JOIN ANNADANA AND BIJADANA TO REBUILD THE LIVES OF OUR COMMUNITIES IN THE HIMALAYA

 Dear friends,

You have all witnessed the tragedy unfolding in Uttrakhand the birth place and home of Navdanya. We know you all want to reach out to the local communities and contribute to their rehabilitation and rejuvenation of their lives, livelihoods and ecosystems.  Being rooted in Uttrakhand we would like to clarify that the disaster is not just a natural disaster but is man made.  Dynamiting the mountains to build hundreds of dams and hydroelectric projects has destabilized our fragile Himalaya, the youngest mountain system of the world.

As part of Navdanya’s extended family we invite you to join the collective effort for rejuvenation and rehabilitation work in our valleys, especially the Kedarnath valley, which has suffered the worst devastation. It is in this beautiful valley that Navdanya started Jaiv Panchayat, the Living Democracy movement, in Agasthyamuni, on the World Environment day, 5th June 1999.We will continue the work for rehabilitation and rejuvenation in the spirit of the living democracy movement which is people led and which recognizes that we are a part of the Earth Family and real democracy is the Earth Democracy, the protection of rights of people and Mother Earth. In this disaster the Navdanya Center at Bedubagar ,near Agasthyamuni ,has been providing shelter and food to those whose homes which had been washed away. Members of the Navdanya Mahila Anna swaraj movement, (Womens Food Sovereignty) have been running a collective kitchen from the Navdanya center.Local communities have used all their food grains to give food to the stranded pilgrims and victims who have lost everything .They have no food for the rest of the year.

On the basis of community assessment, rejuvenating the food security of local communities is the most urgent task. We are being asked to organize this ANNADANA . We hope you will be part of this giving.

Navdanya is already collecting food grains from its members. But much more is needed. The villages in Kedarghati which have been most severely affected are, Lamgondi, Bamsu, Lwara, Fali, Pasalat, Kilimath, Chandrapuri, Byalsor, Bedubagar, Agasthymuni, Vijaynagar, Silli, Rampur, Tilwara.The communities have assessed that the monthly requirement of a family of six members for flour, rice , mustard oil, dal , spices , milk powder , tea , sugar and salt is Rs 4615/-. Navdanya  will be working with our Jaiv Panchayats/ Mahila Anna Swaraj groups, in ten of the most seriously affected villages of Kedar valley to replenish the food security as an emergency.This amounts to Rs 46,15,000 . In order to run ten community kitchens adequately cooking vessels of approximately Rs40,000/- is required.  The immediate need to prevent starvation in ten villages and help a community run relief effort for food security , we will collectively need to mobilize approximately Rs 50,00,000/-  .

A lot of aid that is being sent does not full fill the need of the community . People do not want old clothes and are burning them . We need to respect the dignity and culture of our mountain communities.

People do not want kurkure.They need food. Plastic water bottles are adding to the waste and not fulfilling the drinking water need . Communities need water filters . They need candles, matches, solar lights.

People have lost their seeds and Navdanya will intensify its work for emergency seed distribution, as we did after the Orissa (1999) super cyclone and after the Tamil Nadu tsunami (2004).

For those who have lost their loved ones, the loss is irreparable. No compensation, no relief, no money can undo that tragedy. But we can collectively take small steps to rebuild the lives of those who have survived, not as a matter of charity and philanthropy but as our compassionate duty to fellow beings.  We are not the army and cannot build bridges; we are not the government and cannot build roads. But we are part of the local communities and with your help and support we can rebuild our communities. The monsoons have just started and people will face three months of heavy rain without shelter. Meantime we should supply tents to those who have lost their homes.There are groups who are ready to help build midterm shelters , and we can put you in touch with them.

We have started to work with our community members to assess the damage and their needs and then to connect with the agencies for the rehabilitation and make the government accountable for their relief and rehabilitation program. Many have lost their lands and their sources of livelihoods. Navdanya has initiated a Community Assessment process of the disaster and the needs for relief and rehabilitation. We will keep you informed about the community assessment so that those who want to give have a clear picture of what the needs are, village by village, family by family .

The massive damage of Agasthaymuni which has washed away bridges, roads , colleges , schools , homes was caused by the Larson & Tubro Hydroelectric Project which had damaged the mountains with dynamite for making tunnels and damaging the river by  dumping the debris on the river bed . With floods this debris has made the river bed level rise by 20-30 meters and this is the most significant cause for the scale of damage.

We will work with our communities  on their assessment of the causes and impact of the disaster, the assigning of responsibilities.The communities are also evolving their strategies for rejuvenation, disaster preparedness and resilience.

For this long term work we need to support communities to appoint full time Jaiv Rakshaks (community representatives of the Jaiv Panchayat) who will work locally both with communities and with agencies to ensure that people are supported with justice and honesty, without bias and corruption.

Let us together build Earth Democracy to respond to this tragedy.

In Solidarity,

Dr.Vandana Shiva /Founder Navdanya

p.s - for contributing to the relief and rehabilitation of Uttrakhand please contact

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011-26532124,9910052542