Empowerment of rural women in India #breakthebias

One of the KEY focus points of the Raddis?System is the empowerment of the Indian rural women! Did you know that the women are doing most of the agricultural activities?

Female Farmers

The female farmers play a very important role implementing the regenerative farming practices. They are the main “chefs” for the natural concoctions (natural pest & disease management inputs) for example. They brew a very effective soup from on-farm available ingredients as healthy replacement for chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Women also take the responsibility for management of the soil, for sowing, weeding and picking the cotton, and they show a great sense of community: always helping each other where its needed.

Creating a 'can-do' attitude and being able to dream of a better future are the building blocks for women leadership, especially in rural India. We believe that women in leadership roles bring many unique qualities: They are collaborative rather than competitive; they tend to build harmonious relationships that benefit the whole.

With the Raddis?System we do focus on enrolling women farmers, and wherever possible we bring women into leadership positions. As a woman can connect with the tribal women cotton farmers very well, we are happy to introduce you to Pryanka, our new extension officer, responsible for the on-boarding of new Raddis Farmers.

Meet Priyanka

Priyanka is a young tribal girl who is working for GVK Society on the implementation of Raddis? System in tribal villages in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, South India. Priyanka has lost her father and until recently her mother was the sole provider, with a very unstable income from tailoring that would only fetch some income during holiday season. Priyanka was able to go and study and finished her Agricultural Diploma. All she wanted was an opportunity at her first job, to show her worth and contribute to her family. She now can provide for 50% of the family’s household income while her brother takes care of the remaining.

Priyanka believes she has a lot to learn from the tribal women cotton farmers and a lot to share as well.?She is the right person to encourage female farmers to take active part in trainings, increase their self-esteem and become confident with their important role in the eco-system of farm & village.

The Raddis?System

Raddis? System is a multi-stakeholder system that connects tribal farmers, textile partners, brands and conscious consumers, sharing responsibility for the complete circular?value chain of cotton: from?seed to soil after multiple rounds of recycling. The Raddis?Farmers receive training and support to transform their fields from conventional de-regenerative cotton towards a regenerative organic cotton eco-system, linked with different intercrops to secure symbiotic food-& fiber combinations (www.raddiscotton.com).

For brands who are looking for a way to source their cotton from regenerative farming practices: join the Raddis?System and take part in the Raddis?Farm Impact Subscription.

For season 22/23 the on-boarding of new participants is starting NOW! Get in contact for more information:?[email protected]