Terracotta project in Bishnubati village: Ashadullapur Rural Crafts & Health Development Centre – West Bengal

The Terracotta & Pottery project has started with six participants from different villages in a workshop. Their chosen task is to preserve the Santali traditional life by depicting it on the walls of local homes. Six walls have been chosen in Bishnubati village. This project is already meeting with much interest and appreciation among the villagers. | View the finished murals and learn more … Read more

Bee pollination improves crop quality, shelf life and commercial value: Study on market value compared with wind and self-pollination – Royal Society

‘Pollination crisis’ hitting India’s vegetable farmers

A decline in pollinating insects in India is resulting in reduced vegetable yields and could limit people’s access to a nutritional diet, a study warns. […]Despite the concern, no study had been done to assess directly the scale of the decline in natural pollinators, explained Parthiba Basu, from the University of Calcutta’s Ecology Research Unit. […]He explained that certain crops did not depend on insects for pollination, including cereals. Instead, the plants used other mechanism – such as relying on the wind to carry the pollen.However, many vegetables – such as pumpkin, squash, cucumber and gherkin – were reliant on insects, such as bees. […]Dr Basu said: “There is an obvious indication that within the ecological farming setting, there is pollinator abundance. This method typically provides the habitats for natural pollinators – this is the way forward.”He added that if the team’s findings were extrapolated, this would offer a “clear indication” that India was facing a decline in natural pollinators, as ecological farming was only practiced on about 10-20% of the country’s arable land. […]Troubling timesThe UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that of the slightly more than 100 crop species that provide 90% of food supplies for 146 countries, 71 are bee-pollinated, primarily by wild bees, and a number of others are pollinated by other insects. […]In industrialised nations, such as the US and in Europe, many farms employ the services of commercial hives to pollinate fruit trees and food crops, and ensure they harvest adequate yields.But Dr Basu said the use of domesticated bees in this context was not widespread in South Asia.

“There are honey farmers, but using hives in the field to pollinate crops is not at all common in India,” he said. […]

A number of possible causes have been suggested, including the misuse of pesticides, habitat loss and fragmentation, and the spread of parasites and diseases.  […]

Source: BBC News – ‘Pollination crisis’ hitting India’s vegetable farmers
Address : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11418033
Date Visited: Fri Jan 10 2014 19:43:22 GMT+0100 (CET)

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Towards an alternative model of legal service delivery: The “Bilaspur Declaration” in the service of rural and tribal communities – Chhattisgarh

N. R. Madhava Menon, The Hindu Opinion, December 3, 20 To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers … Read more

Ranchi University will have a department for each for all the nine languages – Jharkhand

The Times of India, Oct 7, 2013

RANCHI: Ranchi University may soon get separate departments each for all the nine languages being taught in the tribal regional language (TRL) department.

This has been a longstanding demand and the proposal was approved in the senate meeting of Ranchi University (RU) in August this year. […]

Of the nine languages taught in the TRL department, there are five tribal and four regional languages. The tribal languages are Kudukh, Ho, Mundari, Khadia and Santhali while the regional languages are Nagpuri, Panchpargania, Khortha and Kurmali.

Asked why was it necessary to make separate departments for all languages, Oraon said, “There is only one PG department for all nine languages being taught in the TRL department where more than 800 students are enrolled. It is difficult to manage all these students under one department. Until and unless there is a separate department for each language, quality education cannot be imparted.”

Source: Ranchi University to get nine departments for tribal languages – Times Of India
Address : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-07/news/42793696_1_languages-kurmali-panchpargania
Date Visited: Thu Oct 31 2013 19:19:08 GMT+0100 (CET)

[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]

Ranchi University website: www.ranchiuniversity.org.in

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Sharing original work and content online: Creative Commons relaunched in India

T. Ramachandran, The Hindu,  November 22, 2013 The multiple options available these days for sharing content using the range of licences that are being promoted in the Creative Commons domain were in focus at the recent relaunch of Creative Commons India. […] As the Creative Commons website explains, “Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to … Read more