Screening of "Cotton for My Shroud" at Georgetown University

A farmer commits suicide every half hour in India. In 2009 alone, close to 18,000 farmers took their own lives. Digest and reflect on that number for a minute. This is social genocide.

Vidarbha, famous for growing cotton, has been particularly hard hit by this crisis. Mounting and unmanageable rural indebtedness is the enduring reality in much of Vidarbha. Behind this reality lies a complex mixture of socioeconomic phenomena. global trade policies, aggressive seed corporations, poor development policy and poor technical support.

A most unlikely story is now unfolding, to turn around the human, social, and economic decay of Vidabha.

Recently, an aeronautics engineer, Balasaheb Darade, returned to India from the US, to work for the villages of Vidarbha. He has successfully run for local office and has developed a unique project to create 100 sustainable villages in his township.

We invite you to attend the screening of the award-winning docuentary, “Cotton for My Shroud,” chronicling the lives of three famers and examining the complex causes through a macro-perspective. The screening will be followed by

When? April 12^th, 2012, 7-8.30 pm

Where? Leonard Room (Room 133), Reynolds Hall, Georgetown University

For ticketing, donations and further information please visit: http://stopfarmersuicides.eventbrite.com/

Join our facebook event @ http://www.facebook.com/events/196584553786813/

All proceeds from this fundraising project will go towards supporting Balasaheb's project for sustainable village development. All donations are tax exempt and handled through the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), a 501(c)(3) organization.