren't worried about what their daughter has to say. In the boy's home, it is a completely different story. This will be one of their choices. They don't even think they will be rejected. It's all up to them. If the boy says yes, the marriage will take place. If they say no, the marriage will not take place. Yet, this ISN'T the shocking part. This is where tobacco comes into play. All the farmers that grow tobacco need a license by the tobacco board to construct a processing barn and sell the processed tobacco. Everyone doesn't get this license, as one must have some economic status. Recently the issue of the tobacco license is very restricted. And the owners of these licenses have a sense of pride because having a license means that they're economically decent. In Hindu culture, most traditional families see if the boy and the girl's horoscopes match. It is very vital that the priest okay's the horoscopes. If the horoscope doesn't match, the relationship has no future (according to tradition). Interestingly, we found out from many SHG Members who have marriageable kids, they have a bigger problem than the horoscope match. The first thing the groom's side people ask is if they possess a....wait for it....tobacco license. We think that gives them a sense of assurance that the girl's parents can perform the wedding and possibly give them a dowry. As tobacco is THE crop all around Hunsur Taluk area, having a tobacco license gives the bride's side a peace of mind that they are in good shape and can be confident that they can find a suitable groom. They say they can sleep well at night knowing that they have a tobacco license. We never looked at tobacco cultivation with respect until this point. We were convinced that tobacco is the cash crop that is giving peace of mind to families who have many girls to be married. Now and then, we ask ourselves this question: if we plan on removing tobacco, what will we be doing to this aspect of the culture? Is the complete removal of tobacco a proper solution? How are we going to change a culture that is so dependent on tobacco? What do we do? We hope as we grow up we will find an answer for this question.

Sincerely,
Apoorva and Adarsha

The importance of pruning cannot be emphasized enough in this title

Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

I feel that pruning is so important, that it merits its own blog post-which should say something. Jatropha flowers are borne on leaf axils of new growth . For this reason ,optimum new growth should be induced with aggressive pruning ,especially in the first two years . So, in order to maximize the seed yield , Labland Biotechs has taught the farmers to aggressively prune the Jatropha seedlings at specific times. Aggressive pruning entails cutting off the young blossoms and sometimes stems so that the plant branches out more, which will ultimately lead to (exponentially) more fruit being produced. This is critical, since Project Jatropha wants to maximize the economic viability of growing Jatropha; otherwise, the project will not succeed. I also feel that an example would better illustrate the multiple uses of pruning. Parivarthana decided to do an experiment of sorts with 5 of the plants from the Phase I farmers-they got permission to use them, don't worry. What they did was grow the plants using all of the agronomic practices taught at Labland Biotechs, and then prune the plants. Then, the cuttings were planted, grown using the agronomic methods taught by Labland, and rinse and repeat the process for 8 months. From the 5 original seedlings, 35 plants were obtained (including the originals). That's pretty remarkable. This example highlights the other use of pruning, which is to create more Jatropha seedlings.

Sincerely,
Adarsha

The DEED Children are Amazing!

Adarsha, Mr. Shrikanth, Apoorva, and the children discussing Project Jatropha


The DEED Children dancing!


Apoorva and Adarsha with the DEED Children


Dear readers of our blog,

As mentioned earlier, the Project Jatropha team visited DEED, a child labor rehabilitation, residential school. I thought of writing a bit more about our visit. This isn't an orphanage per se. However, some of the children are orphans. The rest from disturbed single parent families. Mr. Srikanth, the director of DEED, is an extraordinary human being. I have never met anybody like him in my entire life. He has dedicated his entire life to helping these unfortunate children. He along with his coworkers go deep into the Nagarahole Forest many times in a year looking for indigenous people. They are mainly honey gatherers. He brings the children of these people to their center. Though the kids have no exposure to formal schooling, they are exceptionally bright. The kids speak their own language and are very happy and lively. They are also amazing singers! We have recorded some of their songs, which We will be posting on Youtube shortly. Just by looking at the shadow of a tree, they can tell the time pretty accurately! We were really surprised. They can identify medicinal plants and their uses. We would love to share a story of a young boy, Chandra*. He was around 3 years old when he arrived at the DEED center. He always carried a knife in his hand. Whenever he saw a tree, he used to make a specific symbol using the knife. He was a very silent child. Within three years, he has learned three languages (English, Hindi, and Kannada), math, and science. Mr. Srikanth predicts he will become a very famous individual because of his extraordinary intelligence. We agree! Now Chandra is attending formal schooling, where he is acing all the subjects, even beyond two grade levels. Who knows how many more Chandras are wandering in the forest waiting to be rescued, so that they can have a real chance at attaining their maximum potential?

*Name has been changed to protect his identity

Sincerely,
Apoorva