The genesis of GREEN Foundation dates back to the early nineties, when a handful of committed individuals decided to create a forum for conserving biological diversity in order to fight poverty and to create the basis for sustainable livelihoods in the rural community.

GREEN Foundation began its work in 1996 with 5 women farmers and a handful of seeds in 2 villages; Today 2000 farmers in 161 villages participate in seed conservation programmes throughout the Indian State of Karnataka.

Our Vision is to enable and empower farmers, who are the back bone of our country to

• lead a life of dignity
• sustain their livelihood in agriculture in a manner which is ecologically & economically viable & beneficial
• provide food security for themselves & the country

Since its inception GREEN Foundation has facilitated the on-farm conservation of approximately 382 indigenous seed varieties of Millets, Paddy, Vegetable and Oilseeds that would otherwise have been threatened by extinction in the face of the advance of large-scale non-organic agriculture. In the process of so doing, it has been instrumental in developing women's economic status and reviving traditional methods and culture.

"In February 2004 the Foundation was one among seven outstanding community initiatives, drawn from a pool of 340 nominations worldwide, to be awarded the United Nations 'Equator Initiative' prize in recognition of its outstanding community effort for poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation over a decade."