Eleven people give an insight into their joys, their worries and their personal values in the environment of organic cotton production. The series "Faces of Organic Cotton" was created as part of FiBL Switzerland's SysCom (Farming Systems Comparison in the Tropics) programme.
The series can be downloaded as a booklet from the FiBL Shop. In addition, you will find a detailed version of the portraits below.
The "Faces of Organic Cotton" series introduces eleven personalities involved in organic cotton in the Nimar valley of India. Their stories, experiences, struggles and motivations are presented in their words. The series was born out of a collaboration between farmers and scientists working together as a team on organic cotton in the SysCom India project. Visiting researchers were struck by the conviction the local farmers felt for organic agriculture, the lengths they had gone to practice it, and how central it had become to their daily lives.
The SysCom program has been running since 2007 in India, Kenya, and Bolivia and was founded by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and local partners. The program aims to provide longterm data comparing organic and conventional farming systems in the tropics to local farmers, governments, and the international community. The teams organise farmer groups, workshops, and field trips to share the results of the trials. Local partners play a critical role in organising, running, and disseminating the results of the trials and create an enabling environment for organic cotton producers. Remei India Ltd. practices fair trading of raw material with its registered organic farmers with purchase guarantee and premium. Through its local partner bioRe Association, the bioRe Foundation promotes sustainable improvement of the living conditions of cotton farmer communities.
Further Information
Contact
Eva Goldmann
About SysCom India
- systems-comparison.fibl.org: Project website of SysCom India
- youtube.com: Video about SysCom India
- youtube.com: Video "Indian cotton farmer meets Swiss influencer"
SysCom India partners
- bioreassociation.org: bioRe India Association
- remei-india.com: Remei India Ltd
- biore-stiftung.ch: bioRe Foundation
SysCom funding
- biovision.ch: Biovision
- led.li: Liechtenstein Development Service (LED)
- actions-not-words.ch: Coop Sustainability Fund
- admin.ch: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Thanks
The series "Faces of Organic Cotton" would not have been possible without the help of the SysCom India research team namely: Ishwar Patidar, Bhupendra Singh Sisodia, Dharmendra Patel, Sawan Kushan, Manish Singh Chouhan, Kamlesh Sharma, Monika Kanungo, Jaypal Singh Tanwar and Sandhiya Jiiju.