Nammalvar
On December 30, 2013, Govindasamy Nammalvar died at the age of 75. He was then on a peaceful march in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, India. He was leading a campaign against the methane exploration project for which the State government had granted a licence to an American multinational company. Not many in India would have heard about him, but he was well known among the environmentalists of Tamil Nadu, even as the Government and the media generally ignored him. Even today, his followers revere him and consider him to be the father of the organic farming movement in Tamil Nadu.
From chemical farming to organic farming
Many years ago, as an agricultural graduate, Nammalvar was asked to wean away farmers from traditional agriculture to the methods of the Green Revolution. Soon he realized the folly of chemical farming, quit his job, and joined an organization called Islands of Peace, founded by the Nobel Peace Laureate Dominique Pire. In that role, he worked to improve the standard of living of farmers and workers in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. In 1990, he helped found the movement called Low-External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA).
Farming and training
He became a farmer himself to experiment with organic farming. His large farm, called Vanagam, is today a living example of sustainable farming carried out through traditional and organic methods. He also set up the Nammalvar Ecological Foundation, which has been creating awareness among the public on traditional farming methods, including the use of organic manure and herbal pest repellents, backyard and terrace gardening, soil preservation, vermiculture, and multi-cropping. During his lifetime, Nammalvar was instrumental in founding, guiding, or inspiring many movements including LEISA Network, Millet Network of India, and Save Our Rice campaign.
Nammalvar was involved in struggles against GMO, nuclear power, and fracking. He also worked for the protection of rivers. Nammalvar will always be remembered as a wise and gentle pioneer of organic farming, who inspired thousands of farmers and activists.
Afterword: Low-fee workshops on organic farming continue to be conducted at Vanagam by those trained by Nammalvar. Vanagam also promotes seed conservation.
You can watch a TEDx talk by Nammalvar in English here. Several other videos on Nammalvar and his work are available on YouTube. A video on Vanagam in Tamil can be found here.
Learnt something new today. RR – have you ever met Nammalvar?
No, I did not have the opportunity of meeting him. But I know a lot about him through David, who is one of his followers, a current trustee of Vanagam, also our Team member in the Auroville workshops.
Thanks Prof. for the comments.
I have been working with lot of producer companies, and NGOS associated with farming communities. Many of them are not as committed as the Nammalvar. Until the farming community are sensitised and are made to move away from political linkages, I have seen how difficult it is to wean them away from bad practices. Off-late the trend is changing, though slowly, as farmers are becoming aware of the higher price the organic produce gets in the urban market. The urban consumer is a bit wary as he is not able to distinguish between the genuine and the fake. There is a commercial race in selling farm produce as organic, while the gullible public buy inorganic produce at an exorbitant cost. An example of human greed, and it is the government that should work towards sustaining farm activities to ensure food security for its citizens. It must be a comprehensive effort and it has to be done by ensuring that farmers too participate in such efforts through a bottom up approach.