Click on the image below to read the whole story.

Palash Nath is a linguist and community development worker who has worked with families from the Singpho tribe for several years.  Here's an excerpt from his website about the new Singpho Language School recently established in Assam:  http://communitydisadvantaged.blogspot/com/2010/05/help-hand-from-vancouver.html#comments 
(visit the site to see a slide show of wonderful images including the one above taken by Palash in the Singpho community)

"In an unique instance of noble venture, some of the school going kids in Vancouver Island in Canada decided to use some of the money they saved to send some gifts in the form of schools supplies to their brothers and sisters at the Singpho Pre-Primary School which is being run at Ketetong at Margherita subdivision of Tinsukia District of Assam, India.

Moreover the church congregation of St. Andrew's Anglican church provided a financial assitance towards the renovation of a building to be used as the school building for the Singpho school.

Members of an international NGO Fertile Ground, Mr. Kel Kelly and Mrs. Peggy Carswell, along with their local facilitator for Assam, Ms. Pompy Ghosh, recently visited the school and delivered the gifts to the students and the donation to the community. The students of the school also staged a nice show by singing Singpho songs and dancing Singpho traditional dance.

I really appreciate this noble endeavour by the small children from the Vancouver Island to support their counterparts in the Northeast India. I hope this venture paves the way for a lovely bond between the children of two different countries."

The state of Arunachal Pradesh is situated north and west of Assam - in the hills of the Himalayas.  Home to many Tibeto-Mongolian tribal groups, unemployment amongst young people is high and opium use has become a growing concern.. 

Members of a new organization of tea growers recently contacted Pompy Ghosh at the training centre Fertile Ground  helped establish in Assam - and arranged for her to travel to the state capital to meet with a group of 50 people interested in learning about how to grow tea organically. 

Fertile Ground has produced powerpoint presentations and other resource materials in both English and Assamese languages.  This year, with Pompy's help, we also organized a 2 day training program at Gossainbarie Tea Estate in Sibsagar district, as well as sessions for growers from the Bodo tribe living in the northwest part of the state, close to the Bhutan border. 

Every year, we bring back small quantities of naturally-grown teas made by growers in northeast India.  You can read about - or purchase those teas -  by visiting the small tea co-op's website:  www.smallteacoop.com

Earlier this year, Fertile Ground volunteers spent several months preparing compost and creating a new demonstration garden in Sadiya, a remote area of northeast Assam.  

Through the "Kids to Kids" project, LeighAnn Vaughan, her son Onyx and Sarah Kerr, were also able to provide school supplies to several village schools.

Costs for fencing, tools, seeds and other materials for the garden primarily came from a donation made by Rotary Clubs here on Vancouver Island, including the local Strathcona Sunrise club.


Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Kel Kelly and his team of helpers, we were also able to build swings and teeter totters for some very excited kids in two villages situated near the garden  .Last week, photos taken at the site arrived via our friends at NEADS, the Assamese NGO that has set up a new community resource centre in Sadiya. 

Great work, team Canada!   The garden looks in great shape, tomatoes are ripening up, and people of all ages are making their way to the garden to learn how compost made from banana stalks, water weeds and cow manure can help them improve the sandy soil conditions in their area.

Pompy Ghosh, who has worked with Fertile Ground for the past 4 years, wrote to say that organic farmer's groups have sprung up in two villages - the families are determined NOT to lose control of their local seed varieties to the big multinationals, and to stay away from expensive chemical fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides that are finding their way into even remote areas like these. 

Hi madam.  How are you.  Hope this message finds you in the best state of your health and mind.

Madam, we are continuing our mission here with the children and the farmers. Presently I am working at Dibrugarh where we are organizing training programmes regarding environment-friendly agricultural approaches in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts. 

In the villages we are holding session where both educated students of the villages and experienced farmers come together and share their views on how to develop their homestead gardens organically. 

We also arrange certain group discussions among the farmers and students about different topics like organic farming, harmful effects of chemicals, food security, deteriorating soil conditions, use of natural resources around us and how to use them in agriculture, etc.

The group discussions also bring out many indigenous technologies of traditional farming.  Farmers and students who are convinced by our views become our members, and this way we are trying to create CLEAN (Community Led Environment Advocacy Network) among the masses so that like- minded people can make an umbrella to save us from the non-stopping rains of chemicals from the chemical companies.

Your help and guidance is much needed.  As always, many new faces are understanding your messages regarding nature through us and are ready to take action in the field.  You are our strength who planted the seeds in our mind and the seeds are taking the shape of a plant. 

Now it’s time for you to nurture it and show us the path to save our people and children from the grip of the chemical companies.  Our main mission is to create change of mindset with the changing environment.

Madam, I am using your projector and showing “Organic Rice Cultivation” and “Slow Poisoning of India” in different camps. Please believe that the projector is in safe hands and thanks for allowing us to use that.

Your next visit you can stay up at a new model organic farm developed by Prakriti-Save Nature and meet lots of like-minded people here.   Kindly update our minds with the new organic techniques to be disseminated to the farmers.