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A groundbreaking method of rice growing is gaining traction in India, thanks to its ability to produce larger amounts of crops and allow for independent farming.

By Julian Rollins

Photo: Freshly-threshed rice. © Neil Palmer (CIAT)

A new way of growing rice in India is producing record-breaking crops, reducing the need for chemical fertilisers and saving water.

Known as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), the rethink on traditional ways of growing is raising the bar on crop yield, with one Indian farmer reported to have set a new world record using the SRI method.

The grower, from the northern state of Bihar, has harvested 22.4 tonnes of rice from just a single hectare of land and did so using only farmyard manure as a fertiliser, according to the Observer. That’s close to ten times the average yield per hectare achieved by India’s farmers.

The destruction of ecosystems in Europe could be criminalised if campaigners are successful.

By Tom Lawson

Damaging ecosystems in Europe could become a crime if a new citizens’ initiative is successful in its year-long campaign to establish a continent-wide ecocide law.

Photo: Environment lawyer Polly Higgins (left), with MEPs at the lauch of the End Ecocide in Europe inititaive, Brussels, January 2013. © End Ecocide in Europe

The End Ecocide in Europe (EEE) initiative was set up by a committee of 11 citizens from nine European countries with the aim of criminalising ecocide through the creation of a European directive – a goal which member states must adhere to by adapting their laws.

The proposed legal definition of ecocide is “the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of an ecosystem of a given territory,” which could include the impact of activities such as hydraulic fracking.

Food growing and nutritional cooking classes could form part of the national curriculum from 2014, but the changes might be scrapped following criticism from industry.

By Ellie Garwood

Photo: School children in the West Midlands celebrate their harvest after working with Growing for Schools. © Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.

Following years of community-led action and celebrity-driven campaigns, food growing and cookery could soon become a compulsory part of a child’s education when they are added to the national curriculum in 2014.

Arguments for the addition of food growing were first considered following the release of the report Food Growing in Schools, by the charity Garden Organic in conjunction with over 20 partners including schools, retailers, voluntary and community organisations and government departments.

by Nikki Allen

From the US army to Oxford University, the concept of mindfulness is being embraced in some surprising places. Nikki Allen discovers the growing popularity of a simple approach to helping people change how they experience life.

Photo: Mindfulness is being taught in some schools to help pupils to concentrate. © Brother Phap Due.

As 2012 drew to a close, Labour MP Chris Ruane kicked off a debate in parliament about mindfulness and its potential impact on unemployment. The ensuing discussion gave a clear signal to the public that this powerful mind-body practice is firmly on the agenda of our country’s leaders.

“Mindfulness can both prevent people from becoming unemployed, limit the effects of unemployment, and help people to get back to work,” said Ruane. Plus, he pointed out, mindfulness has proven to be beneficial in the workplace, with participants more engaged in their work. “With a greater ability to concentrate, workers become more compassionate, both with themselves and their co-workers,” Ruane said. “And when used in prisons, prisoners become less aggressive and hostile, and have fewer mood disturbances.”

The signs of a widespread mindfulness movement don’t stop there – the practice is being taken ever more seriously within a host of corporate businesses. Its popularity in the workplace makes sense; its focus on stilling and de-cluttering the mind has been shown in many studies to improve attention span and concentration.

By Lucy Purdy

London-based designers dream up a gravity powered lamp, which could light the far corners of the developing world using a bag filled with rocks or sand.

Photo: Testing the GravityLight. © Therefore Limited.

A UK design duo have dreamed up a gravity-powered lamp which could bring light to remote regions of the developing world.

The GravityLight is powered by the gravity which results from filling a bag with rocks or sand and then slowly lowering it toward the ground.

A series of gears inside the light transfers the weight into energy. It takes three seconds to lift, which creates half-an-hour of light on its descent – and for free after the initial cost of buying the lamp.