On the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak Jayanti, the Governor of Maharashtra, Ramesh Bais, graced the award ceremony honouring the tribal changemakers of the Atmanirbhar Palghar project at Govardhan Ecovillage. The event celebrated the awardees of the Atmanirbhar Palghar initiative, a project aimed at empowering tribal communities through sustainable development and self-reliance.
Being a predominantly tribal area dependent on agriculture, Palghar is home to tribes like Warli, Katkari, Konkana, K Thakur, M Thakur, and Bhilla. These tribes, being part of forest areas, rely on rice, ragi (finger millet), and pulses as their staple diet and a variety of tubers, fruits, pods, leaves, and flowers as seasonal supplies. However, they are equally prone to drought and malnutrition.
The Tribal Changemakers of Govardhan Ecovillage believe in sustainability as a viable solution to this and have worked in this field to decrease malnutrition amongst the tribal communities. This was achieved through a series of practices that led to cleaner water, ponds, and infrastructure around these areas, enhancing the production of crops, its quality and broadening the crop diversity. This indeed resulted in saving of biodiversity as well as nutrition value of the indigenous crops. Few case studies that showcased the drastic impact of GEV programs were also shared by Sanat Kumar Prabhu.
Congratulating the awardees, Ramesh Bais, the Governor of Maharashtra, commented, “I congratulate all the awardees and the people who have been a strong support system behind these awardees. The hard work and innovative approaches in Atmanirbhar Bharat are the future this nation needs. People here have not only improved their own lives but also set a benchmark for sustainable development across the nation.”
The Honourable Governor also appreciated the various developmental works undertaken by ISKCON-GEV with a special mention to how Aashramshalas of the region is in dire need of some intervention and a collaborative approach where society, sarkar (government systems), and samajik sansthae (Civil society) come together to ensure holistic development is need of the hour. He also reassured the GEV team that the district administration would provide its full support to GEV’s social impact vertical.
Additionally, he showed interest in all the agricultural produce items showcased by Sanat Kumar Prabhu and team, and gave few suggestions about how to create best market-farmer linkages to give farmers best value for their organic farming efforts.
Addressing the event, Radhanath Swami, Founder of Govardhan Ecovillage, highlighted, "Our mission is to blend spiritual wisdom with practical solutions to address the challenges faced by rural communities. The success stories of Atmanirbhar Palghar are examples of the power of collective effort. As Shree Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita teaches us the philosophy is to be independent and self-motivated, we are trying to imbibe the same learnings to people here in Palghar, making it Atmanirbhar.” He also talked about how spirituality, sustainability, and social impact coming together is the only way for humans to ensure a more peaceful world.
During the event, Deepika Girish Ishpatwar, Dr. Swati Palaskar, Anand Ramgiri Gosavi, Pandurang Jairam Chaudhary, Dinesh Sitaram Pardhi., Jayesh Ramu Pagi, Dinkar Sitaram Kharpade, Naina Pagi, Hardika Patil, Devendra Mahadev Patil, etc. the recipients of the award were honoured with the Tribal Changemakers Award. The Governor also awarded prominent contributors to ISKCON GEV Social initiatives like Maithili Desai, Hari Hariharan and Harneet Hariharan, Shailesh Lukhi and Jalpa Lukhi.
Adding to this, Gauranga Das Prabhu, Director of Govardhan Ecovillage—Strategies and Collaborations, said, “There is inspiration around each one of us, and our tribal changemakers here have demonstrated that sustainable living and self-reliance are achievable goals. They are teaching us how sustainable development and self-reliance are the needs of the hour and how they can help transform the communities we live in.” Gauranga Das Prabhu further elaborated on how GEV is based on the principles of Geeta
Samman: Respect for laws of nature and respect for other living entities. This is first principle
which is expressed in the verse isavasyam idam sarvam of Isopanisad
Sneha: The second principle based on which GEV was established is Love. Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.
PM Modi took this slogan of vasudhaiva kutumbakam. When HH Radhanath Swami Ji established Govardhan Ecovillage in the beginning, he said when we respect Godly rules, then the result of that will be that we will express sneha or love towards every living entity, environment.
Santulan: The third principle is Santulan
nirāśīr yata-cittātmā
tyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥ
I should not try to control others, but I just try to serve others as a trustee. In this mood, GEV was set up.
The event witnessed the presence of Shri Radhanath Swami - the Founder of Govardhan Ecovillage, along with Shri Sanat Kumar Das, Director - Agriculture and Rural Development, and Smt. Rama Singh DurgVanshi, Advisor - Social Initiatives, Maithili Desai, Director- Govardhan Skill Centre.
Govardhan Ecovillage thrives on the ideology of sustainable development as it aims to minimize our carbon footprint through organic farming practices that nurture the land to renewable energy sources that power the ecovillage. Working towards improving their surroundings, their eco-initiatives extend to waste reduction, water conservation, and eco-friendly architecture, all harmoniously integrated into the fabric of the community. It also is involved in various social initiatives for the holistic development of society through spirituality, sustainability, and social impact.
