2012

April 9: D. Deb's biography, written by D.V. Sridharan, published in Good News India.

April 6: D. Deb inaugurates Rice Seeds Fair at Bengaluru, where farmers from 6 districts of Karnataka displayed and sold over 200 varieties of rice and organic foods. This 3-day fair was organized by Sahaja Samrudha as a part of Save Our Rice Campaign. [Read News Report here]

April 4-5: D. Deb gives training to farmers in rice seed improvement and maintaining genetic purity at VC Farm, Mandya, Karnataka, and holds a press conference to promote agrobiodiversity conservation. [Read News Report here]

April 3: D. Deb participates in a workshop on Farmers' rights and IPR laws in Bengaluru, held by ASHA.

March 15: D. Deb presented his critique of the Green Revolution before a Farmers' Jury held in Bhubaneswar.

March 12-13: D. Deb gave training to farmers from Rayagada, Malkangiri and Koraput districts in ecological agriculture and seed saving, at Kerandiguda, Odisha.

March 10: D. Deb held orientation seminar for farmers and students for conversion to ecological farming at Dignagar, Bardhaman district, West Bengal.

March 5: D. Deb releases a report on hybrid rice in India from Living Farms, Odisha, and gives a press conference at Bhubaneswar on sustainable alternative to the Second Green Revolution in eastern India.

February 28: D. Deb arrives in the new Basudha farm in Kerandiguda, and initiates farm house construction.

February 27: D. Deb presents before the President's committee on sustainable agriculture at Divecha Centre for Climate Change, IISc, Bangalore, to uphold the merits of biodiversity-based ecological agriculture to ensure food security.

February 23: D. Deb attends Agrobiodiversity Expert Committee meeting at National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai.

February 20-21: D. Deb visits Barbara Reserve Forest, Khurda district, Odisha for survey of forest ecosystem services to the Arang and Kadalibari villages.

February 16-19: D. Deb visits Kochin to participate in a farmers' caravan for sustainable agriculture, and addressed to farmer organizations and political leaders. Read report in The Hindu

February 12-16: D. Deb visits Vasundhara for initiating analysis of Nayagarh forest ecological survey data.

February 4: D. Deb talks on "Traditional Resource Use Modes and Sustainability" at Panchakot College, Puruliya.

January 23 - February 2: D. Deb works on the new Basudha farm in Kerandiguda to oversee the harvest of the long-duration rice varieties.

 

2011

December 22-23: D. Deb attends National Biodiversity Authority meeting at Bengaluru to discuss technical legal issues related to People's Biodiversity Registers in all States.

December 12-18: D. Deb works on the new Basudha farm in Kerandiguda to oversee the harvest of the long-duration rice varieties.

December 8-12: D. Deb with Dr. S. Lele, Dr. Oliver Springate-Baginski and Dr. Madhu Sarin visits forests of Nayagarh, Odisha, on the PEFESPA project study of ecosystem services valuation.

November 10-16: D. Deb, Andrew Weeks and Mita Dutta accompany 2 baul singers from Bankura for a cultural exchange with baul singers at Shilaidaha, Bangladesh.

November 5-6: Friends of Basudha meet on Basudha campus.

October 16-23: D. Deb visited Kerandiguda to supervise characterization and harvest of rice at Basudha's new farm.

October 5-11: D. Deb and Mita Dutta visited Bisham Cuttack and Kerandiguda to supervise characterization and harvest of rice at Basudha's new farm.

October 1: D. Deb spoke on "Learning from Tagore: Strengthening the Green Movement" at India International Centre, New Delhi. This program was a part of Navdanya's Bhoomi festival.

September 25: Deb's new handbook on sustainable rice farming (Susthayee Dhan Chash, in Bengali) published by ENDEV, Kolkata for free distribution among farmers.

August 16-21: D. Deb visited Bisham Cuttack and Kerandiguda to supervise characterization of rice at Basudha's new farm.

August 2: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: The Philosophy of Mathematics. Speaker: Dr. Marius Kloft).

July 30-31: D. Deb and Mita Dutta visited Bali island in Sunderban to overview the cultivation of the indigenous rice varieties he had distributed to farmers in 2006.

July 23: D. Deb shared his experience in sustainable agriculture with members of New Roots Institute and UC-SC farm apprentices at Santa Cruz.

July 18-22: D. Deb gave a presentation of his conservation work at UCI Summer Seminar Series: Empowering Sustainability on Earth at University of California-Irvine.

May 30: D. Deb talks on natural resource conservation and modernity at Mugberia Book Fair, held at Mugberia Kanya Vidyalaya, East Mednipur.

May 23:  D. Deb and Dr. A K Ghosh held a workshop with 5 community organizations of the Sunderban area on conserving traditional salt-tolerant rice varieties. This program aimed at training the activists in distributing and conserving the seeds of salt-tolerant rice varieties, which would be collected from Vrihi.

May 20: Vrihi relocated from Beliatore to Panchal, in the residence of Debashis & Snehasis Patra.

May 14: D. Deb held a one-day farmers' workshop on sustainable agriculture in Umran, Meghalaya. This program, sponsored by NEHU, begins a project for conservation of local crop genetic diversity in Meghalaya.

April 2-6: D. Deb visited deciduous forests managed by local villagers in districts of Mayurbhanj and Deogarh of Odisha, for a rapid ecological survey.

March 23: D. Deb gave a keynote presentation on Agricultural Restructuring to ensure food security at the National Seminar on Agricultural Strategies Vis-a-Vis Environment: Vision 2025 at the Agro-Economic Research Centre, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan.

March 15-16: D. Deb held a training workshop on seed saving and setting up of rice seed bank in Rayagada, Odisha. The program was held by Living Farms. Deb also explored prospective farm lands for this year's plantation of Vrihi's rice seeds.

March 5: D Deb held a farmers' workshop on conversion to organic agriculture at Galsi, district Bardhaman.

February 26: Dr. D Deb spoke on Understanding Agrobiodiversity at Maulana Azad College, Kolkata. This talk was a part of Seminar on Understanding Biodiversity organized by Department of Zoology of the College.

February 15-16: D Deb holds farmers workshops in Malekan Ghumti and Ramapur of Sunderban's Hingalganj block.

February 12-14: D Deb gives a keynote speech at the National Conference on Conservation of Sacred Groves, organized by CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai.

February 7: D Deb gives lecture on "Rainwater and Dew harvesting designs" and "Ecological sanitation designs" on a course in ecological Architecture, organized by MACE.

January 23-26: D Deb attends ESPA workshop on developing methodology for Forest Ecosystem Services Quantification and Valuation, held in ATREE, Bangalore.

January 17: D Deb gives lecture on "Ecological architecture incorporating natural landscape elements", on a course in ecological Architecture, organized by MACE.

January 14: D Deb gives lecture "Architecture and Aesthetics" on a course in ecological Architecture, organized by MACE.

January 4-19: Dino Kosja, musician from Germany, visited Basudha to learned about traditional folk music.

January 1: D Deb was hospitalized after a sever attack from wild bees. Read Debal's personal note

 

2010

December 22-24: Dr. D Deb was invited as a Keynote speaker on a national symposium on biodiversity, at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He presented his work on sacred groves in 3 districts of West Bengal.

December 17-20: Ms Letizia Quintavalla and Giuseppe Ghinani, film maker and playwrit from Italy visited Basudha for selecting farmers to perform at Parma culture fair.

December 12-13: Organized by Tagore Society for Rural Development, a Farmers' Training in Sustainable Agriculture was held at Rangabelia of the Sunderban. Dr. D. Deb gave a 2-day orientation training to 80 farmers of Satjelia island in methods of sustainable agriculture adaptive to climate change.

December 5 - 10: Training in Sustainable Rice Production at Basudha for farmers from Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha.

December 4: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Sir P C Roy & the Scientific Attitude in India; speaker: Dr. Subhasis Maiti).

November 19-20: Kishan Swaraj Yatra (Farmers' Freedom Tour), with 40 farmers-activists from different States arrives in Basudha on the 19th Nov eve ning, from Kolkata. A total of 90 farmers from different districts of West Bengal joined the program at Basudha. On the 20th Basudha organized Farmers' March for Freedom and Food Security around 5 villages. There were cultural Programs, including farmers' discussion, Santal dance, and Baul music. A total of 120 participants were lodged on Basudha campus. At lunch, 12 varieties of folk rice were served. Kisan Swaraj Yatra left Basudha on the 21st morning for Patna. Click here for more information.

October 30-31: Basudha Festival VIII held at Basudha. Over 120 guests - scientists, educators, artists, farmers and writers from 6 districts of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Chattisgarh as well as from France, Italy and UK participated in the Fest. [Read report (a young participant's letter) here] [See Pictures here]

October 5: D Deb gives a talk on "The Green Revolution in Eastern India: Do We Need It - Again?" organized by FAMA at the Theosophical Society hall, Kolkata.

October 3-5: Debdulal Bhattacharya and Bhairab Saini of Basudha attended a National Program on Ecological Farming at Thane, Maharashtra, organised by Maharashtra Institute of Technology Transfer for Rural Areas. They shared their experiences and lessons of ecological agriculture and traditional crop breeding techniques, with farmers of Maharashtra and other States.

September 25: D Deb gives a talk on the Traditions of Bioethics and Conservation, on the National Seminar on Biodiversity Conservation Scenario in India, at Bankura Christian College.

September 18: D Deb revisits farmers who received salt tolerant rice varieties in 2009, and holds a farmers' workshop at Tipligheri.

September 8-9: D Deb attends Workshop on "Green Revolution in Eastern India: Which Way Forward?" and talks on "Hybrid Rice Economies in Asia" at Bhubaneswar, organized by Living Farms. [Read Report in Living Farm Newsletter]

August 7: D. Deb gives a talk on "GM Crops and Food Security for the Poor" in the National Convention on Right to Food Network, at Rourkela.

July 18: D Deb gives orientation training for farmers in Bhubaneswar, Orissa on risks from GE rice.

July 17: D Deb gives talk on Ecological Economics and Inclusive Freedom at Radical Humanist hall, Kolkata.

June 29: D Deb gives training to farmers of Gobardanga in in situ maintenance of folk rice varieties.

June 18: Bankura district's Agricultural Development Officer and Bishnupur sub-division's Agricultural Development Officer organized a farmers' training workshop on Basudha campus, where Dr. D. Deb spoke as resource person. The workshop was to motivate and orient 50 farmers from Bishnupur sub-division toward ecological farming and SRI techniques.

June 13: D. Deb held a farmers' workshop at Tipligheri village (Gosaba block), South 24 Parganas, hosted by WWF-I.

June 12: D. Deb held a farmers' workshop at Dhuchnikhali village (Sandeshkhali-2 block), North 24 Parganas, hosted by Youth Development Centre.

June 11: D. Deb held a farmers' workshop at Bhaduria village (Basirhat-1 block), North 24 Parganas, hosted by Swanirbhar; and at Jogeshganj (Hingalganj block), North 24 Parganas, hosted by Paschim Sridharkati Unnayan Sangha.

June 10: D.Deb held a farmers' workshop at Mamudpur village (Hingalganj block), North 24 Parganas. The event was hosted by local farmers.

June 9: D. Deb held a farmers' workshop at Andhar Manik village (Baduria block) North 24 Parganas. The event was hosted by Swanirbhar.

June 6: Basudha's friends gathered at a "Picnic for Degrowth" in Basudha, where the global movement of DeGrowth was discussed in detail. Basudha is the only place in Asia where this PicNic 4 Degrowth took place.

June 5: World Environment Day celebrated by a grand bicycle rally with village youth, scientists and activists in the morning from Chhandar to Basudha (14 km). At Chhandar, Dr. Deb explained the importance of sacred groves of Chhandar, where he discovered a number of rare and unique plants.

May 22: International Day of Biodiversity observed at Basudha. A summary of Basudha's activities was displayed on a dozen posters. D. Deb gave a talk on the significance of the day and the meaning of biodiversity in the lives of indigenous people. This was followed by a Biodiversity Quiz contest for village children. Guests from 5 districts attended the program. [Read Report here]

April 7: D. Deb returns to India.

March 31-April 1: D. Deb gives talk on ecological economics; and interview about food security, at Rome.

March 26-29: D. Deb speaks on the De-Growth conference in Barcelona, Spain, 26-29 March 2010. This was the second conference on socially sustainable economic degrowth, linking economic, environmental and social perspectives.

March 7: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Science Frauds. Speaker: Debashis Bhattacharya).

February 28: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: The Chemistry of Memory. Speaker: Abhro Chakraborty, Discussant: D. Deb).

February 14: D. Deb talks on Food Security at Dignagar on the 75th Anniversary of Hat-tala Institution, Bardhaman.

January 13: D. Deb sends formal letter of opposition to Bt-Brinjal, on behalf of 12 NGOs, to Sri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forest. The letter, containing latest references to international scientific literature on the Environmental and Health Impacts of Bt Crops, is available here.

January 4: D. Deb returns to India.

2009

December 29: D. Deb gives a presentation on Nature Worship, Communitarian Ethos and Sustainability: Sacred Groves and Sustainable Living in South Asia at Revolution Books, Berkeley.

December 29: Interview of D. Deb (with CS Song) aired on KPFA radio on his book, Beyond Developmentality. Download program from Against the Grain archive

December 17: D Deb gives a talk on Climate change, Agro-biodiversity and  Food Security: The Value of Traditional Seeds in an Unstable World at Ecology Center, Berkeley.

December 8: D. Deb gives presentation on indigenous ecoforestry and ecological ethic at the College of Menominee Nation, Keshena.

December 4: D. Deb gives a talk on Nature Worship, Communitarian Ethos and Sustainability at UC-Berkeley, organized by ERG and CSAS

December 1: D. Deb gives a talk on The Communitarian Ethos and the Commons: A (Political) Ecological Economics at UC-Santa Cruz, co-hosted by ISEC.

November 30: D. Deb gives talk on Folk Crop Varieties and Food Security at UC-Santa Cruz, organized by ISEC.

November 23: D. Deb gives talk on Agroecology and Food Security at UC-Davis, hosted by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute.

November 18: D. Deb gives talk on Interface between Biodiversity and Culture at International House as a part of the Globalization Series lectures.

November 13: D. Deb gives a talk at International House on Indigenous cultures and Biophilia for SERVAS International members, who plan to visit and support Basudha.

November 1: Day of Rice Action.

October 30: Basudha Festival VII.

August 26: D. Deb leaves Kolkata for his visit to the US on a Fulbright Fellowship.

August 24: CIS holds Press Conference at the Calcutta Press Club to publicize the plagiarism and theft by the State Agriculture Directorate of copyrighted information and photographs from Dr. D Deb's Seeds of Tradition, Seeds of Future.

August 20: Green Farm takes inerview of Dr. D Deb at Barrackpore on possible risks and benefits of transgenics and MAS in agriculture.

August 15: Basudha Study Circle (topic: The Mystery of Netaji's Disappearance; speaker: Dr. M. Pal).

August 12-13: Dr. D Deb visits Raydighi for advising farmers about methods of salt-tolerant crop cultivation on salinized farms.

August 7: Dr. D Deb visits Lahiripur (Satjelia) island to advise transplantation of selected rice varieties on saline farms.

August 5: Meeting on formation of Basudha trust at Mr. Amber Majumder's home.

August 3-4: Dr. D Deb visits Puruliya schools to train and accompany students in registering local biodiversity.

July 26: Dr. D Deb teaches ecological architecture as guest faculty of National Centre for Education, Jadavpur University.

July 13: Dr. Deb attends meeting with Dr. A K Ghosh at ENDEV.

July 10: Dr. Deb meets with Dr. Derek Wall in London, over the global prospects of eco-socialist programs.

July 8: D. Deb gives a talk on his book's content at the Uinversity of East Anglia. Dr. Oliver Springate-Baginski launches Deb's book Beyond Developmentality for Development Studies students of the university.

July 7: D. Deb visits the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew and meets with scientists for collaborative conservation program in eastern India.

July 6: D. Deb speaks as panelist on the Kew Debate "Whose Landscape Is It Anyway?" at British Museum, London. Brief report here.

June 27: D. Deb's visit to Baghmundi and Burdah, district Puruliya on ENDEV’s PBR program.

June 19: Visit to Baruipur for advising Durbar Mahila Samiti on Organic farming.

June 13: Farmers Workshop at Mankar, district Bardhaman.

May 29: Wksp on Forest Act and villagers’ rights at Panchal (Nabo Dutta, Arnab Bhattacharya).

May 28: Farmers’ Training at Bankura.

May 27: Farmers’ Training at Agriculture Training Centre, Fulia, district Nadia.

May 15-17: Dr. D Deb gives training for school students in biodiversity at Baghmundi High School, Puruliya.

April 12-15: Dr. D Deb as a member of the ENDEV team visits Rangabelia for Mid-term Assessment of Tagore Society for Rural Development.

March 21-22: D. Deb gives training in seed saving and registration to NGO members of the Maharashtra Gene Bank, Pune.

March 10: D Deb's book Beyond Developmentality is published jointly from Earthscan, London and Daanish Books, Delhi.

March 5: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Physiology of Dream. Speaker: D. Deb)

February 22: D. Deb speaks at Paribesh 2009 panel on Climage Change and Development at the University Institute Hall, Kolkata.

February 12: Vrihi receives Plant Genome Saviour Recognition Award from the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers' Rights Authority, Government of India for its conservation of double-grain rice Jugal and triple-grain rice Sateen. Farmer-volunteers Debdulal Bhattacharya, Bhairab Saini, Amit Bera and Subrata Das accompanied D. Deb to receive the award from Sri Sharad Pawar, Union Minister of Agriculture.

January 26: D Deb receives People's Scientist Award from Gobardanga Renaissane Institute.

January 24 Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Conservation through Community Action in Scotland. Speaker: Alan Wilkinson)

January 19-20: D. Deb, on behalf of ENDEV, trains farmers at Bali island.

January 14: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Sustainable Agriculture Movements in Europe. Speaker: Ms Lidia Montemorri)

January 2-10: D. Deb visits Bangladesh on a bio-cultural survey tour. Visits BARCIK's farm at Netrokona, speaks to farmers, and receives gift of a dozen indigenous rice samples from farmers.

2008

December 26: D. Deb speaks on "Development, Environment and Human Rights" at Chandannagar Environment Fair, organised by Sabujer Abhijan.

December 8-9: D. Deb presents his view on ecoforestry in Himalayan forests, at Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, Dehradun.

November 22-23: Basudha Festival VI.

November 8: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Science in India. Speaker: Dr. Dipak Dam)

October 23-27: D. Deb represents CIS at Terra Madre Conference in Turin.

October 12: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: What is Science? Speaker: Debashis Chakrabarty; Discussant: D. Deb)

October 1 - 2: D. Deb participates and speaks at Navdanya's conference on Climate Change, Genetic Engineering and Food Security at, New Delhi.

September 27: D. Deb joins and speaks at a 12 hr-long sit-in strike at Nona Chandanpukur market, Barrackpore in protest against eviction of vendors.

September 19: FAMA meeting at Mahabodhi Society, Kolkata.

September 14: Conclusion of Sacred Groves of India Travelling Exhibition in West Bengal. Read Report here

September 13: Sacred Groves of India: Seminar & Exhibition at Medinipur College.

September 11: Excursion to local Sacred Groves.

September 9-10: Seminars and Exhibition of Sacred Groves of India at Bishnupur Ramananda college.

September 7-8: Seminars and Exhibition of Sacred Groves of India at Visva Bharati Shantiniketan.

September 6: CIS organizes and hosts "Sacred Groves of India: A Travelling Exhibition" by Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalay, Bhopal in 3 districts of West Bengal.

June 30: D. Deb sends official ciritique of National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill to Govt. of India.

June 20: D. Deb attends Regional Consultation (orgd. by Biotech Consrtium India Ltd) to oppose the National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill 2008.

June 7: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Global Environment and Local Action. Spekaers: Dr. Dipak Dam, Mr. Anupam Paul & Dr. D Deb).

June 4: D. Deb gives training in "Risks from GE in Agriculture" in Digha.

June 3: D. Deb talks to farmers' on saving folk rice varieties in Bajkul.

May 29 - June 1: Dr. Rajarshi and Dr. Abhik Roy conducts a survey of sacred groves in Sonamukhi block.

May 27: D. Deb speaks in an Organic Farmers' meeting in Bologna.

May 21-22: D. Deb participates in Terra Futura conference in Florence.

May 19: Meeting of D. Deb and Giancarlo Camerrini with Dr. Kakoli Ghosh and Dr. Nguu Van Nguen of FAO in Rome.

May 12-17: D. Deb participates in Planet Diversity conference and presents his work in agro-biodiversity conservation.

May 14-15: D. Deb discusses as Panelist on Legal Action to Improve Biosafety in India at the Convention on Biological Diversity MOP 9 in Bonn.

April 27: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: The Heart and Its Diseases. Speaker: Dr. Subhashis Patra).

April 26: Sacred Grove survey in Sonamukhi block, with Dr. Rajasri Roy; police harassment on suspicion of terrorism.

April 25: Dr. Rajasri Roy arrives for sacred grove work.

April 20-21: Rahul Vaswani's visit to Basudha.

April 13-15: Dr. Rajasri Roy and Abhik Roy visit to Basudha.

April 12-16: Dr. Anna Marie Nicolaysen's visit to Basudha.

April 6: D. Deb’s leaves for IGRMS Core Group Meeting on Sacred Groves at Bhopal.

April 1: D. Deb gives training to farmers in a workshop at Raydighi.

March 28-29: D. Deb gives a talk on Biodivetsity in Visva Bharati University.

March 27: D. Deb speaks at NIF Orientation Wksp at DRCSC: 10 am-4 pm.

March 25: D. Deb gives a talk on Globalisation and Agricultural Sustainability at Netaji Institute of Asian Studies.

March 23: D. Deb gives a talk on Ecological Complexity at W.B. University of Technology.

March 19: D. Deb’s meeting with Academy of Biodiversity Conservation.

March 16-17: D. Deb visits Raydighi with AKG on consultancy for Lutheran World Service.

March 9: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: M N Roy: The Revolutionary Humanist; Speaker: Bhaskar Sur)

March 7: ABC scientists visit Basudha for PBR work.

February 27: D. Deb leaves for SRISTI meeting at Ahmedabad.

February 25: Anirban Dharitriputra takes D. Deb’s interview at Barrackpore.

February 22-25: Dave Rowe and scientists Darryl Eyles and Angela from University of Queensland, Australia, visit Basudha.

February 16-18: Training of village kids at Basudha for preparing People’s Biodiversity Registar.

February 15: ABC team of scientists arrive in Basudha.

February 12: D. Deb attends Sunderban consultation meeting at ENDEV.

February 10: Basudha workers and friends organize a Nature Study Camp at Rajar Bandh.

February 9: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: The Mahabharata & Indian Social Polity)

January 26: D. Deb holds a farmers’ workshop on seed saving and sustainable agriculture at Balagarh, Hoogly.

January 21: D. Deb attends meeting of environmental activists at Indian Association.

January 13: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: The Golden Ratio (Speaker: D Deb)

January 11: Pauline Orain leaves for Kolkata with American Center team.

January 9-11: Visit of Mr. Kelly, Dy. Director, American Center & Mr. Ramendra Sarkar to Basudha.

January 7: D. Deb attends US IVP Alumni Association meeting at American Center.

January 5: Basudha Study Circle (Topic: Ecological Economics & Conservation Ethic; speaker: D. Deb).

January 4: Guided tour to sacred groves and ponds with WWOOfers from France, Japan and UK; D. Deb gives FM Radio talk on migratory birds.

January 2: Shodh Yatra ends at Basudha. Read Report here

2007

December 26 – January 2: SRISTI/ NIF Shodh Yatra: First in eastern India. Read about the visit of Jay Chandi Pahar & Ajodhya Hill to Basudha

December 25: Basudha Team starts from Baghmundi for Shodh Yatta.

December 23: Final travel up Shodh Yatra route from Basudha to Bhagabandh.

December 1 – 2: D. Deb holds farmers workshop on ecological farming techniques on Bali island, organized by WWF-India.

November 25: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Physiology of Dream Sleep” (Speaker: D. Deb)

November 22: D. Deb gives a presentation on rice farm food webs at International Biodiversity Congress at ISI, Kolkata.

November 18-19: D. Deb gives talk on “GMOs amd Farmers Rights” in Kolkata – WEBEN.

November 3 – 4: Basudha Festival V. Read Report here

November 1-2: Visit of ZSI scientists to Basudha

October 24-27: Dr. Samantak Das & family’s visit to Basudha. Read Samantak's column in The Statesman.

October 14: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Genetic Engineering” (Speaker: Rajarshi Roy).

October 4-5: D. Deb and Dr. Devinder Sharma talk at National Dialogue on GMO at the National Library, Kolkata.

September 30: D. Deb holds a Farmers training workshop on Bali island. Read WWF Report Here

September 16: D. Deb and Durgapur Science Forum talks to farmer families of Barjora on the impacts of an open cast coal mine on their lands.

September 26: D. Deb talks on Development and Biodiversity at Jhalda College, Puruliya.

September 14: D. Deb attends meeting of State Agricultural Commission’s Expert Subcommittee.

September 10: D. Deb holds Farmers wksp at Contai on GMO.

September 3: NIF meeting in ISI; Meeting with farmer-leaders in Belgharia.

August 29: Visit of NIF team to Basudha.

August 25: CIS attends NIF Shodh Yatra Prep. Meeting & Forum formation meeting at DRCSC.

August 24: D. Deb attends meeting with Prof. Barun Mukherjee at ISI, Kolkata, on molecular analysis of rice germplasm.

August 23: D. Deb attends meeting in ENDEV on Bali island project: 12 noon.

August 20: D. Deb attends meeting of Agricultural Commission’s Expert Subcommittee at IFFCO

August 11: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Ecological Ethic” (Speaker: D. Deb)

August 8: D. Deb attends meeting of Agricultural Commission’s Expert Subcommittee at IFFCO: 12 noon.

August 4: Prof. Samar Bagchi and D. Deb holds Students Orientation Program on Science, Technology and Development at Ushagram Trust, Nadia.

August 2: D. Deb and Dr. M. Dutta from CIS Anil Gupta’s Vidyasagar lecture at the Asiatic Society.

August 1: CIS attends Anil Gupta’s talk at CMERI, Durgapur.

July 31: Visit of Prof. Anil Gupta to Basudha.

July 25: D. Deb attends meeting on Bali island program in ENDEV.

July 24: D. Deb attends meeting of Agricultural Commission’s Expert Subcommittee in Kolkata.

July 23: Meeting with Subrata and Abhro from Balagarh Science Forum at Barrackpore.

June 17: D. Deb gives talk on Ecological Economics of Development at Durgapur Science & Cultural Forum.

July 12: Meeting with Seshagiri Rao in Barrackpore.

July 10: Trip to Sajnekhali and Sudhanyakhali.

July 9: Visit to Bali island to oversee transplanting of folk rice varieties donated by Vrihi.

June 28: Visit of Giancarlo and Pietro Cammerini and Roberto Cerrina to Basudha;

June 26: Ms Riya Sinha from SRISTI visits Basudha.

June 6: Environment Day: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Biodiversity Conservation: Why and How?” (Speakers: D. Deb & Dr. Dipak Dam)

May 28: D. Deb attends Kolkata chapter of Citizens’ Tribunal on Nandigram. Read the AICI Report here.

May 26-27: Dr. D. Deb, D. Chatterjee and Dr. Mita Dutta on behalf of CIS visit Nandigram to attend the All India Citizens’ Tribunal.

May 20-24: D. Deb gives training to farmers in seed saving at Kalimpong.

May 13-14: D. Deb gives training to farmers in Seed Saving and Sustainable Farming on Bali island of the Sunderbans.

May 4-6: D. Deb gives training to farmers in Seed Saving and Sustainable Farming at Rourkella.

April 30: Dr. Dipak Dam’s visit to Basudha.

April 29: D. Deb and Dr. Vandana Shiva talk at Hawkers Sangram Samiti at Moulali Yuva Kendra on the plight of street hawkers and retailers under the globalized market rules.

April 28: D. Deb holds a farmers’ workshop at Kajla program.

April 21: D. Deb talks on Developmentality and Ethic at Shantiniketan.

April 26-27: CIS participated in the People’s Tribunal of State violence in Nandigram.

April 20: Talk on “Developmentality and Ethic” at Shantiniketan, held by Radical Humanist Association.

April 18: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “From Ethology to Sociobiology” (Speaker: D. Deb)

April 16-17: Dr. Paroma Basu & Dr. Rajat work in Basudha for SRI data analysis.

April 8: CIS celebrated a Day of Rice Action in Basudha. The event involved 140 farmers from 6 districts, who exchanged information and opinion with each other, and with scientists. At lunch, everyone tasted over 150 rice varieties, in addition to 5 aromatic and 6 special rice varieties of diverse colours. Read Report here

March 23: D. Deb talks at College Teachers’ Refresher Course, Kalyani University.

March 5-10: CIS attends the Second Sacred Groves festival at IGRMS, Bhopal. Dr. D Deb as a resource person, is accompanied by Haru Roy of CIS and baul singers from Bankura and Puruliya districts, who perform in the festival.

February 25: D. Deb talks on “Sustainable Agriculture” at Breakthrough Science Society, Kolkata.

February 18-19: Prof. Samar Bagchi's visit to Basudha, training for schoolchildren.

February 13: D. Deb speaks at a public convention on “Alternatives to Development”, held by CPI(ML) & Nagarik Mancha in Kolkata.

February 7: CIS participates in Bhu Swaraj Conference against corporate land grab in New Delhi.

February 6: D. Deb speaks at Anti-GMO conference, held by Navdanya in New Delhi.

February 3: D. Deb gives seminar on “Sustainable Development” at George Hall, Kolkata.

January 26: Dr. Subhasis Maiti visits Basudha.

January 23: Farmers’ workshop in Majdiha.

January 20: D. Deb talks on “Against Development” at Lake Town; serves as a resource person in “Meet the Scientist” program for school children at Hedua Park, Kolkata.

January 19: CIS sends Debdulal Bhattacharya to attend Durgapur Science Fair to open Vrihi stall.

January 14: CIS attends National Meet on Forest Rights Act at Kolkata.

January 6: D. Deb talks in an open seminar on “Developmentality” at Baguiati.

2006

December 22-28: Visit of Alex Jensen of ISEC to Basudha for filming of CIS model of sustainable living.

December 9: D. Deb talks at Nagarik Mancha Seminar, held at Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, to oppose the proposed nuclear power station in coastal West Bengal.

November 26: Farmer workshop at Sagar island.

November 23: Farmer workshop at Boreya, Block Tehatta II, District Nadia.

November 17-19: Basudha Festival III.

November 3: CIS attends Nagarik Mancha convention on State agriculture and industry policy at Moulali Yuva Kendra, Kolkata.

October 19: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Theory of Evolution” (Speaker: D. Deb).

September 9: D. Deb talks on “Developmentality vs Sustainability” in Shanti Hall, Kolkata.

September 2: D. Deb attends Nagarik Mancha Conference on Forest Rights Bill at Academy of Fine Arts.

August 30: Meeting of D. Deb and Dr. Paoloroberto Imperiali, on behalf of CIS, with Dr. Heerak Ghosh, State Biodiversity Board on Folk crop diversity conservation program of CIS.

August 1-5: Dr. D Deb and Dr. Mita Dutta participates in ISEC Conference on Anti-Develeopmentarianism at Leh.

June 19: D. Deb speaks in a workshop on WTO/ TRIPS in Jadabpur University.

May 15-16: D. Deb speaks at Bhubaneswar conference on Seeds Bill.

April 24: D. Deb joins Panel discussion on “Sustainable Agriculture” at American Center, Kolkata.

April 22-23: Prof. Tapan Misra and Sudipto visit to Vasudha.

April 10: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Marxism” (speaker: D. Deb).

March 2: Basudha commits to collaborate with Bigyan O Samaj of Panchal in social action.

February 12: Basudha Study Circle. Topic: “Origins of Life” (speaker: D. Deb).

2005

December 20-22: Dr. A K Ghosh visits Basudha.

December 10-11: Basudha festival.II

December 8: D. Deb talks in a Seminar on “Traditional Knowledge System” held in the Dept of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University.

December 4: Educators David Rowe and Martyn Brown visit Vasudha.

November 29: D. Deb talks on WTO at Moulali Yuva Kendra, held by Hawker Sangram Samiti.

November 21-28: Inventory survey of sacred groves of Bishnupur block.

November 19-28: Dionisis Pomonis from Greece visits Vsudha.

November 19: D. Deb talks at the National Convention on “Right to Food & Work” held by Jana Samhati Kendra at Badu.

November 8-11: CIS training of Kalimpong farmers in seed saving and organic farming at Basudha.

October 23: D. Deb speaks on “What is Science?” in a Study Circle at Panchal Bigyan O Samaj.

September 29-Oct 01: CIS sends Sanjay Pal, Timir Chakrabarty and Anupam Paul to attend Navdanya seminar on Organic Farming in New Delhi.

September 22-30: CIS sends Mantu Jana and Sanjay Pal to attend Dilli Haat Organic Food festival.

September 15: Collaborative visit with Greenpeace India to Madhyamgram to investigate into GM crop cultivation in southern districts of West Bengal.

September 4: Talk on “Development Against Democratic Rights” at Chandannagore.

August 16: All India Radio interview of D. Deb on GM foods.

August 1-2: CIS participates in the Indo-European Symposium on GE, held in New Delhi.

July 19: D. Deb talks on anti-farmer laws of India held by Jana Samhati Kendra at Badu.

July 8-10: CIS invited in a conference at Nagapattanam, Tamil Nadu to advise on farming techniques to grow food in Tsunami affected areas.

June 10-11: D. Deb invited in State Biodiversity Board meeting at Paribesh Bhavan.

July 5-7: D. Deb participates in the Paddy Chain Symposium at Hyderabad.

June 6: Celebration of Environment Day program at Basudha.

June 5: Article on Seeds Bill 2004 published in CPI(M) organ Desh Hitaishi.

June 4: D. Deb talks on the Seeds Bill 2004 at DRCSC.

June 2: Farmer workshop at Bagmari, East Medinipur.

June 1: Farmer workshop at Tiorkhali, East Medinipur.

May 14-18: D. Deb visits Jaipur to frame a curriculum for Tarun Jal Vidyapith.

May 13: D. Deb talks on WTO, Agrculture & Farmer Rights at Rotary Sadan, organized by CUTS. Read Report here

May 8-10: Farmer workshops in Bankura district: Janta, Khejurbedia, Layekbandh, Patpur.

April 18: Farmers workshop at Korashuli.

April 14-18: Poster & Banner demonstration against WTO in Panchal.

April 13: Citizens’ Discussion on WTO’s impact on agriculture, water, land and workers, held by Hawker Sangram Samiti at Federation Hall.

April 12: CIS sends 7 tonnes of Organic Rice to Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu as aid for Tsunami victims. This is the first organic rice donation for relief in India. Read Report here. Also read the newspaper article by Dr. Samantak Das

April 11: Sit-in and Street lectures at Esplanade and Sealdah, organized by Hawker Sangram Samiti.

April 10: CIS participates in a citizens’ procession against WTO from Subodh Mallick Square to Sraddhananda Park, Kolkata.

March 13-19: CIS sends represemtatives Mantu Jana and Haru Roy to Dilli Haat with pottery items to participate in the Indigenous Biodiversity and Handicrafts Fair at Dilli Haat.

March 31-April 3: D. Deb talks in a Conference on GMO and Food Security, organized by Navdanya in New Delhi.

March 7: CIS and ENDEV organize a colloquium on the Seeds Bill 2004 at Bangla Academy , Kolkata. D. Deb, eminent biodiversity expert Prof. A K Ghosh of ENDEV, patent expert Dr. Amarjyoti Basu were speakers. The colloquium was attended by civil society activists including Mr. Naba Dutta, Prof. Subhendu Dasgupta, Mr. Samar Bagchi, state agricultural officers, and a few political leaders. CIS presented a group of farmers who expressed their militant views on the anti-farmer Bill.

March 3-5: Dr. Massimo Spadoni from ISIAO, Italy visits Basudha in connection with a collaborative study on sacred groves in Bankura.

February 27-March 2: CIS participates in the Seeds Bill conference in New Delhi, held by Navdanya.

February 24: D. Deb gives an orientation workshop in Patents and Seed Saving at Development Research Communication and Services Centre, Kolkata. DRCSC would publish his lecture in English, Bengali and Oriya for the benefit of agricultural activists.

February 20: D. Deb gives an invited seminar on Indigenous Systems of Biodiversity Management at Medinipur Gope College.

January 25-29: CIS participates in an agricultural conference in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Papers presented by CIS were “Mixed Cropping of Rice Landraces with Flowering Asynchrony Can Maintain Varietal Purity” (D Deb), “Medicinal and Nutritional Properties of Selected Folk Crop Varieties” (Mita Dutta and D. Deb), and “Do Folk rice Varieties Yield Really Less than HYVs?” (Anupam Paul and D. Deb).

January 22: Vrihi activists hold a farmers’ workshop at Radhanagar.

2004

December 26: CIS held a Nature study camp at Rajarbandh, where D. Deb introduced about 30 participants to birds, butterflies, trees and medicinal plants in the wild, and discussed the ecological relationships among all beings with examples. Dr. Subhasis Patra and Debashis Mukherjee demonstrated many simple experiments in physics.

December 18-19: CIS gives GIS training for school teachers in Barasat.

December 14-18: CIS sends 2 school students from Arjunpur and Bhagaband and a science club activist from Panchal, to Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Kolkata for training for 5 days. The students demonstrated and explained different models at the science exhibition.

December 10: D. Deb gives an invited talk on Genetic Engineering at Ramananda College, Bishnupur.

December 9: D. Deb gives slide-illustrated talk on identifying butterflies and frogs at at Panchal village. The talk was organized by Panchal Bigyan-O-Chetana science club.

November 30: The organic rice production and conservation at Basudha is telecast on Khoj Khabar channel of TV. D.Deb’s interview addressed the popular doubts about the viability of organic farming.

November 22-23: D. Deb invited in the Meet the Scientist program in Bhagalpur, where he was a key resource person. Held every year by the Bihar State Committee of the Year of Science Awareness, the program enlisted active participation of more than 400 students from a dozen schools.

November 16: D. Deb attends the District Watershed Development Team meeting in Bankura town to suggest how to save the district’s natural resources by promoting chemical-free biodiverse agriculture and mixed plantation of native flora.

October 20-23: CIS representatives D. Deb, Dr. Mita Dutta and Debdulal Bhattacharya participate in Terra Madre Coference in Turin, Italy. Read about Terra Madre/Slow Food

October 1- October 7: CIS participates in Festival on Plants and People at Dilli Haat, organized by Navdanya, New Delhi.

September 19 – 20: Basudha Festival I. A traditional sports tournament was held on the first day. Young men and women from partcipated in Kabadi and archery contests. Women from 3 villages participated in pitcher race, while young men from 6 villages participated in stilt race. On the second day of the festival, a discussion on nature conservation encompassed diverse topics ranging from community forestry to sacred groves, organic farming and crop genetic diversity. A science quiz and poster competition attracted over 80 children from 7 villages. The third day witnessed a resurging interest of local villagers in the vanishing forms of Baul music, performed by three bauls.

September 12: D. Deb gives a public seminar on “Developmentality” at the Radical Humanist Association of Chandannagar invited. Apart from D.eb, members of CIS who attended the seminar included essayist Karuna Prasad De.

September 9: D. Deb visits in the Bankura District Watershed Development Team as advisor, on invitation from the Secretary, W. Bengal Ministry of Panchayat & Rural Development.

September 7: D. Deb gives an invited lecture on “GMO and Food Security” at Kalyani University. This was the State’s first university seminar where politics of GM crop release were freely discussed.

August 27-28: D. Deb attends RFSTE meeting on Biodiversity and People’s Livelihoods in New Delhi.

August 15: CIS celebrates Independence Day at Beliatore (district Bankura), Seharabazar (district Bardhaman) and Tiorkhali (dist. East Medinipur) with a call for a new freedom movement. Local farmers and citizens gathered in Beliatore Panchayat office ground, where several packets of seeds marketed by Monsanto-Mahyco were burned as a token of protest to illegal GM seed business. Read Report here

July 30-August 3: CIS participates in the Vasundhara program of Navdanya at Dehra Dun. CIS was represented by D. Deb, poet and essayist Karuna Prasad De, agriculturist Anupam Paul and organic farmers from 3 districts participated in the program.

July 26: D. Deb acted as a resource person to train 30 students of Ashurali village in South 24 Parganas district, for preparing a Community Biodiversity Register, documenting species and genetic diversity of crops grown in the village. This project was run by ENDEV Society for Environment and Development, Kolkata, which published 10 such PBRs.

June 5: Environment Day program celebrated at Basudha. A Nature Quiz and poster contest for children was held, involving over 60 children from the neighbouring 5 villages.

April 20-25: Survey on the Water Crisis in West Bengal, supported by RFSTE & National Commission on Women. [Read Report here]

April 7: CIS brings women representatives to a Public Hearing on "Impact of WTO on Women in Agriculture", held at Indian Association Hall, Kolkata, organised by RFSTE and National Commission on Women. [Read Report here]