Encouraging growth in youth and in seeds.

The humans for life are present here in India! The last ten days have been full in three respects.

From the 7th through the 9th I gave six Gandhi presentations in Chandigarh, plus media interviews. Chandigarh is a planned city north of New Delhi, wide streets and roundabouts like England. Yuvsatta, an NGO youth program with 200 youth groups in northern India and Pakistan. The presentations were in two pubic schools, one most outstanding, in Panjab Unversity, in a Women's University, and concluded in the slums at a women's literacy graduation. These were all moving and celebratory events. The mayor attended the first presentation.

From Chandigarh I took a bus for five hours to Dehredun where Navdana Center is located on the outskirts. Here Vandana Shiva and her associates are pioneering a significant effort to show the way of sustainable agriculture. Based on organic principles, they experiment with composting and growing a wide variety of vegetables. Also, to counteract the monoculture of agribusiness a seed bank maintains diversity. To overcome the top down approach to corporate ag, a democratic agriculture is encouraged and lived in many villages. Education and community action is counteracting the GE (Genetic Engineering) of Monsanto and other corporations. Women's role is given priority. I toured the farm with a group from the states organized by Global Exchange and led by Arun Gandhi, a grandson of Gandhi. This was the last day of their tour.

I have just given you a peak at these two events. Now, I am back in Delhi doing a variety of contacts and activities before going to Wardha on the 24th. The last two weeks of this trip will have several significant events to share. (This is the third time I have tried to enter this journal entry in two days. Electricity failure did the first two in.)

Today, January 14th, is my mom's 92nd birthday. Congrats to a most loving woman.