Ludhiana: College of Community Science at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) recently organized a series of hands-on training in the villages of Halwara, Akalgarh, Boparai Kalan, Purain and Kullewal. The training under the All-India Coordinated Research Project -Women in Agriculture (AICRP) focused on the preparation of healthy summer drinks such as watermelon mint cooler, mulberry juice, bael juice, chana sattu and lemonade.Dr Ritu Mittal Gupta, unit coordinator for the project, highlighted that keeping in view the prevailing weather conditions, the trainings were specifically designed to promote the use of locally available raw materials for preparing nutritious and refreshing summer beverages in all adopted villages of the project. The experts emphasized the importance of such drinks in maintaining hydration, preventing heat stress, and enhancing nutritional intake during the summer season. Dr Renuka Aggarwal and Dr Shivani Rana said educational literature and seed kits were also distributed among the participantsDr Prachi Bisht along with Dr Prerna Kapila elaborated on the importance of kitchen gardening, noting that this initiative was continuation of efforts over the past five years during which seasonal vegetable seeds had been regularly distributed to encourage household-level nutritional security.The trainings included practical demonstrations and active participation of rural women with a focus on simple, low-cost, and nutritious beverage preparation. Alongside promoting healthy dietary practices, participants were encouraged to adopt kitchen gardening for year-round access to fresh and safe vegetables. The sessions were conducted by young professionals, who provided detailed guidance and hands-on experience to the participants.The village sarpanches thanked the AICRP team for the need-based efforts and enthusiastic participation from rural women was recorded across all villages.
