Abhijit Patil
Documentary Photographer & Permaculture Practitioner
Abhijit Patil is a documentary photographer from Pune, India. He now moonlights as a permaculturist working in the Western Ghats trying to learn, preserve and document the wild. His body of work focusses on the observation of daily life and the choice of the ordinary over the extraordinary.
Abhijit has worked with India Today, TOI group, Sakal publication, AFP, AP, Forbes India and AJ+. He is the recipient of Media Foundation of India Award (2014) for his work 'Rojandari' (Daily wage) and Democratic Youth Federation of India Award(2019) for his project 'Male Gaze'. He is also the founder of a public intervention project called 'Sadakchhaap', which in its latest edition proposes silent disruption through indigenous seeds.
Residency Artwork
Humsadakchhap
A public intervention project; a quiet disruption.
Seed sowing revolution.
To participate
All you need to do is sow an indigenous seed. Alone or with your community, friends, strangers, lovers.. Indigenous or naturalised seeds to where you are. Ask about them. Find them. Share. And try not to sow the same kind twice. Diversify. You can choose to be part of the seeds journey towards becoming a tree but sowing love is the most important part of participation.
Where?
Literally any place that works. Public or private, urban or rural, wherever the seed can grow. Most importantly in your hearts.
Humsadakchhap:
"It is time to change the form of our protest, from reactive to productive. We cannot afford to replicate the problem we are protesting against. While we gather to protest here and all over the world, let's not forget that protest is not the end of our struggle. It's the beginning. While we are protesting, we need to come up with an action plan of creative steps towards this new world we want to build.Claiming public spaces for self sufficiency and sustainability with actions-based local knowledge, can be the key to real social, economic and environmental transformations. But this is rarely a part of the mainstream political discourses, as it lacks the aggression that the violent system demands.Is public space really 'our' space? If it is, can we treat it as ours? If we can claim it to destruct, harass or kill, can we not claim it to sow seeds? Knowledge and conservation of seeds is an act of regaining control over public spaces, discourses, and most importantly, over our lives. Seeds are the most basic means of production that are available to everyone. Rewilding through indigenous seeds can help address the current food, farming and climate crisis. Local food forests in urban and rural areas can help build natural and long-lasting ecosystems that are beneficial for everyone. Rewilding through indigenous seeds can help address the current food, farming and climate crisis. Local food forests in urban and rural areas can help build natural and long lasting ecosystems that are beneficial for everyone. This is a small, symbolic step of constructive disruption that intends to claim public space without violent posturing. Seeds hold the potential to show us how to truly fix things. With time, care and sharing."