Daniel Münster writes to express deep gratitude and admiration to Subhash Palekar for his work in promoting Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) across India. Recalling a workshop by Palekar in Nilambur, Münster details the transformative learning experience. He emphasizes the hope ZBNF offers farmers, contrasting it with the despair caused by market-driven farming practices that sometimes lead to farmer suicides. Münster praises the autonomy ZBNF provides through self-sufficiency and the natural enhancement of soil fertility using jivamṛta, a fertilizing preparation. However, he also raises concerns about Palekar’s glorification of Indian heritage, suggesting it risks nationalist overtones, and urges wider engagement with global agro-ecological movements to address systemic inequalities and contribute to a planetary transition.
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