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RYAN CORRIGAN

AIF Clinton Fellow, Class of 2014-2015

By AIF

December 14^th, 2014

Film, photos, illustrations, and text by Ilana Millner | Media Fellow, Class of 2014-2015

JAGORI RURAL CHARITABLE TRUST

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RYAN CORRIGAN

It’s midmorning on a Wednesday in late October and Ryan Corrigan is sitting cross-legged on the floor of a room full of colorful women. Next to him is Babaji, an eighty-two year old veteran farmer and local pioneer of organic farming practices. Ryan, Babaji, and the large group of female farmers have gathered to discuss the formation of an independent farmers’ collective; everyone is interested but there are many concerns about the cost of transporting vegetables, language barriers, and the availability of vehicles. At the front of the room sits Ryan’s mentor, Mamta, deftly steering the conversation towards a resolution. “She’s a very happy, energetic person,” says Ryan, “and she knows how to get the job done.” Outside, the Himalayas sit steadfast in their silence, ever-rising in the eyes of those who gaze upon them.

Ryan is an American Fellow from Omaha, Nebraska, now based in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh with Jagori Rural Charitable Trust. Jagori works in the fields of women’s leadership, youth development, agriculture, and human rights—a combination that suits Ryan’s own academic and professional interests. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Doane College (Crete, Nebraska), where he cultivated a skill set and knowledge base focused on ecological design, sustainable development, organic agriculture, social entrepreneurship, and community empowerment.

Ryan is a natural fit for Jagori’s Sustainable Agriculture, Forest and Land (SAFAL) team, which aims to promote natural growing methods in the Kangra Valley. Describing the experiences that led him to the Fellowship and Jagori, Ryan explains: “In April of 2014, I spent a month as a volunteer for Kheti Virasat Mission [Faridkot, Punjab] documenting natural organic farmers who had taken on experimental farming techniques. I conducted question/answer sessions and stayed in their homes, ultimately posting their stories on the KVM website. In May, I completed a fifteen-day permaculture design certification course in Darjeeling where I was able to work with some volunteer farmers as clients and map/design their land. It gave me a ton of tools and a new perspective on how to make our farming practices not only sustainable, but regenerative.”

His certification in permaculture design, and his experiences as a Fulbright English Teach Assistant (ETA) in Kolkata, make him uniquely qualified to engage Jagori’s farmers in productive workshops on best practices for increasing soil fertility without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The opportunity to contribute to this paradigm shift in local farming approaches is one of the reasons Ryan returned to India after the completion of his tenure as a Fulbright ETA in 2013. Reflecting on his desire to work in India, Ryan says: “it [India] is really the epicenter for development; I think if you can solve complex problems in India, you can do it anywhere else in the world. They have every problem there is to offer, and so a lot of work needs to be done, and there’s a lot of great, forward-thinking going on in India right now.”

Farmers attend a Jagori meeting focused on the establishment of a collective external to Jagori's Greenleaf Market.

Ryan is passionate about his work; he is driven by curiosity and by the conviction that in order for farmers to build sustainable farms, they need to understand the fundamentals of why the land will or will not produce the harvest they seek. As Ryan describes the situation, traditional Gaddi growing practices were so severely disrupted by the advent of the Green Revolution that many farmers now know only the synthetic fertilizer and pesticide-based agriculture that took India by storm in the 1960’s. What’s more, high-yield hybrid seeds have both literally and metaphorically altered the agricultural landscape across India, decreasing agricultural biodiversity and propagating produce that not only has inferior nutritional content, but is also infused with pesticides that increase the likelihood of cancer in the populations that consume them.

Fifty years after the onset of the Green Revolution, the land is revolting. It no longer yields the returns promised by the Indian government and other international organizations that initially championed the use of nonorganic farming methods. Seeking alternatives, farmers are now more willing to turn to organizations like Jagori, which offer assistance in the transition to organic farming.

In facilitating this process, Ryan aims to impart not only technical knowledge of specific farming practices, but also a love of the process. One only needs to spend a few minutes with Ryan to understand how much he enjoys his work. Walking the grounds of Jagori’s campus, he pauses at a large coop, squats down, and points to the healthy, white rabbits that sit inside it. Ryan’s eyes light up as he declares rabbit poop a terrific fertilizer, and rattles off ways to put it to use. He speaks of the soil like some might a city—a thrilling, vibrant environment, as rich with potential as it is it is burdened with blight.

“[T]he notion that some sort of chemical ingredient makes up soil fertility is generally wrong. What soil fertility means is the amount of life in the soil. Higher fertility means higher amounts of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, different worms, arthropods—moving around and making that soil active. […] Soil is a living structure, and many times in many parts of the world, even here, it’s treated as something inert; as something that you put the plant into, and then you need to feed around that. But it’s a living structure and the more living you make it, the greater fertility you have, with less disease.”

One way Ryan intends to help Jagori’s farmers increase the fertility of their soil is to teach them how to prepare and utilize “compost tea”—a veritable liquid gold in the world of organic agriculture. Ryan describes this interesting brew as “a mixture of soil life” —a means of amplifying the impact of traditional compost.

Ryan’s recipe for compost tea:
1) Add 10 l of non-chlorinated water to a brewing container
2) Add 10 ml of unsulfured molasses (jaggery) to promote the growth of bacteria
3) Add nutrients such as 10 ml of worm waste and 25 grams of powdered kelp
4) Using a low-cost tool such as an air pump, continuously stir this mixture over the course of twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

In order to make his compost tea brewer (pictured below), Ryan cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic bucket, fitted it with a kitchen drain, attached PVC piping to the drain, and then fed tubing from a set of air pumps into PVC piping. When the air pumps are turned on the compost tea flows down and out of the bucket, through the pipe, and then back into the bucket from above. As Ryan puts it, “the brewing container effectively lifts and aerates water from below and creates a vortex stirring action, which provides sufficient oxygen for organisms to grow.”

RYAN CORRIGAN

Ryan explains that after about forty-eight hours of this continuous circulation, a “huge growth” in the population of bacteria, protozoa, worms and arthropods will have occurred in the brewing container. “Basically, you’re taking many of the beneficial organisms from compost and multiplying them hundreds of times. This way, it reduces the amount of compost the farmer needs from one ton per acre, to about two pounds per acre. Further, bacteria at such high concentrations create a glue which binds to your leaves and protects them from pests. Then,” says Ryan, “you spray it on your fields. It [compost tea] allows you to use much less compost, and get the same results as you would if you had a whole field of [solid] compost.”

RYAN CORRIGAN

RYAN CORRIGAN

A visit to Babaji's garden.

Ryan discusses mulching with a SAFAL team member.

Farmers attend a meeting with Jagori's SAFAL team.

Ryan (left, in green) and the SAFAL team meet with local farmers to discuss the formation of a farmers' collective.

RYAN CORRIGAN

A Day with Greenleaf market

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Ryan carries vegetables into the Greenleaf sorting center at the start of a market day.

As part of his work with Jagori, Ryan also helps to run the Greenleaf Market. Greenleaf is another Jagori initiative that aims to help bring local women back into the agricultural process while simultaneously moving the farming community towards organic growing practices. The Greenleaf team pays local farmers premium rates for the produce they’ve grown using natural farming methods, and then does the work of marketing and selling this produce to the thriving expatriate population in Mcleodganj, home of the Dalai Lama, and the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Although popular amongst Mcleodganj’s large community of expatriates, Greenleaf is still only reaching a small portion of the greater produce market. “[W]e’re selling a lot of produce to foreign nationals who want it for the health impacts of having fresh, organic vegetables,” Ryan explains. “My goal, and the goal within the organization, is to expand that: help more farmers start growing organic for their own health, and also develop different strategies to market to the local, permanent community so we can have a demand to meet the supply.”

Spearheading this initiative is Ryan’s mentor, Mamta. “[T]he person who’s taken me under their wing the most is Mamta,” says Ryan. “She‘s about five-foot tall, a little lady with the biggest smile you could possibly imagine. […] She manages the Greenleaf organic market: she makes the phone calls, she contacts the customers, she makes sure the farmer’s produce is up to snuff—that it’s something that the consumers won’t just throw away. I really respect Mamta,” says Ryan, “because without her willingness to go through adversity, and willingness to try and make this always a better and better thing, I don‘t think Greenleaf would exist as it is, or into the future at all.”

Pictured below are scenes from a day with Ryan and the Greenleaf team:

Ryan's commute to work consists of an approximately ten-minute walk, which features lovely scenery.

Ryan joins the joins the Jagori team in the Greenleaf van—both a means of transportation and the market space itself.

Ryan (not pictured) helps Babaji (left) and Mamta (right) weigh and pack bunches of bok choy for the market.

Mamta pays Babaji for the day's produce.

An order slip from a regular Greenleaf customer.

Ryan sorts vegetables and packages tofu, honey, and flour in preparation for the market.

Some of the fresh eggs that the Greenleaf team collects from farmers on their way to Mcleodganj.

Mamta tends to an eager crowd of customers.

Mamta (left) and Ryan (right) share a laugh at the end of the day as they prepare to head back to Rakkar.

Location: Rakkar, Dharamshala

McleodGanj, Dharamshala is the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration. Travelers from around the world flock to the Dalai Lama’s compound for both teaching and tourism, delighting in the splendor of the mountains, the taste of the momos (Tibetan dumplings), and the beauty of Tibetan handicrafts. The area is heavily influenced by the presence of the Tibetan community and its rich cultural traditions, as well as by the local Gaddi community. McleodGanj is bustling and highly commercial, saturated with foreigners and the scholaraly, religious, and studios alike.

However, thirty minutes and world away from McleodGanj, life in the village of Rakkar is quiet. The mountains are a constant presence, as is the sound of clear, cold water running downhill, and in the current season, the slow creep of winter’s chill. Jagori is about a ten-minute walk from the lovely homestay where Ryan lodges. His “Aunty” makes dinner each night, and each morning packs a tiffin for his lunch; meanwhile, his gregarious “Uncle” rises early to practice pranayama (breathing exercises) as the sun breaks across the mountain peaks. Ryan often sits with them in the morning to sip Aunty’s chai, a special blend of ginger and tulsi (holy basil), the latter picked straight from the neat little garden Aunty tends outside.

These silent moments in nature are something that Ryan revels in. Although he’s geographically isolated from the rest of the Fellowship class, his family, and his friends, he sees this distance as a benefit; tucked away from the rest of the world, he has the chance to really throw himself into the opportunity he’s been granted. Of his goals for the year, he says: “What I’m trying to do here is figure out a way to explain these benefits [of organic farming] in a way that can produce action. […] I’m hoping I’m really going to be able to make an impact on a lot of people, and really get to know a culture for a sustained period.” Watching Ryan at work with the Jagori team, it’s easy to see that he’s well on his way.

A view of the mountains from a street in Mcleodganj

The Norbulingka Institute for Tibetan Culture, in Sidhpur, Dharamshala

RYAN CORRIGAN

The Norbulingkha Institute for Tibetan Culture

RYAN CORRIGAN

Cow patties dry in the sun

Mamta (center) and the SAFAL Team at work in the Jagori garden.

Ryan and his Jagori colleagues chat during a midmorning break

Monkeys in the trees near Dharamkot, a small town above Mcleodganj

A lineage of Service

Ryan is the most recent addition to the lineage of Fellows placed at Jagori Rural Charitable Trust. Sarah Connette and Bhumi Purohit (class of 2011-2012) cofounded Greenleaf with then Jagori program manager Gayatri Sharma, who went on to join the Fellowship class of 2013-2014. Cassie Denbow, a current Program Manager for the Fellowship and an AIF Clinton Fellowship alumnae (class of 2013-2014), was also placed with Jagori last year. Cassie played a significant role in helping Jagori to develop the Greenleaf Market, and she formed a lasting friendship with Ryan’s current mentor, Mamta.

Reflecting on her time as a Fellow, Cassie says: “While working at Jagori, there was a great sense of a reassurance to know I had Fellowship alumni to reach out to with questions and scenarios. It’s fantastic to see Ryan continue the AIF Clinton legacy, infusing his work with his own unique talents and knowledge. Any systemic change takes time, and I truly do believe that when looking back at the alumni placed at Jagori, they were catalysts for change. And that’s very exciting to be a part of.”

Cassie and Ryan on Jagori's campus

Footnotes

Film, photos, illustrations, and text by Ilana Millner | Media Fellow, Class of 2014-2015. © Ilana Millner for the American India Foundation.

FootNotes

Film, photos, illustrations, and text by Ilana Millner | Media Fellow, Class of 2014-2015. © Ilana Millner for the American India Foundation.

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