Modern Institute of Teacher Education conducts outreach on Naga medicinal heritage

DIMAPUR — The Modern Institute of Teacher Education (MITE) conducted an extension-cum-outreach programme at Chiechama village on September 27 on the theme "Naga medicinal heritage: safeguarding nature’s remedies”.

The initiative sought to raise awareness on the preservation of medicinal plants and provide B.Ed. student teachers with an immersive learning experience linking traditional ecological knowledge with modern education, stated a press release.

A total of 100 Semester-I B.Ed. student teachers, accompanied by five faculty members, took part in the event. The programme aimed to help future educators appreciate indigenous knowledge systems and explore methods for incorporating them into contemporary teaching practices.

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The outreach began with an orientation session where student teacher Vilenuo Huozha addressed the student union and village council, stressing the need to safeguard local biodiversity, protect endangered medicinal plants, and pass traditional healing knowledge to future generations.

The student teachers also held a one-kilometre awareness rally through the village, carrying placards and boards highlighting the therapeutic uses and conservation needs of medicinal plants.

Following the rally, student teachers were divided into small groups for household visits. They engaged directly with villagers, distributing pamphlets on locally available medicinal herbs, their uses and benefits. The students also explained sustainable harvesting and preservation methods to ensure practical application by the community.

The programme included a plantation drive, with saplings of medicinal and indigenous plants planted in selected village areas.