Planting 111 trees on the birth of every girl child.

In this current scenario of global biodiversity loss, people of the Piplantri village of Rajasthan(India) are able to achieve sustainable development through adopting emphasis on eco-feminism centered strategies.Here, villagers plant 111 trees every time a girl is born and the community ensures these trees survive, attaining fruiting as the girls grow up.The father of the girl child has to sign an affidifit that he will provide education to her daughter and marry her only after she reaches legal age.And to prevent these trees from being infested with termite, the residents planted over two and a half million Aloevera plants around them. Aloevera plantation have made them earn livelihood.This tradition was started few years ago by the village's former sarpanch Shyam Sundar Paliwal in the memory of his dead daughter.

Other striking tradition is planting 11 trees on the death of any family member.

The village panchayat, which has a website of its own, has completely banned alcohol, open grazing of animals and cutting of trees. Villagers claim that there has not been any police case here for the last 7-8 years.

About Piplantri village :-

"It is a nirmal gram panchayat "

Country:- India

State :- Rajasthan 

District :-Rajsamand

	Total population(2001)	5138
	Total families	1100
	Total A.P.L families	900
	Total B.P.L families	122
	Total area of gram panchayat	2207.52 hectare
	Total Rajasv Gram	06
	Total Ward	11
	Govt.Sr.Sec.School	01
	Govt. Sec.School	01
	Govt Sr.Primary School	10
	Anganwadi centres	09
	Health centre	03
	Ayurvedic aushadhalaya	01
	Kisan Seva Kendra	01
	Patwar Bhawan	01
	Gram water and cleaning committee	12
	Community Building	16
	Handpump	51
	Play Pump	02
	Mahatma Gandhi Library	01
	Rashan Dealer	02
	Dust Bins	60
	Boys toilet in Schools	14
	Girls toilet in Schools	14
	Common sanitary facilities	12
	Anganwadi sanitary facilities	03
	Plantation	68,000
	Length of dambered roads	20 km
	Road lights	350
	Govt. workers	123
	herbal garden	2

Data source :-http://www.piplantri.com/aboutus.html

WEEDS GENERATING MONEY

Water hyacinth;one of the most problem causing weeds in the world may no longer be considered as man has learned to exploit it.It arose from Amazon Rain forests and was propagated to other parts of world as an ornamental plant.It is known to choke and kill aquatic life,hinders transport and promotes mosquito breeding.                                                  
But now its is being used to produce bio-gas,composts. No wonder you can find jackets,stylish jewellery,bags etc. Matured plant have stems 17-25 inches;which are cut-dried and made into value added products.These plants grow freely in water bodies and easily retains its growth after stem cut.

But recent innovations have made its exploitation more profitable,easy and economic.No wonder you can find jackets,stylish jewellery,bags etc.With the increased pressure on bamboo and cane,this has emerged as a alternative for cottage industry.Recently in the North-Eastern region of India;the innovation of making handicraft from Water hyacinth won the "NAWARD award for rural innovation 2012".The North Eastern Council and NAWARD has given financial assistance to the crafts men to train artisans.Commercialization of the products from this weed on global scale is yet another step needed to taken......

Posters on social and environmental issues

VIT University organised a mega poster show on 6 nov. at Foodys VIT University.

Posters were made on several social and environmental issues.....
Here are some posters on anti -smoking,honour killing,child labour,drug abuse,gender equality,global warming,defforestation,suicide,Blood-Donation.......

Stevia rebaudiana : Madhu Patra

A sweetener for diabetic people

Stevia rebaudiana is a herbal plant native to South America( Brazil,Colombia and Paraguay).
It is a short day plant growing up to 0.6 m.

Scientific Classification :-

Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Eupatorieae
Genus:	Stevia

It prefers fertile sandy acidic soil with shallow water tables.
Climate: Semi humid subtropical with temperature range of 21-43 degree celcius.

Chemical Properties

Stevia leaves contains di-terpenes glycosides mainly Stevioside and Rebaudioside.
These are natural sweeteners with sweetening index 300 more than natural sugar.
 1.Stevioside : These are stable upto 180 degree celcius.Used to sweeten baked and cooked foods.
 2.Rebaudioside : Stable upto 100 degree celcius. Used as sweetener in cold beverages.

A potent natural sweetener to fight diabetes

The sweetening agents in the leaves have zero calorific value.It is excreated out of the body without being changed.It has been used as sweetener for tea,cold beverages and medicinal preparations in Brazil since long time.It has been reported to have hypo-glycemic in nature. Oviedo et al,reported significant fall in blood sugar levels 6-8 hrs. following the ingestion of stevia leaf extract in the diabetic person.However it does not cause any significant change in blood glucose levels of healthy individuals.

Regular uptake of stevia as sweetener also increases cardio-vascular tone.
However it may not be recommended for children because of calorie concerns.

 Stevia in India

The commercial name of Stevia rebaudiana is Madhu Patra (Sanskrit) in India.It means honey leaves or Sweet leaves.

Tested for cultivation in India in early 90's.

First commercial plant for stevia cultivation and  leaf processing was established at Banglore.

Currently being cultivated among farmers in Kerala,Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra,Gujrat,Assam and Himachal Pradesh.

Value added products made from stevia leaves are available on online shopping.http://www.procarvit.com/ this online offers free stevia sample in India.You can try it.It is also avialble on some of the medical stores in Metro cities.