THE CROAK is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial.

....everything that will ensure a safe and healthy future for your children! 

This Christmas eCoexist ties up with the Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group and Vanastree to bring you a set of Christmas gift hampers that have everything natural and good in them!

Farmers and gardeners of the Vanastree collective save seeds of traditional vegetables and flowers. These seeds are organic, open pollinated, and available for planting in food gardens (including urban terraces) all over the Indian sub-continent. Seeds are exchanged and gifted as a tradition in the Malnad which we have encouraged and endorsed as a priceless community activity.

This is a community initiative that is facilitated by Vanastree. We present here a list of seasonal seeds available for planting. These come as starter kits of 10 packets in attractive, handmade boxes. 

List of seeds includes:

Winged bean

Ladys Finger

Brinjal - Cholu

Yard long bean

Butterfly pea

Amaranth

Brinjal  - Hithalu

Cucumber

Cosmos

 Hyacinth bean

Reusable fabric decorations from eCoexist

The seed kit comes in a lovely snowflake drawstring bag and includes a reusable fabric Christmas bunting. These cloth products are made by the women of Ahwalwadi village as part of the UseMeAgain campaign by eCoexist to encourage the use of reusable products. The products are a source of livelihoods to the women. 

Vanastree germinated in 2001, having been the seed of a dream for years. They have grown from one person and one village to about 150 persons in 15 villages.

Core

Women have formed small seed groups, meet at gatherings, attend training programmes, go on study trips, and feel empowered to be part of a fraternity of like-minded people. The seed revolution that Vanastree leads has also become a vehicle for quiet but effective social change. Seeds are intrinsically linked with women’s lives, and bestow upon them the power to realise themselves and to firmly assert their critical role in the social and ecological health of the Malnad.

Seed Sanctuary

Vanastree maintains a modest seed collection in Sirsi town. Rather than focusing on creating a central seed bank facility, we believe that the entire region lends itself to being a landscape-level seed storehouse. With the right inputs and energies, rural communities can maintain diversity and varietal purity as they have been doing for centuries. We strongly advocate seed sovereignty and having a universal open source seed system.

A beautiful snowflake backpack bag filled with 8 childrens story books on the magic and delight of Nature, written by well known environmentalists associated with the Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group.

The bag contains the following titles:

1. Critters around our homes, Sanjay Sondhi
2. Po tricks his foe, Sharmila Deo
3. Shero to the rescue, Ashish Kothari
4. Saving the Dalai Lamas cranes, Neeraj Vagholikar
5. Ghost of the Mountains, Sujatha Padmanabhan
6. Circle of Life, Tanya Majmudar
7. The Poop Book, Tejaswini Apte – Rahm and Sujatha Padmanabhan
8. Something to chew on, Sujatha Padmanabhan, Shiba Desor and Sharmila Deo

And a Christmas bunting!

These fabric decorations have been made by the women of Ahwalwadi, Pune and help them to earn a supplemental income.

Available in two colour combinations : Red / Green and Yellow/ Blue

The Croak is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial. Satirical, urgent and wise the newsletter brings to your attention, topics of global environmental relevance as well as emerging encouraging alternatives. Put together by a team of passionate Nature lovers, The Croak hopes to look at the environmental crisis in its face. It is a tool to reconnect readers to Nature, through questioning and self reflection. To understand the outer environment as a reflection of our own inner state, individually and as a species. And to take responsibility for enabling change.
If you would like to contribute articles on ecology consciousness and sustainability please get in touch with us.

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