Deccan Development Society

12/11/2025

Celebrating Our Community Seed Keepers!

We are overjoyed to share that the Community Seed Bank, Block: Zahiraabad, Jarasangam Mandal, Village: Manchur, Sangareddy District, Telangana, has been selected for the Plant Genome Saviour Community Award 2022–23 by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), Government of India.

The award conferred during a special ceremony on 12 November 2025 at Bharat Ratna C. Subramanyam Convention Centre, NASC Complex, New Delhi, in the gracious presence of Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, who will be the Chief Guest for the event.

This recognition honours the extraordinary women farmers and Sangam teams of the Deccan Development Society (DDS) who have nurtured the roots of biodiversity for over three decades.
Heartiest congratulations to our inspiring Seed Keeper sisters:

Molgeri Chandramma
Hussengari Suryakala
Suryapeta Nagamma

and many more farmers who have safeguarded traditional food seeds in their fields and homes.
Their tireless efforts began long before the first Mobile Biodiversity Festival in 1999, when they had already conserved 82 varieties of crops—laying the foundation for what would become a global example of community-led conservation.

Today, their leadership and resilience have once again earned national recognition through this prestigious award.

We also extend heartfelt gratitude to:
Dr Shaik Meera, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Dr Vara Prasad, Sr. Scientist & Head, DDS-KVK, and his dedicated team for documenting and supporting this historic achievement. Divya, Executive Director of DDS, for her visionary leadership, encouragement, and unwavering commitment to empowering rural communities and seed keepers.

All Sangham Supervisors, whose guidance continues to strengthen community-led farming movements. To all our farmers, leaders, and supporters this success belongs to you. Your wisdom, resilience, and love for the land ensure food sovereignty for generations to come.

Let’s continue celebrating our biodiversity and the grassroots heroes who protect it every day!

04/09/2025

📸Snaps from the Uncultivated Greens Festival organized on Sunday. Around 120 people including visitors, farmers and scientists participated in the event

Read more at https://ddsindia.org/ucf2025/

28/08/2025

REGISTRATIONS CLOSE TODAY! REGISTER NOW AT bit.ly/ucf2025

Uncultivated Greens Festival is back for this year!

It's the season to enjoy traditional telangana tastes of orphan greens. Deccan Development Society is back with the much awaited Annual Uncultivated Greens Festival on Sunday, 31st August 2025!

Come and Witness the fascinating display of nutritionally rich greens, Visit the ecological farms of our Millet Sisters who preserve and promote great diversity on their fields, and join us in a millet lunch feast with 20+ Orphan Green Curries!

Make sure to register yourself at bit.ly/ucf2025 before 28th August, 5.00pm

22/08/2025

✨40 varieties on half acre! The incredible agrobiodiversity on the rainfed small farm of Suryapet Nagamma from Pastapur Sangham is a sight to behold! 😍

On her small plot, Nagamma has cultivated nearly 38 varieties of crops that include 15 varieties of millets, 16 varieties of pulses and 5 varieties of oilseeds and 4 varieties of other minor crops and vegetables. Additionally, her farm which is enriched with farmyard manure also hosts a variety of uncultivated greens which she harvests while manually weeding her farm. Her half acre is now a thriving ecosystem in itself with many crops also serving other roles as trap crops for pests, cover crops to retain moisture, nitrogen fixers to create living soil, structural support for climbing creepers and many others; while also providing impressive diet and nutritional diversity for her household. The remarkable diversity is a testament to the holistic nature of traditional peasant farming systems.

How many crops can you identify from these pictures? Let us know in the comments👇

20/08/2025

Uncultivated Greens Festival is back for this year!

It's the season to enjoy traditional telangana tastes of orphan greens. Deccan Development Society is back with the much awaited Annual Uncultivated Greens Festival on Sunday, 31st August 2025!

Come and Witness the fascinating display of nutritionally rich greens, Visit the ecological farms of our Millet Sisters who preserve and promote great diversity on their fields, and join us in a millet lunch feast with 20+ Orphan Green Curries!

Make sure to register yourself at bit.ly/ucf2025 before 28th August, 5.00pm

12/08/2025

Few snaps from the recently concluded First Deccan Vikalp Sangam!

From 7th to 9th August, nearly 60 civil society organization members, community members, activists and academicians working in the Deccan region came together for the Deccan Vikalp Sangam, a confluence for organizations and individuals working on development alternatives in the Deccan with bio-regional perspective, at the DDS-Krishi Vigyan Kendra campus at Didigi Village, Zahirabad madal, Telangana.

Read more about the proceedings of the event at our website here: https://www.ddsindia.org/deccanvikalpsangam/

16/07/2025

N.Anjamma, senior sangham seedsaver and DDS-CMT women featured in Eenadu Vasundhara today.

పదేళ్లకే పెళ్లి... వ్యవసాయ కూలీ... నడిమిదొడ్డి అంజమ్మ జీవితం ప్రారంభమైంది ఇలానే. అక్షర జ్ఞానం లేకున్నా, సిరిధాన్య....

11/07/2025

📻 మన సంఘం రేడియొ ఇక ప్రతి రోజు యూట్యూబ్ లో ప్రసారం! నేడే ఛానల్ సబ్ స్క్రయిబ్ చేయండి, రోజు రాత్రి 7-9 గంటలకు ప్రోగ్రాం వినండి!

Sangham Radio is now available to stream on Youtube everyday! Subscribe now and tune in every day from 7-9pm! 💗

జహీరాబాద్ ప్రాంతం కు చెందిన 'సంఘం రేడియొ' లో భారత దేశం లోనే మొట్టమొదటి కమ్యూనిటి రేడియొస్టేషన్ మరియు పూర్తిగా ద....

09/07/2025

Our latest newsletter is out now. Click below to read more

Read the latest stories from Deccan Development Society Sanghams

20/06/2025

📸 Snaps from the recent Weather Patterns mapping PRA at DDS Pastapur office. It was an enriching couple of days filled with local knowledge of rainfed farmers and elders on their perceptions of the patterns of rain, winds, sun and its effect on soils throughout the year. A detailed report will be out soon on DDS website.

31/05/2025

🎥 WATCH NOW: B Kamalamma Plenary Speech at Second National Women Farmers' Convention at Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune organized by Mahila Kisan Aadhikar Manch (MAKAAM).

Read more about Sangham women participation in the convention at https://www.ddsindia.org/makaam-pune/

https://youtu.be/dEzltOA7wGs?si=4dJ4ryyYz05KMGBn

Full speech by B.Kamalamma during the plenary session "Feminist Persepctives on Agroecology: Perspectives and Strategy" at Second National Mahila Kisan Samme...

28/05/2025

WE ARE HIRING!

We are looking to hire young telugu-speaking candidate for the role of Program Coordinator at DDS project office in Pastapur, Telangana.

Find more details below or at https://www.devnetjobsindia.org/jobdescription.aspx?job_id=267671