Even though my life took a twist and I became a farmer I held on to this passion and decided to turn my farm into a live museum!
~ words from Ghani that keep us thinking and wondering ~
Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
Notice what you notice. Wonder what you wonder. There is no quiz, no right way. Read until something stays.
this film has no words. notice what you notice. notice what you wonder. wonder out loud. and don't forget to notice what you feel, too.
A Drop in the Bucket
I love rice. A lot. Black, white, red, sticky, jasmine, basmati -- all kinds of rice! I have learned that many people choose to farm rice that is easier or cheaper to grow. But I love to farm all types and believe it is very important to preserve and sustain all these varieties for future generations. When I started farming over 20 years ago here in India, we had 40 different varieties of rice; now my farm has over 700 different varieties. Even in the last few years, I have discovered 10 new varieties of rice. I would have never imagined we would have so many types. In the harvesting months it is just beautiful. I look over to my fields and see black, white, brown, red. There are so many colors and so many shades of rice flowering. It is a stunning sight! Seeing this and knowing we have been able to bring back and preserve this rice brings me such satisfaction and joy.
Do you eat rice?
Where do you get it from?
What variety is it?
How many different varieties have you eaten?
What’s your favorite kind?
How many grains do you think you’ve eaten in your life?
Growing rice requires lots of water! In fact we can’t start growing rice until there has been enough rain. Usually the rain starts in June and in July we sow seeds. But in the last couple of years the rain hasn’t come until early August. This means we can only sow seeds towards the end of August. When we sow the seeds late, we usually get a smaller yield and poorer quality rice as there is a higher chance of disease and the rice getting spoilt. The changing weather patterns have made things very difficult for me.
When the quality and amount of yield is lower due to delayed rains, I don’t get as much money for the rice that year and things can be difficult. What do you think is the probability of this happening? What fraction of the time have you experienced a delayed season (rainy season or other) in the last 5 years? I have some ideas on what I could do when this happens, but I would love to hear yours. Can you think of ways to address this challenge? Is this challenge in my control?
In our village, water comes from a nearby dam. It flows through canals, subcanals, and then to our fields. Usually up to 10,000L are needed to produce 1kg of paddy! We use a different system though, and can produce 1kg of paddy with just 5000L of water.
Usually we produce 70 tons of paddy each year. Can you figure out how much water I will need to produce this much paddy? I also think it is very important to save water and I would love to know your thoughts. Do you think it is important to save water? What makes you think that?
After producing paddy, farmers usually sell this to a middleman or mediator, who then sells it to rice mills where the paddy is turned into rice grains. Each year the middlemen ask to buy the rice for lower and lower prices. This puts pressure on farmers like us, as money can be short. I was finding it very difficult to get a good price for my rice so I decided to sell our rice directly to the mill. And it costs about 11,000 INR per ton to produce paddy. It costs another 800 INR per ton to turn paddy into rice grains at the rice mill. 1 kg of paddy produces about 600g of rice. We then sell this rice for 35,000 INR per ton.
Can you tell me what my total costs are?
What is my total income?
How much profit will I make?
How much profit do I make per ton of rice?
What fraction/percentage of my total income are costs?
And why do the mediators offer lower prices each year?
Each year I keep about 2 tons of rice for us to eat at home. That might sound like a lot, but we have a big family at home and we eat a lot of rice! My two brothers, our wives, our children, my mother and uncle all live at home and I need to provide rice for everyone. To cook, we get water from the local bore well. We actually get water from here for everything: cleaning, drinking, bathing and cooking. When we cook rice we use about 2 liters of water for 1 kg of rice.
Can you tell me what fraction of my total paddy each year I keep for my family?
Have you ever thought about how much water it takes to get rice on your plate?
What is the amount of water needed to get 1kg of rice onto your plate?
(Think about the amount of water to grow rice and to cook rice.
Most people don’t realize how much water is needed to produce and cook rice. It’s a lot! And apart from water, for all my crops water is very essential. Our world is also facing water shortages and many people don’t have access to clean water, or sometimes much water at all without walking long distances. I am very grateful that we have a dam near our village as many other farmers don’t have this. But I am still very careful with how we use our water; I make sure nothing goes to waste!
Water is essential to grow my crops.
What foods do you eat that require water to produce?
Have you ever faced a water shortage?
What are ways we use more water than we need?
What are ways in which we could save water in our lives?
Any more ideas for me?
Want to create a calm and focused space to start the conversation? Set up desks or chairs in a circle and start the session with 2 minutes of collective silence.
"How much water do we use per day? In a week? In a year?
In our lives?” A few people might raise their hands and answer with something like this: "Depends on the day.” “I use a lot, but my brother uses more.” “I don’t know – not a lot though.” Or maybe an outlier: “Who cares?” Show the group “I Am Ghani”. Ask the group to keep water on their minds – to think about the various ways Ghani uses water, and to begin to write down our assumptions about his water use.
“Where does all of this water come from? How much does Ghani use? How much do we have here on Earth?” (NOTE: MATH is a great tool for us here.
Graphs, charts, equations, and more!) Let the group answer, hopefully reflecting on some of the video’s discussion. Ask them what math concepts might be helpful to address these questions. Ask if graphs, fractions, and algebra might be helpful. Read “Ghani Grows Rice” (specifically, page 2) to explore these connections. Choose green sections that are relevant to your classroom and read aloud, in small groups, or have everyone read on their own. Another question could be: “If we are using “X” amount clean water, and there are “Y” amount of people to drink it and use it, how much water can each of us sustainably use? Is the answer this simple? Are there more complex aspects to think about? How can math help us?”
Begin a “Free-Write” exercise with the group to help draw out assumptions and ideas. The goal with our Free-Write is to write for 5 minutes straight.
“Take no breaks. Try to never lift the pen off of the paper.” Get ready for the group to share everything they believe about the way Ghani, the group, and the world uses water. Ask the group also to think about the differences and similarities between personal and group (business/agriculture) water use. Ideally, you do this activity too to share with the group at the end or in case people aren't willing to share right away. After 5 minutes, ask if anyone is willing to share his or her new thoughts or questions to discuss. Ask if anyone believes their thoughts about water use have changed since the beginning of class. Do we feel that there are ways we can reduce or optimize our water use? Can Ghani? Can we all? How?
"Do we all have enough water? Do some of us use more than we need? What can we do to create access to clean water for everyone? How can we do our part?
What are some of the solutions we can begin to explore? How would we leverage math as we address these challenges?” Discuss as a group, but also feel free to share your own thoughts. Maybe say something like: "This might be a really important topic, right? Because the water we use, from Ghani to those of us in this room, has an impact on our global water supply. We might feel like what we use is a drop in the bucket, but the collective amount of water we use MATTERS A LOT. It’s the power of numbers. What would happen if all of us used a few gallons less per day? But now we have to look at, as we’ve learned through Ghani’s story, the amount of water used by businesses and for farming at larger scales. Suggest the idea that there isn’t a one-for-all solution here, but rather that we can do our individual part and make the collective effort to change this story through how we use water and what we advocate for. And remind everyone: “This is our first introduction to water through another person’s shoes. There’s much more to learn about how we can have an impact here. The conversation doesn’t have to stop here!” KEEP LEARNING AT HOME: Reflect on the videos, writings, and conversations from the day. Add in your academic goals. For “homework” (to keep learning): Start logging your water usage. Start determining how much your family uses too. Begin to research various organizations through GiveWell and other sources to understand the water challenges and effective solutions.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →It Was All A Dream
When I was younger I had a dream to be a museum curator here in India. Museums fascinate me, and I love learning about people, places, and the past. I had the opportunity to go to the city and study - and so I chose archeology and museology. I had grown up on a farm but like many of my friends I moved to the city and did not plan to go back. Toward the end of my studies, my father became very ill and was bedridden and could no longer work on the farm. As the eldest child I felt a sense of responsibility to look after my family and moved back home. Our family had a large farm and we were reliant on this for our income. I was 22 at the time and my 3 brothers were all in their teens. I knew what I had to do; I had to pick up where my father left off and run the farm.
What are your passions and dreams?
What do you want to do with your life?
I faced a major challenge that made it hard for me to work in museums.
Are there challenges you face?
What are they?
I’d love to tell you about how I overcame mine and I would love to learn how you might overcome your challenges and follow your dreams.
I never lost my passion for museology. Even though my life took a twist and I became a farmer I held on to this passion and decided to turn my farm into a live museum! You see our farm is very old. In fact, it’s hundreds of years old! The land was actually gifted to my forefathers by Tipu Sultan, one of the greatest leaders India has ever seen. And the mango trees on the land are the very mango trees that Tipu Sultan plucked mangoes from all those years ago. There are over 100 trees too. Some have sweeter mangoes, some are more sour, some are smaller, some are larger -- some are even shaped like a fish. Many are very rare breeds also.
My daughter helps on the farm to record all this information.
How can we help her do this most effectively?
What data do you think she should record?
My daughter also loves mangoes.
What kind of mangoes do you like?
What would be your ideal proportions of each mango?
How could you express this in decimals?
As a percentage?
I also have hundreds of varieties of paddy on my farm. To further live my passion for museums, I started a rice museum a few years ago to showcase different types of seeds and rice that I grow. I invested about half of my income into developing the museum, which is on the second floor of my home. Children from the local school often come to the farm and the museum to learn about my work and the importance of natural and organic farming.
I decided to save and use half my income to build my rice museum.
It means I chose not to spend that on something else.
Can you think of some of the challenges this might have created?
What else could I have spent it on?
Can you think of different ways I could make money from the museum?
How much do you think I could make in a day?
A week?
A month?
What percentage of my total income do you think could come from the museum?
People often ask my children if they want to be farmers and follow in my footsteps. I tell them to do what they love. My eldest daughter wants to work for our state and join the public service. I’m not sure if my sons will choose to farm or to stay in the village. My wife and I will support them in whatever they choose.
But if our children don’t choose to sustain the farm, we may face financial challenges in future.
I have some ideas as to what we could do, but can you think of any ideas?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
How would I do it?
How much could I make?
Would there be any costs involved?
In recent years I have discovered about 10 new varieties of rice. Some of these are resistant to certain diseases. Even when I stop farming I can sell seeds and I will receive royalties for sales of the new seeds that I discovered.
Do you know how royalties work?
What percentage of each sale can I expect to receive?
How would this be expressed as a decimal?
I won’t be satisfied in just receiving royalties though. I don’t want to lose all the plants and animals on the farm, especially all the varieties of paddy and mango that I have grown. I want these to be retained for future generations. I will need to find someone to maintain the crops and keep the museum and my dreams alive.
Do you think I could I hire someone?
How would I pay them well enough to sustain themselves?
How much would they need?
Will this be feasible?
What do you think are the important factors to consider in making a decision like this?
Want to create a calm and focused space to start the conversation? Set up desks or chairs in a circle and start the session with 2 minutes of collective silence.
If you knew you could not fail, what would you pursue in life?” Give the group permission to dream big and share any idea. While also supporting dreams that don't "seem big" but are big.
Explore the dreams of Ghani the farmer. Ask the group “Why do you think people are farmers? Do you think they have a choice? Do you think they are pursuing their dreams? What do you think those dreams might be? PLAY “I Am Ghani” video (above).
Ask the group to pair up and reflect with each other on role models in their lives. Focus on what qualities these people possess which help them achieve their dreams.
“Based on your passions and dreams, who are people you look up to in this field? How did they get to where they are? What qualities do they have? Does Ghani also have these qualities? What can we learn from him?”
Who are people in history who have followed their dreams and made a significant impact on your life or the lives of others? Did they dream big?
How have their actions affected you? How do our actions affect one another? How can we positively affect one another? The group may consider people who played fundamental roles in teams who helped shape the history of our world, such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in India, or Maya Angelou in the United States, or Nelson Mandela in South Africa, or Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan.
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Food For Thought
Many years ago when I was farming I started getting headaches. I used to put poisons (“pesticides”) on the plants to stop the insects and birds eating them. But I learned it was these same poisons that were giving me a headache. I began to think: why do we feed people vegetables with these poisons? I decided then that I wanted to be an organic farmer.
I had to stop using poisons when farming my vegetables and only use natural products (widely available here in India and around the world) like leaf extracts and manure to keep the insects away. Many people questioned me. “Ghani why are you doing this?”, they would say. They told me I wouldn’t get any yield and that the insects and birds would eat everything. And well, some did get eaten. But I found most of my crops were fine. Better, even. Nowadays many people are choosing to farm without poisons.
Do you know if the vegetables and fruit you eat are organic?
Are there any benefits of buying organic fruits and vegetables?
It can be difficult being an organic farmer; when you think about the challenges, do you believe it’s worth it still to pursue this?
How can we overcome these challenges?
Have you heard the saying “what you eat is what you become”? If it were true, so many people around the world would become rice! Now I believe it is so important to eat food that is fresh and healthy and free from chemicals or poisons. I think the best food is actually the food you grow yourself: from planting seeds to watering, nurturing to harvesting, and from cooking to finally eating that very same food. The main crops I grow are rice and mangoes, but I also grow over 20 different types of vegetables. I don’t sell these vegetables, but grow them for my family to eat.
Do you know where your food comes from?
Does your family grow food at home like I do?
Or do you buy your food?
Do you buy food grown locally?
Do you buy food from other countries?
How would you calculate and compare how much of each?
I can think of many benefits of eating food that you grow.
I would love to know what you think some of the benefits are.
Our family owns a cow. She lives on the farm. Every morning I milk her, and usually in the evening I milk her again. For 10 months of the year she produces milk, about 3 litres in the morning and 3 litres in the evening. We love our milk and use it to make butter milk, curd, and of course, many cups of tea.
I usually spend 20 minutes to milk my cow in the morning. Last year I had two cows. Each cow used to give us 3 litres of milk. I used to spend 50 minutes milking them both with a 5-minute break in between. (What are the rates that I milked my cow last year and this year?) Do you see how much faster have I become (calculate it)? Do you have any ideas as to how I could save more time? How much time could I save?
We also have 15 chickens and three different breeds. There are local chickens, wild chickens and chickens that used to be fighters. These chickens are quite violent. When they were younger they were trained to fight with other chickens. People pay money to watch chickens fight, and they place bets on which chicken will win. This upsets me. I don’t like the idea of using chickens for our entertainment, so I bought them and brought them to my farm.
Have you seen chickens fight?
Why do you think this happens?
Can you think of other instances where animals have been treated poorly by humans?
Does it matter to you?
What do you think we can do about this?
I don’t sell any of the eggs from my chicken or the milk from my cow. It’s just for my family. It’s very important to me for them to have good food to eat. My wife likes to cook, and almost all of the food she cooks comes from our farm. Growing food is a lot of work. I grow broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflowers, beans, potatoes, guavas, and all kinds of other fruit and vegetables. People tell me it is easier to just buy eggs or milk or other vegetables; I choose to spend the extra time and energy on the farm. My family is very important to me.
About 80% of the food we eat is grown on my farm. My wife enjoys cooking the different varieties of vegetables. Some are quicker to cook. Some take longer. Broccoli takes 20 minutes, beans take 15 minutes, and potatoes take 30 minutes to cook. She is great at cooking and always knows exactly how long to cook each vegetable. Can you calculate how much slower the rate of potato cooking is compared to beans? What about beans and broccoli? At what time and in what order should we put each on the burner to cook?
I also love growing plants to use in everyday life. This is especially the case with cleaning. Many soaps and cleaning products have chemicals that pollute our waterways but I have found that there are good alternatives. I use a neem leaf to brush my teeth every day. I also use mud from the anthill to clean my body. What a great soap. Just add water! I believe nature can provide everything we need!
Have you ever looked at what your soap is made of?
What about your toothpaste?
If you take baths, what about your shampoo?
Are there any chemicals in it that could have a negative effect on the environment?
Are there alternatives near you?
Do you have any ideas for ways we could all live without these chemicals?
Want to create a calm and focused space to start the conversation? Set up desks or chairs in a circle and start the session with 2 minutes of collective silence.
Why do we eat food? Do we ‘eat to live’ or ‘live to eat’?” Listen and write up the various responses of the group. Note down all the responses and encourage students to think deeper about the various reasons each of them have.
If nobody is answering, share your own thoughts to get people thinking. “Even if your stomach was full, would you still eat a sweet/dessert you liked?” Explore and write down the different reasons: “to give us energy”; “to help our bodies grow”; “to enjoy the taste”; “because someone tells me we have to eat something”.
“Where does our food come from? How is it actually grown? Who grows it?” PLAY “I Am Ghani” above. Ask the group what comes to mind after watching the video.
“Do we feel more connected to someone who grows food for our communities? Ready to learn more about Ghani?” Read “Ghani goes Organic”, either by having a “read-aloud”, splitting into small groups, or having everyone read on their own. Ask the group questions from the sections that are written in green. Specifically, you might want to look at the sections on organic food and locally grown food. You could look at the math involved in Ghani’s life around growing food locally and milking his cow. You could also explore the math at a wider level of people choosing to buy organic or buy local. What are the implications of this at a personal level? Community level? Global level?
Ask the group to list or draw where they believe these foods come, based on what will work best in your classroom. Draw or write where we choose.
Then discuss: “Where does our food come from? What foods are grown locally? What factors drive our decisions to buy or consume certain foods? Are there better alternatives to the foods we are choosing? What could we choose that is better?” Each person can draw a map of their foods visually, or write and list where their food comes from. If people are unaware where certain foods come from, they can leave these parts blank to discuss later, they could research it, or they could take a guess. You could prompt students to think about the different processes and people involved to get food onto their plate, from farmers to various middle men to distributors to retailers. Explore different factors driving food decisions such as price, health benefit (or perceptions of health benefit), taste, culture, and more. Which of these are more important and less important to the group? To other people in society? Why? Following this, you could ask the group to brainstorm ways that they can make better decisions around food. How could Ghani? How could we as individuals? How could our families? You could also explore how our decisions of what we want to eat and how the decisions farmers like Ghani make about what to grow are deeply interconnected.
"Do we all have enough food to eat? Do some of us eat more than we need? What can we do to ensure everyone has enough healthy, nutritious food to eat (especially as the population grows)?
How can we do our part? What are some of the solutions we can begin to explore? Discuss as a group, but also feel free to share your own thoughts. Maybe you could say something like: "This might be a really important topic, right? Because the food we consume, from Ghani to those of us in this room, has an impact on our global food supply. What would happen if we all made different decisions? What are some these decisions we could make?”
This is one way to teach this story. You could also weave your own way, threading two or three other people the AI finds for you alongside.
Want to weave a full lesson around this story?
The weaver finds 3-4 real people whose stories thread together with this one.
Weave a lesson →Not hers. Not yours. People are always more than the chapters anyone could share. Hold what is here gently. Approach with curiosity, before judgment.
If a moment stayed, follow it. If a question rose up, hold it. The quiet teaching is still teaching.
Three or four real stories woven into one lesson, your topic, your time. Ghani is one. The weaver finds the others, threads the math, the literacy, the values, the reflection.
Open the weaver →