“Seed Rakhis” under ‘Vruksha Bandhan Project’

• 13 Aug 2021

In a unique initiative, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in partnership with The Art of Living Foundation, Aurangabad, Maharashtra has launched ‘Vrushka Bandhan Project’ where 1100 tribal women are creating ‘Rakhis’ for Raksha Bandhan with seeds of indigenous trees, which is a unique contribution to increasing forest cover & combating climate change.

• The initiative was part of project sanctioned by Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the Art of Living in October 2020 under which 10000 tribal farmers of 10 tribal villages in Aurangabad are being trained on sustainable natural farming based on Go-Adharith farming techniques.
• The project is based on Gau adharit paramparagat kheti seeks to preserve and revive the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of tribal communities and protect them from the negative effects of chemical agriculture.
• The Rakhis are made of indigenous seeds stuck on naturally dyed, soft indigenous, non-toxic, biodegradable cotton. Once used, the seeds can be sown in soil, thereby benefiting the environment.
• It is expected that thousands of trees would be planted under this project and project will provide employment to tribal women associated with the project.