Khadi Organics

Sadhana Prasad and Joshua Schmidt, the founders of Khadi Organics, will undertake the climb to the South base camp of Mt. Everest over a three week period in December 2008. The goals are global and across Canada: To raise funds for children in need on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, to raise funds for equipment on the Medicine Program at St Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener-Waterloo, and create prosperity amongst rural farming villages of India through socially and environmentally sustainable initiatives.

The trek is both a personal challenge, and a challenge to the general population to make a lasting difference for those in need.

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THE CHALLENGE?

All proceeds go to support local charities within British Columbia and Ontario Canada, and to start two initiatives in India focusing on creating sustainable agriculture through organic farming practices, empowering local communities to support themselves, and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Ontario donations go to the Geriatric Services / Medicine Program of St. Mary’s General Hospital (SMGH). The funds will be used to purchase much needed bladder scanner, vital signs monitors, pulse oximeter, bariatric wheelchair/ stretcher/ bed, and external hearing augmentation devices. The equipment will be used in the Emergency Room and throughout the hospital.

British Columbia donations go to support the Queen Alexandra Foundation (QAF) for Children in support of the QA orthotics, prosthetics, and wheelchair seating program for Island kids in need. This program is one of only two public pediatric orthotic and seating programs in BC and the money will be used to fund safety checks, customization, and repairs of the equipment used by 500 children and youth with special needs.

The initiatives in India are:

IRRIGATION PIPELINE

Naya Wathoda Village, Maharashtra, India

Currently, farmers of Naya Wathoda are completely dependent upon the monsoon rains to water their crops, and can only harvest one crop per season. This single crops income stretches only so far after paying for costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides resulting in many farmers having no choice but to borrow from moneylenders with rates as high as 10% per week. Even worse, some of these farmers are pushed to commit suicide from the shame of being unable to care for their families.
However hope lies within a nearby canal which can provide water to their fields year round, allowing for two or even three crops a year! These extra crops will allow the farmers to prosper during the dry season and, with the inspiration of the village elder, adopt organic agricultural methods. All they need is access to a water irrigation system to transport the water.

SEED BANK

Vidarbha region, Maharashtra, India

The Vidarbha region of India has been using industrial methods of farming since the Green Revolution, and now most farmers have lost any knowledge of organic methods of agriculture relying purely on genetically modified seeds and the costly chemical fertilizers & pesticides required to make them grow.This cycle, however, can be broken by building a Seed Bank to provide hundreds of farmers within the area access to heritage seeds and the education needed to successfully make the transition to organic agriculture. These farmers will in turn replenish seed stocks using their own crops, protecting the bio-diversity of India’s plant life and replenishing the eco-systems of their fields.www.Navdanya.com