Bhubaneswar: Tribal farmers, indigenous agriculture practitioners and youths along with grassroots social impact activists are taking part in a six-day innovative workshop, Mahul Phul: Infinitely Indigenous, aimed at enabling collaborations among all these stakeholders, at SCSTRTI campus here.
Over 100 participants from across the state immersed in the day-long knowledge sharing and learning activities which was conducted virtually with nationally and internationally acclaimed academics on Saturday. The participants also shared their traditional and acquired knowledge with each other.
Jointly held by Academy of Tribal Language and Culture (ATLC) and ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department, Odisha, the inaugural day provided the participants an opportunity to learn more about livelihood activities, related issues, opportunities, prospects and way forward.
The first session was on designing livelihood interventions for indigenous peoples in selected areas of Odisha while the second session was titled Data in Livelihood Governance. Another session witnessed facilitators enquiring to bring out learnings from field to highlight the interface of indigenous practices and government interventions along with a group activity on collective intelligence which aimed at designing how to learn. There was a session on practices from India on Sustainable Livelihood: Innovative Lessons by Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
Dhanurjay Nayak, a young security guard-turned-successful farmer from Keonjhar, and Alme Wadaka, a Dongria Kondh woman from Rayagada were ecstatic being part of this hybrid event. Sita Devi from Kalahandi took leadership in discussion and group activities and presented insights.
This unique workshop provided a platform for collective intelligence around futures-forward interventions, all while learning from collective histories of indigenous communities through meaningful collaborations anchored at ecotones of government, indigenous leaders and their youth, academia and people at large, a release said.
The workshop has been named so to celebrate the deep rooted association of Mahul Phul with indigenous communities in the state, it added.
