One for India
Revathi Intro

Revathi is a school-teacher turned organic farming activist currently working out of Trichy district in Tami Nadu. She runs the organization Mahanadhi (www.mahanadhi.org) that trains farmers in eco-friendly farming techniques. She is also a consultant to the Sri Lankan Government in their Ampara project (www.rebuildampara.com) that plans to revitalize farming in the tsunami and civil-war hit Ampara district. She has been an AID Saathi from 2004 to 2008.

Her foray into organic farming started through a TNSF-sponsored school project in 2003. The project led her to study the health and nutrition of chemically grown spinach (i.e. growth with the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides) and a comparison with organically grown variety. The study convinced her of the follies of depending on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for farming. This effort eventually culminated in, among others, the Forest Department turning away from chemical pesticides to more eco-friendly practices in their nurseries. Read more about Revathi's introduction to organic farming here (add link to Revathi's intro).

ToFARM and the Tsunami Disaster Recovery

By 2004, Revathi had joined hands with other organic practitioners in the state. She started assisting the principal organic farming activist in the state, Nammalwar, in his efforts to popularize organic farming. She started her own organization ToFARM (Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers Movement) based out of Nagapattinam. The organization, in addition to promoting sustainable and eco-friendly farming, also works in community development, women's empowerment, AIDS/HIV awareness.

Her work took a dramatic turn at end of 2004 when the tsunami hit coastal Tamil Nadu and devastated farm lands near Nagapattinam. Supported by OXFAM, using locally available seed varieties and eco-friendly farming techniques, she succeeded in reclaiming over 3000 acres of the affected area for farming and restoring the farmers' livelihood. These successes made others take notice of her techniques and brought visitors to see the miracles for themselves – among these, The (then) President of India Abdul Kalam and ex-US president Bill Clinton. Read more about her saline water affected land restoration work here (Link to 2004-05 report). Her expertise in land reclamation also led to other governments requesting her assistance in similar efforts. She and her organization have traveled to both Indonesia and Sri Lanka to organize land-reclamation projects at the invitation of their governments. Read about her experiences in Indonesia here (read link to Indonesia visit report).

A meeting with Indian government bureaucrats in 2005 on the WTO agreement opened her eyes to the challenges Indian farmers face due to globalization. Since then, she has been organizing efforts to oppose the treaty which places huge challenges to the Indian farmers and their way of life. Read about her views on WTO and globalization here. (Link to Revathi's annual report 2006).

Post-tsunami Period

Her work in tsunami relief and land-reclamation helped Revathi in building contacts with a variety of organizations across the region. With this recognition came requests and resources to increase the scope of her work dramatically increasing her workload. She and her organization concentrated on building formal training and study programs for eco-friendly farming. She appeared in TV programs and magazines to educate farmers and lay-people alike on the advantages of eco-friendly techniques. She also worked in streamlining her organization to respond better to the newer challenges. 2006 also saw the opening of “Annam Amudham” (Food is Nectar) – a training center for farmers in Nagapattinam. Later that year, she moved from Nagapattinam to Trichy as this area gives her better access to resources and people. The expanded organization is now named Mahanadhi (Great River).
 
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