Swaraj TRIBAL Farmversity
Jhadol—Phalasiya
Founded in January of 2022, Jhadol Farmversity works to identify tribal youth who are passionate about organic farming and cultivate their skills. With a rise of youth migration into cities to do daily wage work, the Farmversity hopes to shift the mentality to one that respects farmers and views farming as a dignified career. Fellows learn about organic farming through classes, field visits, and more, preparing them to enter the agriculture sector. In the next two years, we hope to have our entire block be declared organic.
Our Faculty — Champion Farmers
Our faculty are barefoot farmers who come from surrounding villages. They bring their vast expertise and traditional knowledge about local ecosystems, culture and agri-forestry to the fellows.
Homi Bai
Village: Basivada
Gulab Singh
Village: Bansiwada
Ram Das Tavad
Village: Jamun
Sohan Singh
Village: Bitothi
Nathu Singh Dabla
Village: Rohimala
Magan Lal
Village: Bitothi
Curriculum
Fellows have the opportunity to learn about and harness their skills in the following organic careers.
Farm Management
Learning how to make decisions regarding the organization, financing, and operation of farms.
Healthy Cooking
Learning how to incorporate local organic produce, especially millets, into healthy traditional recipes.
BioResources
Learning about how to create organic farm inputs, including bio-pesticides, natural pest repellent, and bio-fertilizers.
Animal Husbandry
Learning how to care for animals on the farm: milking, breeding, feeding, caring, healing, etc.
Farm Tools & Machines
Learning how to operate, build, and repair essential farm tools used for organic practices.
Nursery & Seed Saving
Learning how to save and propagate local seed varieties and local native plant species.
Jugnu Fellowship Program
The fellowship supports tribal youth from areas around Jhadol in developing their leadership for rebuilding a local organic farming ecosystem. Each day they learn technical, entrepreneurial, and management skills needed for organic farming. Upon graduating, fellows are able to start their own small organic farms or social enterprises.
Meet our Current Fellows
Raju, 23
BioResources, Farmer training
Narulal, 34
Farm Management, Cooking
Banshi, 27
Cooking, Farm Products
Shambhoo, 24
Farm tools, Machine operation
Nana Lal, 40
Farm Management, Nursery
Kishan Lal, 22
Nursery, Farm Management
Nandlal, 27
BioResources, Farmer Training
Manohar, 22
Processing, Compost-Making
Banshi, 23
Farmer Training, BioResources
Mahendra, 19
Cooking, Farm Products
Fellow Stories
"An organic farmer is the best peacemaker today, because there is more violence, more death, more destruction, more wars, through a violent industrial agricultural system. And to shift away from that into an agriculture of peace is what organic farming is doing."
-Vandana Shiva
WHAT WE DO...
Public Events
The Farmversity fellows have had the opportunity help organize and to cook healthy recipes using their farm produce for a variety of community events, including Ram Rasoda, Organic Mewar Millet Festival, LSUC 2023, and the Kabir Yatra.
Workshops
Fellows organize workshops with community leaders, local farmers and school students to learn about a diverse range of farming topics, including traditional organic and natural practices, local media and more.
Demonstration Organic Farm
Fellows are able to learn by doing on the demo farm. They engage in traditional farming practices and apply what they've experienced in their workshops.
Partners
Our Team
Rohit Jain
Social Entrepreneur & Mentor
Karan Singh
Coordinator
Manoj Bairagi
Trainer & Network Builder
Panna Lal Patel
Farmer & Trainer