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The women of Chizami village in Nagaland’s Phek district are guardians of 156 traditional seed varieties — from rice, millets and maize to beans, vegetables, herbs and tubers.
These are conserved in the Chizami Community Seed bank managed by the Chizami Women Society, with support from the Northeast Network (NEN).
The collection includes over 40 varieties of rice, each suited to different altitudes and temperatures.
Chizami Ru is a deep red rice that grows well in colder areas and is known for its strong stem and long shelf life. It is often used during community feasts. Kechu Ru, a black rice variety, is valued for its medicinal properties and is boiled into sweet sticky rice pudding during festivals.
Tura Ru, a fragrant white rice, is preferred for its aroma and taste in daily meals. Sticky and moderately sticky types like Rubole Mene (red) and Rubole Ephe Keha (white) are also used in local preparations where sticky texture is preferred and paired with smoked pork or bamboo shoot curries.
Millets remain key to food security in this region. Menatshu and Ephekerhatsu are sticky millets. Kutsantshu is a slightly sticky variety, quick to mature and ideal for rain-fed hill farms.
Ebatsutsu, the local finger millet (Eleusine coracana), is both nutritious and climate-resilient, often ground into flour and used to make steamed cakes or rotis. These sticky millets are not just rare but crucial for nutrition and food diversity.
The maize section has colourful varieties like Elino Mekrita (light orange), Etsunhetsu (multi-coloured), Mekrita Kerha (maroon), Pochumi Kechu (dark purple sticky), and Pochumi Mezu (yellowish white sticky).
There are sticky maize varieties like Pochumi Kere, and even puff corn types like Mekrita Mapukru which is drought tolerant. Short-statured maize with brown seeds (Keni Buwa) and coloured seed maize like Keni Kerha (red), Keni Kecu (black), and Keni Kekru (white) are also part of this collection.
Alongside cereals, the banl preserves local varieties of beans, taro, yam, sweet potato, chillies, coriander, tomatoes, and even sponge gourd. Some are drought-tolerant, others pest-resistant or culturally significant.
The diversity of beans is striking: Erumedzu, KubatseKekru, Kechutshe Ketse, Kuzhakhubutse, Kechutse Keha, and Karhurhude, among others, come in green, black, maroon, pink-blue striped, and even purple seeds.
Vegetables like chillies, eggplants, bottle gourds, sponge gourds, and pumpkins are also preserved. Chilli types include Etshutshe Mejo Kethao, Mekhretshutshe Mejo, Kutsami Tshutshe Kekru (white), and Etutshe Kechu Ketha (black long).
Pumpkin varieties like Mude (big), Melomi (medium), Hamuha (heart-shaped), and Thurha (dull orange) show how even a humble vegetable carries biodiversity within.
Traditional tubers like taro (Edzunu Dzubu, Edzunu Dzutha, Edzunu Etsephakh Dzu), sweet potato (Mekarhu Red, Mekarhu White), and yam (Emimewe, Ewebazu) are conserved for their nutrition and adaptability.
Herbs like wild coriander (Edipfuzu), fragrant basil (Netsu), and rosella (Kekronyi) enrich local diets and support pollinators. Leafy greens like Menayie Mechupfu and Menayie Mene Thobu grown in kitchen gardens form part of traditional meals.
Varieties like King Chilli, a staple in Naga kitchens, come in numerous forms like white, green, black, and even curl shaped. The diversity in tomatoes and eggplants too reflects the region’s deep-rooted ecological heritage.
These crops are tailored to survive Nagaland’s terrains and changing climate, grown in jhum fields and terraced farms, from warm valleys to cool hilltops.
By preserving and sharing these seeds, Chizami’s women are not just keeping biodiversity alive; they are future-proofing their food systems.
The seed bank was officially inaugurated on February 9, 2018, and the first management committee was formed the following year. The women of Chizami, long aware of the threats posed by climate change, industrial agriculture, and even natural disasters like fires, realised the need to preserve their own traditional seeds.
“There is always a risk that some varieties could disappear forever,” they said. “So, we decided to preserve them ourselves, using our own methods,” said Khrowateu Akami, general secretary, Chizami women society.
Seeds are stored using traditional techniques such as sun drying, local herbs, and eco-friendly pest repellents and the bank operates on a simple yet effective loan system: if a farmer borrows one cup of seed, they return two after harvest.
The women also grow selected seeds in group plots to increase volume, maintain purity, and replenish stocks. Their outreach extends beyond the village, through seed exchanges, exhibitions and workshops, building awareness about traditional seed value.
Some varieties, like Chizami Ru rice and traditional mustard seeds, are especially suited for a climate-risked world. They are known for their strong stems, long shelf life, and ability to grow with less care, no need for transplantation, better nutrient profile and taste than hybrid counterparts.
Today, the seed bank maintains three registers, visitor logs, seed loans, and seed stock records, and has documented over 116 varieties in use.
Without access to chemical preservation or formal scientific support, rats and pests pose a major challenge. Despite this, the women are exploring sustainability initiatives, such as selling seeds to outsiders and looking into food processing work using traditional crops.