Dr.Richhariya In-situ Rice Seed Centre
At, Dr.Richhariya in-situ rice seed Centre(DRIRS), We Conserve Indigenous Paddy Seeds that are native to our Village, Komaralingam. We Conserve these seeds in their natural habitat. These grains have been grown in our village community for many generations owing to its unique characters.
Our Story
India had more than 2 lakh variety of Indigenous rice seeds in 1950s. But, now, we have less than 1% of Indigenous paddy seeds. Rest of seeds has gone extinct.
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Literally every village in India had its own indigenous paddy seeds suited for their own geographical and climatic conditions.
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We wanted to find the indigenous paddy seeds of our village. Eventually, we started for our search to find the native seeds of our village, Komaralingam.
During the course of our search, We reached to Agriculture Department, Agri- Universities, Research scholars, Doctrates across India who worked in agriculture for decades. But, none could help us. No one knew the native indigenous seeds of our village.
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After months, we were disillusioned about our failure. Finally, we meet an illiterate old farmer working in the fields. The man was in his late 80s. He asked us, why we look sad. We explained about our search for the native seeds.
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The Old man stood for sometime silently and uttered some names of Indigenous paddy seeds that were cultivated in our village when he was young. We thought, how could this man be right as the educated scientist couldn't help us. Yet, We noted down those names and went away.
Pallu is a ancient tamil literature that has mentioned the names of hundreds of Indigenous paddy seeds that were grown hundreds of years ago. When we cross checked these names in the Literature, we were mesimerized to find the names, that the old man uttered was there in the ancient Literature. We understood that indigenous knowledge is not there in universities but with its people. This changed our understanding and perspectives.
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Finally, we came to a conclusion about the paddy varieties of our village. We, then searched for those varieties across Tamil nadu and found some of seeds that the old man told. We found 4 indigenous paddy that were grown in our village. We are still searching for some more paddy varieties.
Finally, We, Cultivated these seeds at our farm with the traditional organic farming practices.
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We observed that the paddy that were native to our village grew well in our soil. We understood the age old wisdom of our farmers.
We also organized an event, where youth from different streams participated in harvesting the paddy. We used traditional hand harvesting methods that was used in harvesting paddy for thousands of years.
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We then harvested these paddy and milled them into Rice. During Milling, We observed something very unique.
Traditionally, village women process rice using mortar and pestle. But, now a days, this is replaced by modern rice mills. When we did nutritional analysis of rice processed traditionally we found amazing results.
Advantages of Traditionally processed Rice include,​
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Maximum Nutrient Retention
The wooden mortar-and-pestle method removes only the husk, keeping fiber, B-vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants intact. -
Traditional Processing
Hand pounding replicates centuries-old village practice, ensuring each grain retains its natural aroma and earthy taste. -
Low Heat, High Quality
Minimal friction prevents nutrient loss and preserves the rice’s delicate oils and nutrients. -
Digestive & Glycemic Benefits
The intact bran softens during cooking, aiding digestion and promoting slow-release energy for balanced blood sugar. -
Rich, Nutty Flavor
A firmer, chewy texture and robust taste that elevates pilafs, salads, porridge, and everyday rice dishes.
These advantages are lost in modern milling process. After this, we understood that indigenous farmers not only had vast knowledge about seeds and breeding but also precisely knew how to process the food such that it retains its nutrition that are essentials for the human body. We, still couldn't figure how ancient farmers knew about nutritions without a laboratory analysis. Yet, We processed rice with the outer layer intact in traditional manner and started to give it to people.
When, we processed the indigenous paddy grown by traditional processing, We got a red rice. This red rice had low glycemic index and is very good for diabetic and pre- diabetics patients.
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This was the story of one Indigenous rice of one village, Komaralingam. If we analyze, all indigenous paddy, we are sure, we will be amazed by its unique properties. Yet, they are planned and executed such that its is unavailable to the public.
Click here to read about, how India's indigenous seeds were precisely planned and destroyed.