Vertiver Led Capacity Building Workshop at PAU for Nukkad Natak Teams to Promote Regenerative and No-burn Agriculture Ahead of Crop Residue Burning Season

LUDHIANA, India, Sept. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Theater directors, bhand performers, folk singers and actors, agri scientists, educationists and behavior change experts, gathered at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) today for a highly immersive Nukkad Natak artists capacity building workshop. The training was conducted by Vertiver, a behavior change organization whose multi-disciplinary team has worked on climate action and natural resource conservation for over a decade. Vertiver conceptualized and developed the natak script through deep behavioral research in Punjab's villages, weaving into it a narrative that nudges farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices by highlighting their connection to soil, water, air and health.

This is the second time that Vertiver has trained Nukkad Natak artists in Punjab as part of its behavior change communications activities to support PRANA (Promoting Regenerative and No Burn Agriculture) project led by Nature Conservancy India Solutions Private Limited (NCIS). The nukkad nataks performed under the PRANA project across 18 districts in Punjab last year were so successful that they were widely adopted and supported by government departments across the state.

Nukkad Natak teams who participated in the trainings included Lok Kala Manch group from Majitha, Amritsar led by Gurmail Singh, Shahid Bhagat Singh Kala Manch group from Moga led by Tirth Singh; Art and Cultural Manch group from Matta Faridkot led by Tarsem Singh, Noor Art Group group from Bathinda led by Mr. Kesar Singh and Sarfarosh Rangmanch group from Fatehgarh Sahib led by Dali Singh Shah.

Shahbaz Bajwa, theater and film director from Chandigarh who was part of the training team, shared, "Seeing the nukkad natak artists deliver their dialogues in such creative and powerful ways shows that each of them feels the pain about the degrading quality of water, soil and air in Punjab and that more than acting they are channeling their own emotions into powerful performances. This will certainly resonate with farmers in the state." 

Vertiver's Senior Manager Agriculture and Climate, Dr. Gurwinder Singh, said, "The growing climate crisis combined with the soil and water emergency that Punjab is facing calls for every single farmer in Punjab to change their behavior and adopt sustainable agriculture practices. The data points of how farmers can benefit from no-burn and regenerative practices are in the script provided to nukkad natak artists and now they can uniformly deliver these messages across our villages."

Vertiver's Founder and CEO, Chhaya Bhanti stated, "We think of Nukkad Natak artists as the ultimate trim tabs. They trigger change from deep within the system, by delivering messages in a manner that truly resonates with the cultural and social values of rural audiences. These talented artists are carrying forward our oral traditions of knowledge sharing and learning through powerful storytelling, and being able to work with them to understand how to communicate the why and what of regenerative agriculture is a true privilege for us. These artists can play a pivotal role in nudging farmers to adopt no-burn practices."

PRANA (Promoting Regenerative and No Burn Agriculture) project is working in 18 districts of Punjab to promote no-till and regenerative agriculture practices in addition to no-burn, improving soil structure and increasing soil carbon.

About Vertiver:

Vertiver is a behaviour lab that specializes in connecting exploratory research with behaviour change communications for climate action and natural resource conservation. With a team of scientists, sociologists, designers, writers, performers, and filmmakers, we create solutions that are multi-disciplinary, vernacular and context-appropriate.

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