SUBMENU
|
BCI Field Trip to Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, India"The field trips were humbling and invaluable. The knowledge gained has empowered me to speak about BCI in the words of the farmer to others in and outside of our company."  Bright smiles and vivid colours to contrast the green BCI cotton fields. In India, sowing and picking of cotton is mostly done by the women. We set out on the first morning - 17 of us in total - excited about what we were going to see, and especially enthusiastic about meeting the BCI cotton farmers. Our first stop was a small spinning unit not far from Dharmapuri. For those of us who had never seen this before, it was great for understanding the process of turning lint cotton into yarn.  The group visiting the spinning unit. This particular photo shows the process of carding. We then proceeded to a small gin nearby, where we were warmly received by the ginner and his family. Although the gin was very small and manual, we were able to see clearly how raw cotton is ginned. For me, these two visits highlighted the difficulty of having many small gins providing small quantities of cotton from different areas, which ultimately results in fragmented supply. This is just one of the many challenges that BCI is attempting to address.  Michael Kobori from Levi Strauss & Co (BCI Council Chair) with seed cotton. Next, we made our way to a small village where we met with BCI cotton farmers associated with the BCI project in Tamil Nadu. The project, implemented by Solidaridad with Super Spinning Mills as local partners, consists of 165 Learning Groups. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed with music and colourful garlands by the farmers from two Learning Groups (roughly 60 farmers) before sitting down together in the shade, introducing ourselves and exchanging questions and answers.
Jane Clarkson (Nike).  The ladies [Felicity Davies (Bestseller), Me, Isabelle Roger (BCI), Fatima Cardoso (Solidaridad) and Jane Clarkson (Nike)] with some of the farmers. Day two saw us visiting two BCI cotton fields. This was the highlight of my time in India. I really began to understand the complexities that cotton farmers have to deal with, while being impressed by the difference between a conventional and a BCI cotton field. Where the BCI cotton field used border crops and intercrops to attract the pests away from the cotton plant, the cotton in the conventional field was riddled with different pests. The farmers had a great understanding of what each pest was, and how to combat them - whilst also understanding which insects were beneficial. They told us about the benefits of the BCI system, especially increased soil moisture, less pesticide use and less contamination. Talking to them and their families was humbling and inspiring - especially the women who play important roles in cotton production. They were interested in understanding what was used in other countries and whether problems experienced in India were similar to those experienced in other cotton producing countries. They were also ready to share their experience with us which was great.  A BCI cotton field. So great to see in person.  Interacting in the field. Check out the sunflowers - these are one of the intercrops used for pest management.
and Li Jiazheng (from Zhong Liang Cotton Co., Ltd - China) inspecting the cotton.  Jane Clarkson (Nike) and Mr.Ajethkumar (Super Spinning Mills) discussing the cotton.  A farmer showing us pests in his conventional cotton field. Although his other fields are managed according to the BCI criteria, he wanted to keep this one for comparison. Everyone who attended especially enjoyed meeting the farmers. Almost all the participants said they would have liked more time in the field (and more time in general). Something to definitely keep in mind for the next time...  Talking with the farmers in the field.  Sitting next to me is one of the women who sat with us in a small impromptu focus group, and readily shared information about their practices, challenges and the benefits of the Better Cotton System. All in all, a successful field trip. Especially coming straight after our Annual Members meeting in Dubai, visiting the farmers in India was truly humbling. We are all working to make Better Cotton a global reality and meeting the farmers was an important part of understanding what we are working for. Sophia Jaumain, BCI Membership Officer |
