Over a million Seedballs Dispersed in Fragile Ecosystems in India by C20’s Global Seedball Campaign

New Delhi / August 17, 2023: The Global Seedball Campaign by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, organized under the banner of the C20 Working Group on Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SRC) – Climate, Environment and Net Zero Targets, has reached the significant milestone of producing more than 1.3 million seedballs globally since its launch in April this year. The objective of the initiative is to promote environmental sustainability and restoration of ecosystems by producing and distributing over a million seedballs by the end of this year.

With a current presence across 5 continents and  12 Indian states, stakeholders across the country are taking active part in C20’s Global Seedball Campaign, including multiple state governments, school and college students, non-governmental organizations such as AYUDH, the youth wing of Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Rotary Club, the National Cadet Core (NCC), and others.

The campaign, first launched  in Kerala, quickly  spread across  states like Sikkim, Orissa, Telangana, AP, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand in collaboration with various institutional partners and other eminent dignitaries.

1.3 million seedballs have been disbursed globally especially in areas with a special focus on fragile ecosystems. The initiative was inaugurated in Puducherry this month by Smt. Droupadi Murmu, the Hon’ble President of India, with active participation from the state Government.

Said Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Troika Member, C20 & Vice Chairman, Mata Amritanandanmayi Math, “This Global Seedball Campaign aims to inspire the youth and masses to foster collaborative efforts towards a greener and sustainable future. It is gaining remarkable momentum in India with numerous participants, including students and NCC cadets, eagerly contributing to seedball creation. The initiative has received widespread support from local communities, from Kerala to Sikkim and Gujarat to Guwahati, with tens of thousands of people participating in making and scattering seedballs in forest areas. It has made a significant impact on fragile ecosystems in India, promoting biodiversity and ecological balance.”

The Seedball Campaign was launched at the global level earlier this year by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), the Chairperson of C20 India. Encouraging everyone in the world to take part in this campaign, Amma said: “Alignment with nature is the lasting and closest bond for the human body and life. Without the elemental forces of earth, fire, water, air and space, humankind and other creatures will cease to exist. Our essential consciousness is the totality of all these forces. As long as we do not acknowledge this eternal unity between humankind and these natural forces, peace, happiness, and harmony will remain a dream.”

A seedball is a small ball or pallet made of seeds mixed with clay and other organic materials to hold the ball together and provide nutrition to the seeds. Thrown or scattered in areas where vegetation is needed, the seedballs rely on natural Monsoon rainfall to germinate and grow into mature plants.

Creating seedballs is an ancient technique for reforestation and soil restoration that is today being carried out by community groups worldwide and includes people of all ages. It offers an environmentally friendly and low-cost solution with the potential to make a significant impact on the health and resilience of our planet’s ecosystems.

The Global Seedball Campaign, organized in collaboration with AYUDH, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s global youth wing, aims to disperse seedballs in fragile ecosystems worldwide. Volunteers from various centers of Mata Amritanandamayi Math in India, Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Australia, and Africa have come together to inspire people to contribute to this noble cause.

Dr. Maneesha V Ramesh, C20 SRC Working Group Coordinator said: “Every year, around 10 million hectares of forests worldwide are being destroyed. This alarming trend has disrupted the ecological equilibrium, leading to unfavorable consequences for the earth’s climate and biodiversity. As deforestation continues, immediate measures are imperative to safeguard the diversity of life on the planet, to ensure the well-being and continuity of countless species on earth. The Seedball Campaign, a simple and holistic approach devised by Amma is a major step in this direction to bring in behavioral change in all walks of life and across age groups to preserve nature and the ecosystem around us. In the long run this will lead to reduction in biodiversity degradation, equipping communities to become resilient to climate change and its impacts.