~Innovative Tools and Techniques on rural trades displayed~

Green College Kolabira, a joint initiative of Tata Steel Rural Development Society and German non-profit Welthungerhilfe today hosted an exhibition on innovative concepts in farming and allied activities at Tribal Culture Centre, Sonari.

A total of 11 Green Colleges from Eastern India, including Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha participated in the exhibition. These colleges train rural communities to enable them to earn dignified livelihoods at their native places.

Exhibits on integrated farming, indigenous ways of increasing yield, floriculture, plate-making from Siali leaf, etc were displayed at the stalls. Goods made by Self Help Group’s (SHGs) trained at Green Colleges were also put on display. Farming implements and models used by Green Colleges for training in rural trades were also showcased at the exhibition.Enhancing livelihood opportunities among rural population has been one of the key community centric interventions of Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS). As majority of the rural population has to sustain on agriculture, TSRDS has always been devising ways to maximize the return from farming and allied activities for villagers.

Classroom training, field demonstrations, exposure visits and farmer-scientist meets, TSRDS has been using a mix of all these to make rural people economically active. Green College, Kolabira is another major initiative that TSRDS has taken in partnership with Welthungerhilfe, to impart training on and extend support for rural trades.