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Cinammon, cloves, cardamom, peppers – the spice jars that line our kitchens remind us of how much spices and its trade has changed the course of history. As early as 3000 BC, a major spice trade center had established itself – the Muziris port in Kerala, southwest India. Kerala, India’s spice garden, was where all […]

The coffee we enjoy each morning takes a long while to arrive in our cup. Three to four years is the time it takes for the coffee plant to bear the fruit or the coffee cherry that turns a bright deep red when ready for harvest. Inside this cherry is the seed, or the coffee […]

Forests hold great value – ecologically, economically, socially and even culturally. It’s a resource that billions of people rely on. For estimates, about 1.6 billion people depend on forests – through the use biomass fuels, for livelihoods, and even dwelling – as it is home to about 60 million indigenous peoples and other forest-based communities. […]

Thousands of years ago, in China, the practice of growing and harvesting fish originated.  This practice that provided a source of protein for the population has evolved into a system called fish farming or aquaculture.  In simple terms, it is the farming and harvesting of fresh or salt water fish and shell fish.  Today, a […]

SourceTrace Systems has signed up with Saaraketha, a completely organic food production enterprise headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, marking its foray into the emerald isle.  Saaraketha specializes in the production of organic foods through engaging smallholder farmers who want to embrace sustainable methods of production. All across the globe, consumers who are politically and environmentally […]

Fluffy whiteness, purity, durability, comfort – these are the qualities we most associate with the cotton fabric.  But look beyond, and the picture is far from rosy.  This very cotton fibre, which is one of the most widely-traded commodities on earth, is a crop that in reality is extremely environmentally destructive.  Occupying just 2.5% of […]

Better Cotton, a venture of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) that was set up in 2005, is a movement to combat the harmful processes and outcomes of conventional cotton production. Defined as cotton that is ‘measurably better’ for the environment and farming communities, farmers cultivating Better Cotton minimize the harmful effects of pesticides, use water […]

Agro-biodiversity constitutes every form of life that is directly relevant to agriculture. It refers not just to the seeds, plants and animals on the farm that the farmers have introduced, but also the native plants, animals and insects existing on and flowing through the farm. In agro-biodiversity, every species, no matter how small, has a […]

A blanket of carbon di-oxide hangs trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, mainly as a result of burning fossil fuels and burning of forests to create farms and pastures. Surviving in the earth’s atmosphere for up to centuries, this carbon di-oxide is warming the earth and bringing it onto the verge of climatic changes. Global temperatures […]