2011 – 2014
Farm Preneur Programme
Nutrition gardens introduced in 150+ government schools, weaving organic farming into entrepreneurship.
Youth-led eco-social movement · Est. 2005
Climate grief to climate action
Across Northeast India, young people are turning eco-anxiety into soil, seed and shade — rebuilding land through compassionate natural farming.
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- Commandos trained
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- Farmers reached
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- Blocks covered
01 — Success Stories
What the work looks like on the ground
Four programmes that changed how communities in Northeast India grow, eat and earn.
Partnership · ASRLM
Women Farmers Empowerment
219 block coordinators trained as master trainers, reaching 150,000+ women farmers across Assam.
December 2024
Orange Festival
Orange cultivation revived in Assam's Ampri Valley through a festival built on culture, not lecture.
Tinsukia
Farm School, Tinsukia
At Don Bosco Hijuguri, students out of formal education combine farming with learning.
02 — Vision & Mission
Vision
Green Commandos for a green world and a greener North East.
Mission
A youth-led movement carrying North East India towards a climate-smart world.
03 — What We Do
Three pillars of transformation
Cultivating Hopes, Harmony and Healing
Environmental Protection
Ecological restoration
- Restoring degraded land through food forests
- Preserving indigenous seed varieties
- Creating wildlife corridors
Green Innovation
Agroecological solutions
- Bamboo biochar for soil regeneration
- Natural farming techniques
- Climate-smart agriculture
Community Engagement
Youth leadership
- Training 5,000+ Green Commandos
- Reaching 200,000+ farmers
- Building rural enterprises
04 — History
Twenty years, one root system
It began in 2005, when Samir Ranjan Bordoloi became India's first Plant Doctor and chose to work on farmers' fields rather than from a desk. A food forest followed, then a curriculum, then a movement.
05 — The Journey
Becoming a Green Commando
Four stages, from first contact with the land to leading a movement of your own.
01
Reconnect
Meet the land again on its own terms, in a living food forest.
02
Practice
Grow a working model at home that others can come and see.
03
Lead
Train your village, then your block, and bring others through.
04
Transform
Turn practice into a movement with a life beyond you.
RAW
An immersive camp in a living food forest. Seed-keeping, natural farming foundations, homestead design and climate-resilience skills.
WAR
Mentoring for RAW graduates who have delivered ten or more community trainings. Build a live model and a working enterprise.
COMBAT
Advanced mentoring for practitioners running an active model — training trainers, building cohorts and leading publicly.
06 — Impact
Numbers grown in real soil
0Commandos trained
0Farmers reached
0Women farmers
0Blocks covered
0Years of impact
0Government schools
0Food forest models
1 lakh+Biochar practitioners
0Trees planted
07 — Champions
Green Commando Champions
Practitioners who took the training and built something of their own.
Photo to follow
Arjun Trivedi
Education
Integrating agroecology into mainstream education.
Photo to follow
Itisha Sarah
Enterprise
Environmental advocate; 100+ women employed through her enterprise.
Photo to follow
Sikur Padma Paw
Farm School
Farm school leader, and composer of the movement's anthem.
Photo to follow
Migal Doley
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy trainer and founder of TREE.
08 — From the Field
Programmes, and the record we keep
Six programme areas across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur — photographed by the team as the work happens.
30,000+
Native trees planted through afforestation in the Umswai Valley.
219 blocks
Reached across Assam through the ASRLM partnership.
1 lakh+
Practitioners now making and using bamboo biochar.
Umswai Valley
Homestead food forests developed across the valley with GHE, alongside afforestation.
30,000+ native trees · with GHE
ASRLM
Bari Unnayan and agroecological practice carried across Assam through the state livelihood mission.
219 blocks · 150,000+ women farmers
Tinsukia
The Integrated Natural Farming Farm School at Don Bosco Hijuguri.
INFFS live model
Flood Relief
Drinking water, dry rations and relief materials distributed; sanitation spraying and community water filters installed.
Dates, districts and figures to be confirmed
GIZ SuATI
Bari Unnayan introduced across every GIZ SuATI project model village in Assam.
All SuATI model villages · 3 districts
Farm Trainings
The RAW · WAR · COMBAT pathway, from a three-day camp to two years of mentoring.
5,000+ Green Commandos trained
Photographs
09 — R&D Innovations
Fourteen innovations, 300+ blocks deep
Developed by Farmer Samir Bordoloi on working farms, tested by farmers, kept only if they earned their place.
Bamboo Biochar
Cone-pit & double-pit
Low-cost pyrolysis of bamboo waste into stable carbon that holds water and nutrients for decades.
1 lakh+ practitioners
Food Forest Models
Multi-storey · GCFSALT
Forest-mimicking layers of canopy, shrub, herb and root, with a GCFSALT variant for jhum lands.
100+ live models
Bio-intensive Raised Beds
Bamboo wall protection
Narrow, deeply amended beds walled in bamboo to cut erosion and hold moisture.
ASRLM · NEN · GIZ SuATI
Heap Composting
Community-adapted
Alternating green and dry biomass with manure and wood ash, sealed for moisture — compost in ~60 days.
Standard in all GCF modules
Mycomix
Fungal-enriched compost
Compost, biochar and fungal inocula combined locally to rebuild soil structure.
Nursery media & degraded soils
Seed Innovations
Seed balls & seed banks
Clay-and-compost seed balls for rapid re-vegetation, plus community seed banks.
Mass community campaigns
Bari Unnayan Model
Homestead development
A whole-homestead approach turning the family bari into a productive, self-feeding system.
219 blocks · all GIZ SuATI villages
Agroforestry-based IFS
Integrated Farming System
Trees, crops and livestock designed as one system, so land yields food, fodder, fuel and income together.
Adopted across Northeast India
INFFS Tinsukia Model
Natural Farming Farm School
Combining natural farming with learning to open livelihood pathways for students out of education.
Live model · Tinsukia, Assam
Where it has taken root
- 01
SPREAD NE Food Forest, Sonapur
Established as a working model of coexistence-based compassionate natural farming.
- 02
101 Food Forests · West Karbi Anglong
Established across the district in partnership with GHE.
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Homestead Food Forests · Umswai Valley
Developed with GHE across the valley's homesteads.
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Bari Unnayan across GIZ SuATI villages
Introduced and practised in all GIZ SuATI project model villages of Assam.
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219 blocks of Assam through ASRLM
Carried across the state under the Organic Village Cluster Development Project.
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UN FAO GreenAg · Mizoram
Bamboo biochar, no-tillage beds, composting and bio-intensive raised beds under the GreenAg project.
Adoption partners
ASRLM · 219 blocksNorth East Network · 4 districtsGIZ SuATI · 3 districts
FAO Green-Ag MizoramMichigan State University150+ Government Schools
10 — Governing Body
The executive committee
Twelve members across Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, as registered.
Office bearers
Samir Ranjan Bordoloi
President
Santanu Sen
General Secretary
Syed Wasifur Rahman
Treasurer
Executive members
Mohe Phangcho
Executive Member
Zomuanthangi
Executive Member
Sagarika Dey
Executive Member
Maqsood Ahmed
Executive Member
Kaberi Saikia
Executive Member
Himakshi Borah
Executive Member
Limshing Pumah
Executive Member
Hirakjyoti Kalita
Executive Member
Kholi Athili
Executive Member
11 — Contact Us
Join the movement
Whether you want to train, host a camp, partner with us or simply learn — start here.
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Farm Learning CentreSPREAD NE Food Forest, Sonapur, Assam, North East India