Raising Awareness regarding Rice Varieties- An Innovative Step Taken by a Farming Community in Mumbai

Rice is an integral part of Indian daily meals, be it North or South. From Biriyani to Bisi Bele Bath. The taste buds and hunger of people cannot be satisfied by eliminating rice. However, when it comes to rice varieties, people are unaware of them. Interestingly, most rice varieties that are commercially available in markets do not carry even the required nutritional value to maintain a healthy diet. Here’s the farming community in Mumbai named OOO farms has taken the innovative step of promoting awareness about native rice among people. The community is co-founded by Shailesh Awate and Shikha Kansagara, currently working on an objective to educate people about several native rice types. An event named Akshat — a rendezvous with native rice of India, will be organised to promote the objective.
Posting an image on Facebook, the account of OOO farms writes: “AKSHAT / अक्षत-A Rendezvous With Native Rice of India. We have been ankle-deep in the fields… and now, we’re bringing the grains to the city.

On July 19, join us at Akshat — a 2-hour gathering where you get to see over 50 native rice varieties in all their glory, have a dialogue about native rice, wisdom, nourishment, and climate resilience as you savour 5 unique dishes made from different varieties of native rice.

This event is a memory keeper. A dialogue table. And we would love for you to be there.”

Notably, this is going to be a two-hour workshop that will give insights into native rice varieties. The Chief speaker of the event, Awate, will show the grains. Furthermore, he stated that his team would also offer five scrumptious dishes made from each variety, like White Idiyappam, Ragi Laddoo, and Ghavna Dosa made in the mountainous regions. In addition, he has said that a celebration of native rice, these magic grains have remained abundant in nutrition and hold the potential to strengthen the bones, improve eyesight and much more. Further, he says: “Ask any nutritionist today, and they will ask you to avoid rice, which is partially right, since hybrid, or commercially available rice, is polished and contains starch and is devoid of essential nutrients. Rice is not inherently harmful, but we have made it,”. It is significant to note that Akshat is not just an awareness event but a revolution in itself, evolving awareness about rice varieties among people. Apart from spreading awareness, the event includes collecting native rice seeds, distributing them to farmers free of cost, observing and monitoring their growth and selling at least 60 to 70 varieties in the market.