Report by Shuchi Giridhar
A 27 year old person from Dindori, Madhya Pradesh, has collected many millet seeds and created a millet Bank in her home. Her name is Lahari Bai and she belongs to the Baiga tribe. She has become a brand ambassador for millets with her beej bank.
She lives in a kuccha house with two rooms. They use one room as both a kitchen and living room, and the other one is fully devoted for the Beej Bank. The bank contains millet crops with over 150 seeds. Lahari Bai was ridiculed by her own tribe for collecting seeds and even shooed away. But now everyone appreciates her work.
She feels that millets are disappearing and said that millets kept our grandmother healthy so she wants to preserve them. She also sows the seeds in a part of her field and shares them with farmers in her village and from 15-20 villages native to the Baiga tribe for free so that they can cultivate them. In return they give a small part of their crop to her. She collects and preserves rare varieties of Millets like Madhia, Salhar, Sabha, Kodo, Kutki, Sanwa, Kuttu, and Cheena.