Restore anniv- good response!

So The 5th  anniv of restore went on well..very well indeed..
We wanted our customers to thank and honour the farmers who produce our organic safe food..also wanted the staff to be recognised..They were honoured too.. There was a good crowd and true joy all over..
The Kasturba Nagar (part of the town where restore is ) res association came forward and gave us their hall for free..
We did have many farmers coming and all those who helped us along the way and who were part of the journey and any customers came..They were all happy to be there and it was fun interacting with all of them..
(I received calls from some farmers across the state  conveying their happiness n excitement at hearing this idea of having honoured farmers at our anniv)

We also had the (re)introduction of the book written by sangeetha one of the founder-volunteers of restore.. this is an amazing book on "Story of Green Revolution" ( பசுமை புரட்சியின் கதை) done with lots of research.. this tells the real story, often ignored or forgotten truths of the green revolution..also of agri situation then and now..the mistakes and possible corrections..
As always, any restore event has millet meals/snacks given away and today too it happened. Terra ladies cooked them for us.. hats off to them for not only preparing such fantastic food ( Barnyard millet upma kozhukattai, foxtail sweet pongal and a very innovative juice- malta lemon and puthina  with palm crystals) but also ensuring there was enough for all (more people than expected) and they were there all the while smiling and serving every one..


the sincere folks that we are, we ran our regular saturday veggie bazar too, this being a saturday:-)

Infact restore was started as fully volunteer run, 5 years ago and then we had staff coming in (4 now)..so it was volunteers who will go to the bus stands and parcel yards and collect the veggies, bring them to the bazar, clean, sort, weigh and arrange..then another bunch wud man the shop - weighing, billing and engaging with customers..This day, we all did a repeat of that..it was all done by Volunteers and staff were given a day off and asked to join only the celebration..(they enjoyed the idea and had loads of comments and smiles to offer..though we had not lost touch, things had changed..these days we handle 5 times more veggies than 5 years back..they also enjoyed the whole program including the honouring and the dinner outing with their whole family along with all volunteers)

and people didnt fail us.. they all showed up in loads...

Safe Food day at Ambattur..

This was a cute park maintained neatly by the residents..and the meeting was organised by the federation of residents associations of Ambattur.. Safe Food Alliance (and hence me along with nalla keerai boys and few other volunteers) jumped in on the National Safe Food day (feb 9th) and organised a movie screening and followed it with a talk..originally we had planned 'Genetic Roulette' but that being fully in english wasnt very well received..so half way thru changed it to Satyamev Jayate (tamil ver)..then followed up with the talk..covered about GM, safe food and what they can do..
1/ at individual level see food closely and check out for the ingredients and diclosed/not disclosed stuff..go organic
2/ spread the word about GM and safe food ..participate as community and take the message forward
3/ come out and support the small bunch of activists all over India in any way possible.. this small bunch has actually managed in stopping the GM food coming on to our plate..

the last point generated lots of interest..many youngsters came forward and said they would like to contribute..lets see how many do that really..
meanwhile it was federation of the various apartment and Res complexes of Ambattur.. all the various reps who were there were all hyper and have said they will now have screening and talks in all complexes..
as always we also had good millets food brought and sold..tasty and liked by all..this time it was Womens' collectives members who cooked the millets meal..

we also showcased about 'NallaKeerai' and people unanimously asked them to come and sell their organic keerai and vegetables in future in this park regularly..
a good safe market established too:-)

restore 5th anniversary!

'appy Birth day Restore!

 - What can a bunch of crazy urban folks do to agriculture?
 - so what? if a hand full of them start a volunteer run organic outlet?
 - what??? it will be a not-for-profit is it? I told you- these are bunch of crazy guys..

yes! Its 5 years since..

and restore is walking fine from the toddler it was then..

Please come and join us this saturday 16th Feb.

Its a great challenging path we tread and very unique too..

 

and BTW since its a saturday our regular veggie Bazaar happens from 5pm..

come there if u r in town..

the best way is to flatter us: pl copy this volunteer model in ur city and take the organic movement and safe food forward

Believe us: all u need is a handful of volunteers to run, successfully for 5 years..we are a living proof!)

We are sure, we are what we are today because of efforts of many of you. Time to share our path and convey our thanks to you all..                                          

                                                                

                                                               

We invite you to our fifth anniversary celebration, bazaar

and

book introduction of Pasumai Puratchiyin Kathai by Sangeetha Sriram

 (a founder- volunteer of restore)

at 4.00 pm on Saturday February 16^th 2013

 

Venue: Kasturba Nagar Residents Association, 2^nd Main Rd

(opp Nilgiris at the turning to reStore)

Kasturba Nagar, Adyar

 

PROGRAM

~ meet and honor the farmers who grow our food

~ acknowledgement of those who have worked to implement the vision of reStore

~ introduction of Pasumai Puratchiyin Kathai a book by Sangeetha Sriram

Thiru D I Aravindan (Writer and Editor, Namma Chennai) will speak

Dr. G Sivaraman, Siddha Vaidyar and columnist on health and safe food will receive a copy

~  organic 'inippu kaaram'  (sweet, savoury, healthy drink)

~ surprise give-away for all children!

 

special bazaar thereafter!

 

reStore is an initiative founded by a group of volunteers in 2008, with the aim of connecting Chennai citizens with organic chemical-free food and with the processes that bring food to our tables. reStore's activities include:

 

• RETAIL       reStore's 100% organic food outlet started in mid-2008 is directed by volunteers along with a group of staff members who are passionate about natural foods.
• URBAN FARMING      A very popular activity of reStore is edible gardening in both private and public spaces.
• AWARENESS         Volunteers and staff members of reStore participate in many awareness and advocacy efforts, towards ensuring a future where all Indians have access to foods free of poisonous chemicals and genetically modified organisms.

 

reStore, No. 27/10 Second Main Road, Kasturba Nagar, Adyar, Chennai 20

Ph: 044-24430093

http://restore.org.in

restorechennai@gmail.com