By Alpona Naphak from Kalmakanda, Netrakona
Gobindapur, a densely populated border village in Kharnoi Union of Kolmakanda, Netrakona, is home to three communities with diverse agricultural traditions. The Gobindapur Agroecology Learning Centre has emerged as a space for sharing this knowledge and promoting environmentally friendly farming.
Konistha Naphak, one of the Centre’s caretakers, is using local knowledge and agroecological practices to improve her family’s food and nutrition while encouraging other farmers to adopt sustainable approaches.
For Konistha, farming is a process of learning, experimentation and knowledge sharing. She grows chilli, ginger, turmeric and eggplant in sacks, making productive use of limited space. The produce meets household needs and surplus is sold locally.
She avoids chemical pesticides where possible and prepares biopesticides from locally available materials to manage pests. She also converts kitchen vegetable waste into liquid fertilizer and uses it in her garden. Together with her husband, Jitendra Chisim, she produces and applies vermicompost to improve soil health and support safe food production.
Seed conservation is central to her farming. Konistha conserves seeds for future cultivation and shares them with other farmers. She has already distributed eggplant seedlings to 20 farmers and Aman amaranth seeds to 10 farmers. She believes farmers should be able to produce, save and exchange their own seeds rather than remain dependent on external sources.
Her practices such as diverse cropping, sack cultivation, organic pest management, liquid fertilizer, vermicompost and seed conservation also help to reduce dependence on purchased inputs and strengthen climate resilience. They make better use of local resources while supporting soil health, biodiversity and safe food production.
The Gobindapur Agroecology Learning Centre provides a platform where farmers can exchange experiences and test new approaches. Konistha’s experience shows how seeds, local knowledge, experimentation and cooperation can strengthen farmers’ capacity and contribute to food sovereignty.
Her journey is therefore more than an individual farming story. By preserving seeds, sharing knowledge and promoting environmentally friendly practices, Konistha is helping build a more diverse, self-reliant and agroecological farming system in Gobindapur.