Welcome to Aagaaz-e-Punjab

PRANA is derived from prāṇa which is the Sanskrit word for breath, “life force”. The PRANA project at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was conceptualized to build on critical work being done for farmers in Punjab towards Promoting Regenerative And No-Burn Agriculture.

The PRANA team is a diverse and inclusive pool of talented and skilled experts who have come together as the core implementation team who will work closely with the farmers to achieve specific objectives and outcomes. Having begun the ground work in April 2022, the PRANA team experienced the first Paddy harvest in September 2022 – the end of the Kharif crop season - followed by the Wheat sowing season, also called the Rabi crop season.

Field Trip : 18th – 20th Jan 2023

The PRANA team came together at Amritsar, Punjab to embark on a field trip which had them interact with each other, and together learn through direct engagement with farmers and other key stakeholders of the PRANA project. Participants were also provided with a field trip factbook which equipped them with simple insights into cultural and community information. Basic reading included questions to trigger thoughts, observations and interactions between team members while on the journey.


Bonding over common experiences, the journey began with a Punjabi thali lunch at Haveli Ranjit avenue, followed by a visit to Gobindgarh Fort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh which houses the ancient warfare, coin and turban museum. A cultural program introduced the team to traditional cultural activities including the bhangra dance, and soon had the entire team joining the performing artists.
The same evening, the team visited Harminder Sahib (more popularly known as the Golden Temple) where prayers were offered and a community meal shared at the Langar (community kitchen).


The next two days took the PRANA team deeper into the villages and towns interspersed between Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ludhiana and Sangrur districts. Traveling on a mini-bus (‘Tempo Traveller’) the team spent each day visiting several farm plots practicing no-burn agriculture as well as demonstration of relevant machinery and technologies across villages Jamastpur, Bakipur, Jeobala, Balian and Biggarwal. Welcomed warmly by the local farmers and implementation partner teams, the PRANA team was felicitated and acknowledged for their role in facilitating no-burn agriculture outcomes. Farmers practicing no-burn agriculture were also recognized and awarded certificates for being role models to others in the community.

At Ludhiana, the PRANA team was welcomed by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), headed by the Vice Chancellor and his team of leading academicians to reinforce their intent to build upon the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed earlier in December. Strategic areas of mutual interest were discussed for further exploration of partnership across research & innovation, policy and thought leadership.


Armed with this incredible journey of new experiences to build upon, the PRANA team concluded the field trip with a train journey to Delhi, and then a collective withdraw into TERI Gram’s idyllic retreat center, surrounded by nature – where they began to recalibrate the PRANA roadmap and way ahead.