Parampara Gomata Movement

Why the movement was started

“Indiscriminate fertilizer and pesticide usage, coupled with mono-cropping and non-application of base manure like cow dung and green manure (dead plants), has taken a severe toll on the organic content in soil and thereby soil fertility across the state, says the draft organic farming policy of the state government, which is yet to be rolled out. The issue has come into focus now in the wake of Kerala raising concerns of high pesticide level on vegetables grown in Tamil Nadu. “(source :Times of India )
A recent study (Soil fertility in Tamil Nadu reduced by half in 30 yrs, says govt paper) has attributed a drastic drop in soil fertility in Tamil Nadu to the use of chemical fertilizers and non application of base manure like cow dung. This impact extends beyond the farming fraternity, to our food, health and over all well being. Much before the study , almost 3 decades ago , Mrs Manjulika Jhaver the founder trustee of Parampara contemplated over why the cow was held sacred in India and realized how much it contributed to our welfare. Indian cow’s milk and ghee are uniquely nutritious and beneficial for health. Likewise, Indian cow manure is the best way to replenish the earth’s fertility naturally.
Mrs Jhaveralso noticed that the Indian cow breeds were rapidly being replaced by foreign breeds on the pretext of higher quantity of milk . While Indian cows produce A2 milk , foreign breeds produce A1 milk. Scientific Research links A1 protein with type-1 diabetes, coronary heart disease, allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, arteriosclerosis, sudden infant death syndrome, autism, schizophrenia etc. In contrast,Indian cow milk has numerous healing and nutritious qualities. And is the basis of several ayurvedic medicines. With all that she contributed to our lives, It was no wonder that the cow was revered in India as a mother.
Thus was started Paramparas Gomata Movement(started in 2011) and Mrs Jhaver has since strived to create awareness about ensuring the welfare of the Cow that nurtured and sustained us in so many ways.

Parampara’s Cow – Centric Farm, Bhartiya Vedic Krishi Parampara

Grazing Cows at Parampara’s Cow – Centric Farm , Bhartiya Vedic Krishi Parampara

Not content with mere theory, Mrs Jhaver set up a cow centric farm the “Bhartiya Vedic Krishi Parampara” in Guduvencherry, the farm is today home to over 50 cows. The cows are allowed to graze freely at the Bharatiya Vedic Krishi Parampara.
In this modern age, though there are a number of goshalas, in most of these goshalas, the cows are not allowed to graze but are tethered and fed in the shelter itself. There is a perceptible difference in the quality of milk and other products that are obtained from the cows. These products are available for sale at our Gomata Centre "Vasudha"

Mrs Jhaver interacting with school
children at the Parampara Farm workshop

Awareness workshops for school children

Parampara also conducts awareness workshops for school children and has to date enabled over 2500 children from 20 schools have a first hand experience of cow based farming. The schools include eminent institutions such as Padma Seshadri BalaBhavan, Sri Shankara Senior Secondary School, Abacus Montessori, BalaVidyaMandir, VidyaMandir Estancia, Harishree Vidyasharm and Shree Sharada School.

Gopashtami Utsav for school children

Mrs Jhaver , Ranjani Manian, Saroj Goenka and Bombay Jaishree at the Gopasatmi Utsav

school children singing devotional music at the Parampara Gopastami Utsav

Parampara also celebrated the gopashtami Utsav to create reverence for the cow among children and youth. “It is not by chance that the cow is not the Vahaan of Krishna but his companion” Mrs jhaver pointed out to the children at the Utsav and appealed to them to protect the Indian Cow. Eminent Musician - Bombay Jayashri, Chairperson- Express Newspapers Pvt. Ltd., Saroj Goenka, and Founder- Global Adjustments, Ranjini Manian, also spoke of the importance of cows for our wellbeing and offered their support to protect the GOMATA

Save the Indian cow breeds from extinction..

(excerpt from article in “down to earth“) It is shocking that in India we continue to have animal breeding and development policies that target the replacement and upgradation of our indigenous breeds with exotic Holstein Frisians and Jerseys, which ironically are imported from Australia and the US. This, thereby, dilutes our breeds to such an extent that today the mighty Ongole is on the list of threatened breeds of the country.
Our indigenous breeds are those which were stolen from our country to develop a breed (the Brahman), which today supports a multi-million dollar global beef industry spread across Australia, Brazil, the US and other parts of Asia. While the North Americans, the Australians and the Brazilians rake in the profits of this breed, our Indian policy makers and scientists, who should have been in the forefront, demanding repatriation and payment (with interest) from these developed countries for this act of theft, are complacent in supporting the continued replacement and erosion of our breeds. These scientists and policy makers call our breeds “unproductive” and the Pashu Kranti schemes, announced by the prime minister and chief ministers to help farmers in distress, continue to dump Holstein Friesians and Jerseys onto our poor unsuspecting farmers, pushing them into further debt and disaster.
The National Biodiversity Board continues to mouth platitudes about conserving breeds and bemoaning the loss of genetic diversity. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests wastes its time formulating guidelines for access to genetic resources and sharing of benefits associated with their use, and hosting mega events in the run up to 2012, when India hosts the next Conference of Parties on Conservation of Biological Diversity. We demand that our valuable money is used to support farmers so that they breed and rear our indigenous breeds—the Ongole, the Hallikar, the Deoni, the Pandharpuri buffalo, the Asil poultry, the Deccani Sheep and the Kanchu Dwarf Goa.
We demand a complete halt of the import and dumping of useless Holstein Friesans, Jerseys and Boar Goats on to the farmers. It will be the ultimate irony if our next generation has to purchase an Ongole germplasm-look-alike clone from a company in Australia, Brazil or the US, in the event that our amazing indigenous breeds completely vanish from the face of this soil.

Pictures of Children Feeding the Cows at the Parampara Goshaala as part of our Farm Workshop

Milked by hand & not machine

New Born Calf


Goshala


Cows graze freely on medicinal herbs and lush pasture which makes their milk highly nutritious