A not-for-profit organisation based in Manjakkudi, Tamil Nadu, Spirit of the Earth has been on a mission to preserve, cultivate, and promote heritage rice varieties from across India since 2017. The initiative started by Sheela Balaji—chairperson and managing trustee of AIM for Seva and Swami Dayananda Educational Trust—aims to create benefits and opportunities not just for the farmers in the village, but the larger community as well.
Over the years, Spirit of the Earth has built and nurtured a seed bank of hundreds of traditional rice varieties from across states including Maharashtra, UP and Assam. Growing these varieties organically helps create a richer ecosystem and preserve traditional culinary cultures, making space for both a sticky purple Chak Hao Poireiton and an aromatic Jeeraga Champa in one’s pantry.
Why We Love Spirit of the Earth
- Extensive range – Spirit of the Earth encourages consumers to go beyond conventional varieties, and try heritage rice from diverse geographies. This allows for the discovery of unique flavours and textures, and also opens up the possibilities of a multitude of recipes that you can create from different kinds of black, brown and red rice in polished and unpolished forms.
- Preservation of seeds – Despite it being difficult to source seeds, they have conserved over 260 varieties of rice through their seed bank. Their work looks at researching and securing seeds from many Indian states including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.
- Training the farmers – After every harvest, seeds are shared for free with farmers to ensure the cultivation of local varieties. Farmers are also given the training to shift from chemical to organic farming.
- A single-source farm – Once the seeds are conserved, they are planted, harvested, milled, and packed at the same farm in Manjakkudi. This makes it possible for them to oversee and control their quality and practices at every step of the process.
- Experiential center in Chennai – Residents of Chennai can visit Spirit of the Earth’s immersion center in Mylapore to meet their team, and learn about the different varieties of rice that they have.
- Work beyond the field – Spirit of the Earth is a part of the Swami Dayanand Education Trust which began its work in Manjakkudi in 2001 to build a college to educate girls. Their work in seed preservation emerged as a way to bring about holistic development of the local community.
A Note From the Producer
“We are a social enterprise which conserves indigenous rice varieties and cultivates artisanal heritage rice. This is done at our 50-acre, organic farm in a village called Manjakkudi (approx. half an hour from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu) where we have, as of date, built a seed bank conserving more than 260 varieties of indigenous seeds from across India. Our intent is to revive the use of heritage rice, and bring it back to the urban kitchens.”
— Priyanka Navneet, Director of Marketing, Spirit of the Earth
The Locavore Bite
TL Bite offers a glimpse into how a partner producer runs their operations, and reflects their core principles and values. The idea is to provide insights into their practices and highlight their positive efforts descriptively. We have identified seven key areas of assessment – origin and source of ingredients, composition and integrity of the products, workforce policies, production practices, community-related initiatives, approach towards preserving or celebrating traditional knowledge and the materials used in packaging. While this assessment may not be entirely comprehensive, we hope it helps you make an informed decision about why you might want to support them, and the ways in which to.
The information below offers you a snapshot of where Spirit of the Earth stands on these parameters. We have put this together based on several rounds of conversation with Priyanka Navneet from Spirit of the Earth. Click on a piece of the pie below to find out more.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Spirit of the Earth, read our interview with them here.
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HERITAGE RICE
SAMPLER BOX
This is a collaborative sampler box of indigenous rice varieties curated by chef Thomas Zacharias along with Spirit of the Earth. Each bag of these seed varieties—which are sourced from Manipur, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh—hold 250 grams of rice so you can try them in different cooking applications, and discover what makes them unique.
This short and low yielding grain has the aroma of mango blossoms, hence the name (Ambe means mango, mohar means flowers). It was extensively used in Maharashtra for religious ceremonies and during festivals. Awarded a GI tag in 2016, Mulshi Ambemohar rice is believed to have been a favorite of the Peshwa rulers.
Recommended Cooking Instructions: Cooking with an Open Pan
Soak rice for 1 hour before cooking. For 1 cup of rice, add 4 cups of water.
Chak Hao Poireiton is a black rice from Manipur. The literal meaning of Chak Hao is ‘delicious rice’ (Chak – rice; Hao-delicious). This sticky textured rice is rich in fibre and it usually turns deep purple when cooked due to its anthocyanin content. It is a good source of plant-based protein.
Recommended Cooking Instructions: Cooking with an Open Pan
Semi Milled Colored Rice: Soak rice for a minimum of 8 hours or overnight. For 1 cup of rice, add 5 cups of water.
Jeeraga Samba is an aromatic rice that resembles the seeds of Jeeragam (jeera/ cumin). Cultivated during the samba season (August to January), this grain is rich in fibre and vitamins. Traditionally, it is used to prepare biryani, and Tamil Nadu favourites like tomato rice, lemon rice and tamarind rice.
Recommended Cooking Instructions: Cooking with an Open Pan
Semi Milled Colored Raw Rice: Soak rice for 2-3 hours before cooking. For 1 cup of rice, add 4 cups of water.
Katarni is an aromatic grain and was reserved for ‘ceremonial’ events. Native to Bhagalpur and Banka districts of Bihar, this rice has been facing the threat of extinction. Legend has it that the local regent Maharaja Rahmat Ali Khan Bahadur of Kharagpur pioneered Katarni plantation in the region.
Recommended Cooking Instructions: Cooking with an Open Pan
Semi Milled Raw Rice: Soak rice for 2-3 hours before cooking. For 1 cup of rice, add 4 cups of water.
Sukhdas was cultivated in Oudh (Kannauj to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, India). This white-grained, delicate, scented rice was cooked in the royal kitchen for Emperor Akbar. There is a mention in the document in Ain-i-Akbari written by Abul Fazl Allami around 1590 AD which gives an idea of how rice cultivars were obtained for the imperial kitchen during Akbar’s period.
Recommended Cooking Instructions: Cooking with an Open Pan
Semi Milled Raw Rice: Soak rice for 2-3 hours before cooking. For 1 cup of rice, add 4 cups of water.
How to Buy
If you would like to explore more heritage varieties, check out the Spirit of the Earth website. If you’re interested in supporting them in other ways, please contact us at connect@thelocavore.in.
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