The ecological balance is being disturbed due to the haphazard growth of habitation and indiscriminate cutting of trees and forests. Natural’s Care has various environment related activities. Its awareness programmes include Protection, maintenance and improvement of environment. We encourages youth and children in particular to plant sapling in our around vicinity and create awareness for environment friendly activities.

Environment related activities Environment : Awareness programmes.

 According to the constitution of India, Article 51(A)g “ It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild lives and to have compassion for living creatures” Despite this, India has lost more  forest   cover  in  last  five decades than in the previous 100 years colonialism. Due to urbanization, modernization and ignorance we are damaging our flora & fauna and polluting our natural resources continuously.

Consequences

• Deterioration of natural resources like water bodies, forests and wild life. 

• Pollution problems in Urban and Rural area

Solution

The solution lies in two-pronged approach;

·        To motivate people so that they can enhance and protect our natural resources through appropriate plantation, water shade management and farm management techniques.

• To educate people about waste management including agriculture waste.

Goal

To educate both rural people and development workers to approach the Gaon Panchayat to adopt comprehensive programme through appropriate tree plantation, sustainable use of water and farmland and management of agriculture waste.

Milestones of activities

Jal Yatra, Mewat,  January, 2003 :- Jal Yatra was organized in Mewat area to protect ‘Aravali’ and its habitat. Pad Yatra, Nukkad meeting (Village level) and Prabhat Ferris were organized through out the area to create awareness among villagers and village leaders about the importance of Aravali ranges in protecting their environment and lives.

Following activities had been done under this programme :-

1.   Pad Yatra started from Natural’s Care office at Nuh towards F.P. Jhirka Bus Stand at Delhi-Alwar highway.

2.   Distribution of pamphlets and literature regarding Jal Yatra and its mission.

3.   Village level camp/meetings were organized at village Badka and Palla in Nuh block, Asaisika and Kherikalan in Nagina, Sevka in Tauru, Sulella in F.P. Jhirka and Papra at Punhana.

The Jal Yatra was organized in coordination with Tarun Bharat Sangh, Jaipur.

WATERSHED/WATER LITERACY MISSION

Soil and water are of crucial importance for mankind. The continuing and ever accelerating depletion of available soil and water resources in India and else where in the world is a matter of grave concern.

The technical knowledge as to how to arrest this degradation and how to conserve soil and water exists, but this knowledge has been applied only on a limited scale. One of the reason is that the existing knowledge is not easily available to those who should apply it.

Natural’s Care brings together the technical and socio-economic knowledge available for successfully implementing watershed programmes.

Through our water literacy programmes. Natural’s Care is motivating and making people aware about water related issues and its management –

Because Natural’s Care believes that without people’s participation water shed programmes cannot be successful.

 Natural’s Care has organised water literacy seminar on 15th December 2005 at DDA complex, Gurgaon with the help of Rashtriya Jal Biradari (TBS, Jaipur). It was the first ever seminar on Water Literacy in Gurgaon.

Pad Yatra in Mewat for Water Literacy: Natural’s Care and Rashtriya Jal Biradari (TBS, Jaipur) organsed the Jal Yatra for water literacy in Mewat from 19th December to 26th December 2005 in which ‘water man’ Megsasay award winner Mr. Rajender Singh and great writer of Gandhian Philosophy Maulana Wahiduddin Khan participated.

Save Hindon River Movement : Natural’s Care participated in the Pad Yatra with Shri Sundar Lal Bahuguna to save Hindon River, Baghpat on 29th December 2005

Use of Congress Grass (Parthenium) as a fuel for Oil distillation unit :- Congress grass (Parthenium americana) has become a national hazard for our environment. It is the cause of many skin and eye diseases in rural areas and also a threat to the bio diversity of the area. Manual eradication is the only method to control its growth. Under its MAP programme Natural’s care is promoting the farmers to use congress grass as a fuel for their field level oil distillation unit  because  calorific  value of  congress  grass is better than Bajra and Musturd stalk, which are generally used as a cooking fuel in rural areas.

Parthenium is better fuel. The calorific value of Parthenium is 4600 Kcal/Kg in comparison to Mustard stalk, with the calorific value of 4200Kcal/Kg.

Jatropha Mission

India has approximately 50 million hectares of degraded waste land – this land can be take to grow energy plantation consisting of fast growing Biofuel plant Jatropha Curcas. Cultivation of 10 million hectares of this crop could generate 7.5 million tones of fuel annually. While generating year round employment for 5 million youth by biofuel project terns of million of rural jobs can be created and stimulate enormous growth of rural incomes. Especially among the weaker sections. Therefore, these strategies should not be regarded from the narrow perspective of energy alone, but from the wider perspective of National development.

Considering the above facts Natural’s Care started Jatropha Mission in year 2000

·        Jetrophas cuscus (family euphorbiaceae) is commonly known as ‘Ratanjot’. It was well adopted in arid and semi arid conditons and you can say its a plant of waste land. Jetropha seeds contain 35% of non-edible oil, which can be converted into Bio-Diesel.

·        What is Bio-Diesel?

Bio-diesel is a fuel produced by a chemical reaction between vegetable seeds and alcohol in the presence of a catalyst.

Problem :- India is fast growing developing nation requiring a lot of energy in terms of petro-chemical for its development. But being not self sufficient is petroleum, it has to import about two third of its requirement. This Fossil fuel is not only costly but also is a major source of pollution and green house gases.

Consequences :-

·        India expends almost 1/3 of its GDP to import petroleum products. That is very big amount and obstructs the national growth.

·        High rates of Petroleum Products increases the inflation and affects the economy of poor people.

·        Fossil fuel, especially diesel, is the major cause of pollution in the big cities of India. India’s metro cities are one of the most polluted zones of the world.

Why Jetropha cuscas ?

·        It’s a waste land plant.

·        It’s a good source of Bio-diesel.

·        Easily adopted in all types of agro-climatic conditions.

·        Easy to regenerate through seeds and cuttings.

·        It’s a multipurpose tree of significant economic importance

Solutions :- Plantation of Jatropha curcas in wasteland and farmer’s field through Agro-forestry technique

Goal :-  To educate village panchayats to grow Jatropha on Panchayat’s waste land and to promote the farmers to grow Jatropha around their fields.

Mile Stones of Activity

Ø    Natural’ care has launched its ‘Jatropha Mission’ in year 2003 to educate and facilitate the rural people about the economic importance of Jatropha curcas.

Ø    Under this programme the first meeting was held in Kherikalan, Nagina District Mewat on Jan, 2003, where farmers and village leaders were educated and Jatropha seeds were distributed them to grow nursery.

Ø    Under this mission Natural’s care motivated the farmers to grow Jatropha through Agro forestry around their fields to insure fast growth and early flowering.

Ø    Under Jatropha mission Natural’s care established a nodal nursery at village Sirohi, Ballabhgarh, Distt. Faridabad for free distribution of Jatropha plantlets.

Ø    Natural’s care motivated more than 300 farmers of Ballabhgarh and Hathin block to grow Jatropha around their fields and roadsides.

Ø    It also distributed almost 50,000 plantlets to the farmers.

Ø    Participated in National presentation of rural business hubs “Economic Empowerment through Panchayats”, 5th Novermber 2004, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Ø    A presentation on “Jatropha: A environment friendly plant” in the workshop on environment protection organized by NABARD, Gurgaon dated 23 Feb. 2004.

Ø    A presentation on “Jatropha : A wonder Plant” on trainees training programme on cultivation and Primary distillation of medicinal and Aromatic crops, 22nd  July 2004, at FFDC (Govt. of India), Kannauj (U.P.).