Arshinder Kaur

Arshinder Kaur
Punjab, India

Kaur has worked on the academic level to the grassroots to enhance her community’s understanding of environmental sustainability. She has organized and coordinated schools with Navdanya on themes of ‘Organic food & Culture’, Gandhi and Non Violence, Soil as a living system, Water democracy and Third International Conference on Water and Women 2005. Arshinder has developed resource materials and worked with students and farmers throughout India to incorporate sustainable techniques and alternatives. Arshinder has also developed a system for the standardization of several traditional plants in the Indian system of medicine - Neem, Diospyrus, Careya arborea, Cucumber and Trichosanthes.
Presently, Arshinder is working on the biodiversity, traditional rights of people in Madhya Pradesh, India and the impacts of exploration work on the immediate communities. She is also focusing on raising funds for the protection and trying to execute conservation methods there of for the gradually decreasing population of peacocks and turtles all over in the northern states of India.

Kaur's advice for women working to better the environment:
"I would say that if any woman is pursuing this goal of improving the environment, the most important thing is to find the most effective way that you can to do it. An ant can do more work than an elephant can do. And the ant biting the elephant can initiate the elephant to go on a rampage, or find food, etc. What I am trying to say is one should not have the fear that you are a woman, that is the most important thing. If you are persisting on your path with an honest and an open attitude, then there is nobody who can say 'stop' to you because you definitely will go ahead. But one should not simply be ambitious in the sense of 'I want to get a name or political fame in doing this work.' Because the cause is the most important thing. You must be persistent about any task that you do, and honest about whatever you are doing."
-from womensearthalliance.org