Shillong, Jan 8 : A 6,000-year-old variety of rice, grown by the Garo tribe in Sandolpara village in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, was a focal point of Mira Nair’s path-breaking documentary, Still, The Children Are Here.
The documentary made in 2003 is now the backdrop of a grand project by the Meghalaya government to protect and preserve the state’s unique tradition, through the Meghalaya Mission for Indigenous Knowledge.
The concept paper for the mission was released by the government today during a conference on Bio-diversity of the Northeast and its Conservation on the concluding day of the 96th National Science Congress at Nehu.
Releasing the concept paper, former Lok Sabha Speaker and chairman of the state Planning Board, P.A. Sangma, said the mission would be the basis for future efforts of the state government to explore the rich potential of Meghalaya in the field of traditional knowledge which is yet to be documented.
“For the sake of research and comments, I am circulating this valuable document to the scientists present here,” said Sangma.
The film Still, The Children Are Here, portrays the 6,000-year-old tradition of keeping the collection of rice varieties in Sandolpara village. The rice collection has turned out to be an important genetic store for rice worldwide.
According to matrilineal culture where the youngest daughter inherits ancestral property, women in this Garo village are the custodians and caretakers of rice. Men help sow the seedlings and manage the fields.
Sandolpara village is today the source of transmission of traditional ecological knowledge, which has also witnessed the transition from subsistence to money-based livelihood.
Shillong, Jan 8 : A 6,000-year-old variety of rice, grown by the Garo tribe in Sandolpara village in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, was a focal point of Mira Nair’s path-breaking documentary, Still, The Children Are Here.
The documentary made in 2003 is now the backdrop of a grand project by the Meghalaya government to protect and preserve the state’s unique tradition, through the Meghalaya Mission for Indigenous Knowledge.
The concept paper for the mission was released by the government today during a conference on Bio-diversity of the Northeast and its Conservation on the concluding day of the 96th National Science Congress at Nehu.
Releasing the concept paper, former Lok Sabha Speaker and chairman of the state Planning Board, P.A. Sangma, said the mission would be the basis for future efforts of the state government to explore the rich potential of Meghalaya in the field of traditional knowledge which is yet to be documented.
“For the sake of research and comments, I am circulating this valuable document to the scientists present here,” said Sangma.
The film Still, The Children Are Here, portrays the 6,000-year-old tradition of keeping the collection of rice varieties in Sandolpara village. The rice collection has turned out to be an important genetic store for rice worldwide.
According to matrilineal culture where the youngest daughter inherits ancestral property, women in this Garo village are the custodians and caretakers of rice. Men help sow the seedlings and manage the fields.
Sandolpara village is today the source of transmission of traditional ecological knowledge, which has also witnessed the transition from subsistence to money-based livelihood.
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