Fri, 04/12/2009 – Jude Fanton
In two weeks in and around Udaipur, Rajasthan, we have found there is greater diversity in food plants within the city walls than in rural areas.
A typical city example is just under our window; a Shiva temple that hosts a school with mature neem, tamarind, guava, sugar apple, a tropical Annona, and a citrus with small leaves that seems to be a lime. Every rooftop harbours pots of the famous Tulsi (the precious Indian basil used in medicine), aloe vera, a delightful species of jasmine and many more. Women water them from what we can observe with wash-up water. In the older part of Udaipur water is fetched and very precious.
In rural areas crops are grown as monocultures and there is a less diversity than in the city.