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Sign the Petition requesting The Honble Minister of State for Environment
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REPORT FROM RURAL BARDEZ: Pomburpa's Spring Fest 2010
Two hundred students of St. Elizabeth High School, Pomburpa,
and adults from all over Bardez, attended the week-long
"Pomburpa Spring Eco Summer Camp 2010" beginning on 12 April
that culminated on World Heritage Day i.e. 18 April, with the
'Spring Fest 2010'.
This was arguably the best "Spring Festival" held
in spring season to celebrate a natural water
spring that is reputed to have healing properties
for eye irritations common during the summer season
in tropical Goa. It happily coincided with the eve
of the festival of the Earth Goddess Lairaee in
Shirgao and her twin sister now famous all over
Goa as Milagris Saibinn of Mapusa. The zatra and
the feast coincide this year on 19 April, 2010.
The festival was inaugurated on Monday 12 April by Dr. Walter
D'Sa, Principal of St. Xavier's College, Mapusa, a college
that was started at the neighbouring village of Bastora in
1963 before moving to the market town in 1968.
Benhill Antao then demonstrated to the participants how to
handle snakes if they dare and advised them to contact the
Forest Department's animal rescue squad to show that they
care. Reptiles are also the children of Mother Nature. For
persons residing in Bardez, the Green Cross [Ph.9822123042]
also provides the free service of catching snakes that may
stray into houses in search of food, water or coolness during
summer, especially as their natural habitats are being
destroyed by the rapacious real estate developers.
On 13 April, the young Mr. Harish Sawant promoted the
learning of glass painting through hands-on experience. He
also showed the students the finer points of sketching. The
best of these works were on display at the Spring Fest on 18
April.
On 14 April was "A Day with Joe Rose". This singer from
Aldona has settled in Pomburpa and added life to the camp
with his singing, a skill he taught to the participants so
well that they demonstrated it with gusto at the Spring Fest.
Sujit Kumar Dongre of the Centre for Environmental Education
[CEE], Porvorim, interacted with the participants on
biodiversity on 15 April, while Alva Fernandes of the Food &
Drug Administration [FDA] interacted on 16 April.
The action shifted to St. Elizabeth HS on Saturday
17 April. Goa's garbage specialist, Clinton Vaz
from Benaulim, re-activated the compost pits set up
some years earlier with the sponsorship of the
Pilerne-based Green Ray Foundation [GRF]. It was a
happy occasion for Tony De Sa, Trustee of GRF and
former Headmaster of Sacred Heart High School,
Parra, the mother school of the more famous St.
Britto and St. Mary's High Schools of Mapusa. Funds
from GRF are available for similar projects in
schools anywhere in Goa, informed Tony.
The best was kept for the last. The Pomburpa Spring Fest
2010, displayed the Natural Heritage of the spring and its
surroundings as well as the Cultural Heritage of the village
to all on World Heritage Day.
There were displays of fruits, nuts, vegetables,
spices, flowers and plants of commercial importance
like the Soapberry or Rinta and Bhirindam or Kokum.
There were mangoes, cashews, jackfruit, chickoo,
pineapples, kokum, carvandam, cherries, churna
[Zizyphus rugosa] and the increasingly popular
Soursop [Anona muricata] that is reputed to have
cancer curing properties.
Miguel Braganza, who writes the popular weekly column "Green
Thumb" for plant lovers, enlightened the participants on the
reasons why the Tulsi [Ocimum sanctum] and the Banyan tree
were conserved by Indian rituals like Tulsichem laginn and
Voddachi Punov and why the Maddi [Sterculia foetida] was
planted at the fama of each church feast. Traditions like
drinking sol-kaddi for cholesterol balance and using the
non-corrosive soapberry for washing children's were also
highlighted.
Editor of Vavraddeancho IXTT, Fr. Feroze Fernandes; noted
architect Dean D'Cruz; former Sarpanch of Moira, Vigilia
DeSa; ex-Sarpanch of Pomburpa, Sara Maria Braganza;
Communidade researcher Leroy Veloso; Loss Prevention Manager
of Marriott Michael D'Melo; hotel management faculty Moses
Fernandes: Agriculture Officer Rena Fernandes; St. Xavier's
College lecturer Alice D' Cruz; journalists Pamela D'Mello
and Govind Potekar; Joe Rose, Tony De Sa and others were
present for the Spring Fest. Many of them would like to have
such events in their own villages.
Mario Fernandes [ph.9881344379], the moving spirit behind the
Pomburpa Spring Eco Camps since 2008, to bring the heritage
site into focus for conservation and improvement, and Fr.
Santan Carvalho, the Parish Priest of Mae de Deus church,
Pomburpa, have offered their expertise to do such events for
the love of Goa.
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[This note was received from Miguel Braganza, and is being
circulated, in the public interest, to build awareness on
issues of relevance to Goa. Please send your feedback to
goa...@goanet.org with a copy to Miguel Braganza
braganza.mig...@gmail.com or +91-9822982676 (SMS preferred).]
