The following article appeared in the 'Madras Plus' supplement of the Economic Times', Chennai today. It has been very well written by Ms Shivashakti, a young reporter, who also participated in the ceremony at Nainar Kuppam on Sunday.

The article carried two lovely pictuers of chidren carrying the saplings. But unfortunately the very green box in which it appeared does not scan well. Also there is no online version on the web. So here is a transcript:

A plant named Pongamia

With the recent petrol hike, it has become a matter of urgent necessity to discover alternative sources of fuel

The day was an auspicious one. As the sun burnt brilliantly overhead, the remote village of Nainar Kuppam revelled in an aura of festivity. All the women were out, silver trays in hand, as in the traditional Penn Alaippu ceremony with one dramatic difference: on each tray you would find three Pongamia plants instead the usual array of fruits and sweets. As the Nagaswaram piper turned wind into music, the villagers were going to turn Pongamia seeds into engine fuel. That day, 1,003 Pongamia saplings were planted, thanks to Goodnewsindia.com, the funding and founding father of this ambitious project.

Pongamia, a household name in this village, remains an alien name to many others. Rakesh, a city kid is clueless. "Is it a TV show... the hottest new heroine maybe?" he ventures. Both guesses missed the mark by far. But where urban intelligence failed, rural intelligence prevailed. Ramu, a kid of seven from Nainar Kuppam, hits bull's eye. "Its a plant whose oil can function as a diesel substitute, " he clarifies effortlessly. The level of awareness raised in this village on the beneficence of Pongamia is astounding - and now every child here can talk volumes about this magic plant.

But of course this is no overnight accomplishment. DV Sridharan, the solitary force behind the GoodNewsIndia Foundation, spent the last six months conducting contact programmes for the village population. And since seeing is believing, he brought two engines to the site, making one run on diesel and the other on Pongamia oil for one hour. The villagers were delighted at the results, particularly at the aroma of the exhaust. "If all vehicles start running on Pongamia oil, the whole city will smell of delicious popcorn," laughs DV.

Apart from lectures and leaflets, plays and performances were also staged. Also present at the tree planting ceremony was Prof Dr Shrinivasa, the man behind the renaissance of Pongamia as Biofuel. Talking about the history of this illustrious shoot, he recalls, "Pongamia oil was actually discovered by Rudolf Diesel. He foresaw that the world will one day run out of fossil fuel and ran his his engines on groundnut oil way back in 1900." But now, with fuel prices shooting up, it has become a matter of urgent necessity to discover alternative sources of fuel. This holds particularly true for villages like Nainar Kuppam. The fishermen here have only just recovered from the Tsunami crisis, and will not be able to afford diesel in the future. Pongamia to them is a promise of a better way of life. As the green leafy ones grow, with it grows their future prospects.

More about Pongamia:

  • It is an easy maintenance plant. It requires only one litre of water per week and is safe from goats and cattle as they consider it inedible.
  • It is blessed with a long life and can live upto 80 years/
  • Apart from being engine fuel, its oil boasts a variety of other uses; It can be used in soap making, as lamp oil, or for medicinal purposes. Their stalks were once used as tooth brushes.
  • Mixed with Neem oil, Pongamia oil makes an excellent pesticide, with wide applications in the field of horticulture.
  • They can be used directly as fuel or as a blend with diesel.