Kamala Pujari is a tribal woman from Koraput in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. She is known for promoting organic farming. Interested in traditional farming, she learned the basic techniques from MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at

Jeypore Jeypore is one of the largest towns and a place of historical significance in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was established by Vir Vikram Dev in the mid 17th century. The kingdom was defeated by the East India Company in ...

and has contributed a lot in the field of organic farming. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian, the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

Biography

Kamala Pujari, a tribal lady of Patraput Village, 15 km from Jeypore, near Boipariguda, Koraput District, Odisha, has been preserving local paddies. Till now she has preserved hundreds of indigenous varieties of paddy. Conserving paddy and promoting organic farming is not a pastime for her. After getting into this, she mobilized people, arranged group gatherings, and interacted with people to shun chemical fertilizers. She called many people to join with her and knocked door to door from village to village. Her efforts were successful and farmers in Patraput village and neighboring villages gave up chemical fertilizers. Without having any basic education, Kamala has preserved 100 types of paddy to date. Ms Pujari has collected endangered and rare types of seeds such as paddy, turmeric, tili, black cumin, mahakanta, phula, and ghantia. She is also known for having persuaded villagers in her area to shun chemical fertilisers and adopt organic farming for better harvest and soil fertility. She is an inspiration for the upcoming generations.

Achievement

In 2002, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

was named after Kamala. She had won the Equator of Initiative Award in 2002 at

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

.The Odisha government had honored her as the best woman farmer in 2004. She has also been awarded by the national award "Krusi Bisarada Samman" in New Delhi. She holds the unique distinction of being the first tribal woman to be included in the list of members of the Odisha State Planning Board. She was made a member of the five-member team in March 2018 that makes a five-year plan for the state apart from providing short and long-term policy guidelines.https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/orissa+post-epaper-orisapos/padma+shri+awardee+kamala+pujari+hospitalised-newsid-107227654/>

References

External links

Meet Kamala Pujari, a tribal agricultural activist and now a member of Odisha planning board
''India Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pujari, Kamala Indian activists Indian farmers Indian women activists Indian women farmers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields Farmers' rights activists 21st-century women farmers 21st-century farmers