MAGICTERRAIN Foundation — People, Planet & Purpose Together
Community members gathered in the hills during an MTF Annapurna field visit
MTF Annapurna logo

MTF Annapurna · Agro-Ecology & Food Security

MTF Annapurna —Nourishing Land and Lives

From research to field, growing food security with communities.

Know the Vertical

Know About MTF Annapurna

Under this vertical, all agro-ecology and food security work of MAGICTERRAIN FOUNDATION comes together.

Rooted Before Registration

Annapurna's work began before MTF existed on paper. It connects agro-ecology research with practical models, farmers' homes and fields, and community knowledge. The work moves from learning to growing to archiving.

Community mapping session drawn on the ground during an MTF Annapurna field visit
Farmer standing in a millet field at golden hour
Earthen pot irrigation set into the soil of a field
Community members examining seedlings together on a hill slope
Women documenting leaves and seeds during a participatory workshop

Centre for Agro-Ecology

Kamala Pujari Memorial Centre for Agro-Ecology

Seeds, soil, and the knowledge that connects them.

The Kamala Pujari Memorial Centre for Agro-Ecology at our Bodh Kendra in Odisha conserves indigenous landraces and traditional farming knowledge, and carries that practice into farmers’ fields across the region.

100+
Land races archived
10,000+
Indigenous knowledge records in the museum
30
Traditional agricultural equipments archived
Seed gourds and dried millet bundles hung on a painted mural wall at the centre
Seed store
Labelled glass jars of seeds arranged on wooden shelves
Landrace archive
Field team recording an elder woman's account outside her home
Knowledge recording
Bundles of millet panicles drying on a wire against a yellow wall
Seed drying
Ragi grain stored in a terracotta pot
Grain storage
Woven bamboo winnowing implements mounted on a yellow wall
Equipment archive

01Nutritional Garden

Community Nutritional Garden Model in Linga Village, Odisha

Approach: Research. Model. Implement. Archive.

62

Households

15

Models

2

States

4

Steps

  1. Research Agro-Ecology

    Study agro-ecology to ground the work in research.

  2. Develop the Models

    Develop or adopt models based on that research.

  3. Take Them to Fields

    Implement the models on farmers' homes and fields.

  4. Build the Archive

    Create a local food archive together with community members.

Community members marking a prepared garden bed during an agro-ecology research session
Research
Agro-ecology research, field observation and community dialogue
Field team observing a landscape model with hills and monsoon clouds in the background
Model
Models developed and adapted for the local landscape
Community members laying out a spiral garden plan on the ground together
Implement
Community-led implementation at homes and fields
A field team member drinking from a gourd with community members outside a village home
Archive
Local food knowledge documented with community members

02Community Knowledge Network

Community Knowledge Network:Linga Village, Odisha

Network of Agro-Ecology

In Linga Village, agroecological knowledge lives through relationships — connecting generations, seeds, farming, food, biodiversity and healing.

Elder Farmers
Elder Farmers
An elder farmer passing on seasons of experience, hilltop above Linga
Traditional Healers
Traditional Healers
Sora healers sharing plant, biodiversity and healing knowledge with the village
Seed Keepers
Seed Keepers
Named seed beds — local varieties recorded, sown and carried forward
Women Knowledge Holders
Women Knowledge Holders
Women mapping the garden plan on the ground — food, farming and everyday knowledge
Young Farmers
Young Farmers
A village meeting where knowledge moves into the next generation
Sociogram of the Linga Village knowledge network: 120 community members, 462 connections, showing elder farmers, traditional healers, seed keepers, women knowledge holders and young farmers
Future Generations
The whole network — Linga Village

120

Community Members

462

Knowledge Connections

7.7

Average Connections / Person

0.61

Clustering Coefficient

Knowledge shared.
Seeds conserved.
Traditions carried forward.

A living knowledge commons of the Sora community.

03Field Notes

From the Field

01

Start with Research

Each model begins with learning, testing and adaptation.

02

Grow at Home

Implementation reaches farmers' homes and fields.

03

Keep Knowledge Local

Food knowledge is archived together with community members.

04Downloads

Participatory Earth Notebooks

Five publications from a growing body of field learning and documentation.

  • Participatory Earth Notebook: People's Nutrition Gardens

    ISBN 978-81-990605-3-1

  • Participatory Earth Notebook: Community Nutritional Garden

    ISBN 978-81-990605-5-5

  • Participatory Earth Notebook: The People's Archive

    ISBN 978-81-990605-1-7

  • Participatory Earth Notebook: Earth, People & Knowledge

    ISBN 978-81-990605-6-2

  • ISDPC: Orientation Booklet 1

    ISBN 978-81-990605-7-9

A Bonda elder winnowing grain in a village courtyard

People, Planet & Purpose Together — from seed to bloom.

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