Rooted Resilience: Indigenous Agricultural Practices and Traditional Farming Wisdom Among India’s Tribal Communities

This paper revolves around the indigenous agricultural practices embedded in the traditional knowledge systems. These agricultural practices are originated from the depth of ancient cognition and emotional disposition of mind and how some of these practices has been used in contemporary world to promote sustainability in agricultural practices. The modern agricultural practices were taking a toll upon the earth’s carrying capacity. Tribal people consider earth as mother goddess so their agricultural practices are near to the raw organic forms in contrast to the modern high-intensity agriculture which imposed a threat to the environment and this paper also included the case studies related to the resilience and enculturation of the indigenous knowledge. Lahari Bai has collected 150 varieties of the seeds and preserved them in her hut. Although she faced humiliation from other people, too, she never stopped to store the seeds of wisdom, knowledge of the tribes which grew wide varieties of crops, preserving the biodiversity and promoting the preservation of native species. This paper also narrates the case study of the Car Nicobarese, where the efforts from the government and the local/tribal people came forward to enhance the production of the coconut trees.