in the 1990 s, the local farmers of nongtraw started cultivating broom grass to earn a living.s and fuel. but this monoculture has severely degraded the soil. it's a highly competitive plant and we can't plant this with the other crops because it damages the crop. but we plant it because of the high demand. as market prices for broom grass rose, farmers cultivated more and more of it - to the detriment of biodiversity in the region. nesfas has launched programs to revive what's been lost. like at the mawmithied lower primary school, where regional dishes are now back on the menu. almonds have been replaced by the traditional chinkapins, peanuts by perilla seeds and lettuce by the chameleon plant. today i am eating nutrella with pumpkin, cabbage with perella seeds, rice and wild edibles. i find the food really tasty. my absolute favorite is the pumpkin. the ingredients are supplied by local farmers. nesfas has also helped to build a garden at the school. we do a comparative study of the local food with the government, commonly available food. and oftentimes we try to promote tha