Keynote Speaker
Sheela Francis
Tamil Nadu Women's Collective
This organisation has recently been awarded the Global Food Sovereignty Award.
The focus is upon rights of vulnerable women in society.
Sheela admires the courage of the women of the slums, each day they continue the struggle, everyday getting up and going on with life.
Within India there is a vast difference between the city and the rural women. In Chennai (city) many also speak English, whereas in rural areas the women speak only Tamil.
Within her limited time Sheela spoke of a few areas of work her organisation is doing:
One is getting women into Government. They supported some 2000 to contest elections with 402 being successful. In this process it was realised they needed to work with women for them to freely give their vote, not under the instructions from another, ie husband.
Then there is access to land - few women own land, most do not have access to land, have no control over land - to produce food. Looking to gain some control the Tamil Nadu Women's Collective have supported the development of establishing women's collectives re land.
A major program is one of Women and Climate Change. The Women's Collective has analysed how to manage, to adapt to the challenges being faced. One hundred years ago a large part of the diet was millet, now following the 'green revolution' of the 1960's it is rice. Rice however is not as nourishing. They have supported a process of returning to grow millet which requires much less water, a commodity in short supply.
Millet has greater drought tolerance and more suited to the area than rice and wheat.
They are providing education on how to use millet, re-introducing recipes from the past. Older women are involved in this, giving them value in society.
The organisation is against GMO crops. Monsanto has bought most of the local seed businesses, people do not know this as the businesses continue to operate under the original name.
Sheela articulated the Conference theme of 'Educate, Encourage, Enrich' through teaching people traditional knowledge, adapting these traditional ways with modern techniques resulting in improved outcomes for the rural women, enriching their lives.
Sheela Francis
Tamil Nadu Women's Collective
This organisation has recently been awarded the Global Food Sovereignty Award.
The focus is upon rights of vulnerable women in society.
Sheela admires the courage of the women of the slums, each day they continue the struggle, everyday getting up and going on with life.
Within India there is a vast difference between the city and the rural women. In Chennai (city) many also speak English, whereas in rural areas the women speak only Tamil.
Within her limited time Sheela spoke of a few areas of work her organisation is doing:
One is getting women into Government. They supported some 2000 to contest elections with 402 being successful. In this process it was realised they needed to work with women for them to freely give their vote, not under the instructions from another, ie husband.
Then there is access to land - few women own land, most do not have access to land, have no control over land - to produce food. Looking to gain some control the Tamil Nadu Women's Collective have supported the development of establishing women's collectives re land.
A major program is one of Women and Climate Change. The Women's Collective has analysed how to manage, to adapt to the challenges being faced. One hundred years ago a large part of the diet was millet, now following the 'green revolution' of the 1960's it is rice. Rice however is not as nourishing. They have supported a process of returning to grow millet which requires much less water, a commodity in short supply.
Millet has greater drought tolerance and more suited to the area than rice and wheat.
They are providing education on how to use millet, re-introducing recipes from the past. Older women are involved in this, giving them value in society.
The organisation is against GMO crops. Monsanto has bought most of the local seed businesses, people do not know this as the businesses continue to operate under the original name.
Sheela articulated the Conference theme of 'Educate, Encourage, Enrich' through teaching people traditional knowledge, adapting these traditional ways with modern techniques resulting in improved outcomes for the rural women, enriching their lives.
