EK Eyo, 72, from Nedumkunnam, Kottayam has always loved farming and finds a lot of pride in saying that he is a farmer. “I am a fourth-generation farmer, and have been farming ever since my childhood,” he declares.
Eyo was always keen on experimenting with new cultivation techniques and finding effective natural fertilizers and pesticides. It was during one such experiment that he found an innovative grow bag that can water itself.
“I found that cultivating plants in grow bags was quite effective because it prevented it from being affected by fungus and other pests in the soil. But the problem was that the grow bags started decaying in just a few months. I wanted to create something that could last for years, so I converted an existing grow bag to suit my requirements,” he explains.
EK Eyo
Eyo’s grow bag is rectangular in shape, 2 ½ feet in length, 1 ½ foot in width, and 8 inches in height. The grow bag has 3-4 holes on the bottom which allows excess water to pass through. He has made two larger holes on top for the bottles, that serve as the drip irrigation system for the plant.
The plant in the centre of the grow bag will also receive enough space and soil to develop its roots because of its rectangular shape.
Eyo’s Grow Bag / Image Source: Naatupacha
The grow bag made from silpaulin (plastic sheet) can withstand any climate and will provide the necessary support that the plants require. Eyo says that he has received a better harvest through his innovative grow bags.
Unlike the previous times, Eyo saw that there was no infestation of fungus and pests in his plants. Although the numbers remained the same, the quality of the fruits and vegetables have improved extensively.
Learning from Mother Nature
Eyo’s unconventional methods and experiments have always proved the villagers of Nedumkunnam wrong.
“I have a cashew tree on my farm that has been standing strong for ages. Initially, when we planted it, it was quite brittle and was close to falling down but I decided not to give it any support. And just as I thought, the roots of the plant strengthened on its own and it came back to life,” he mentions.
Eyo loves sharing such cultivation techniques with his villagers and although he doesn’t agree with many of the methods adopted by the younger generations, he loves to see a passion for agriculture in them.
“Being one with nature and truly believing in it makes a lot of difference. I see a lot of farming techniques today that the current generation is adopting. While some of them are relevant, most of the techniques nourish the plants way too much. This reduces the resistance power of the plants,” he explains.
Image Source: Naatupacha
He has recently applied for a patent for this unique grow bag and hopes to see it reach great heights once it hits the market. “The whole point of the bag is to make agriculture a simpler process and I hope we develop more techniques like this in the future that can bring the agricultural industry into the forefront,” he concludes.
Most people do not believe Sandeep Chavan, a former journalist in Nashik, when he claims of growing three vegetables in one square foot. He patiently waits for people to finish their mocking to tell them about the concept of 3-tier or multi-layer farming and explains the following steps:
Take any plant pot and plant seeds of fruit vegetables like tomatoes in the middle
On its left, sow seeds of any leafy vegetables, and on the right side, plant the seeds of any root veggies
Add organic fertilisers to keep away pests
Use waste leaves and kitchen waste as soil to enhance the growth cycle
Water the pot twice a day
“Apart from saving space in your balcony or terrace, this type of farming needs less water, and can save up to 60 per cent of water. During extreme heatwaves, the dry leaves used as mulch will prevent moisturisation,” Sandeep tells The Better India.
On his 350 square foot terrace, Sandeep grows 35 varieties of organic veggies round the year by using wastewater and waste food from his kitchen. His rooftop boasts of brinjals, papayas, tomatoes, chillies, turmeric, beans, spinach, bottle gourd, cabbage, and cauliflower to name a few.
With the help of multi-layering farming, Sandeep claims to have grown 50 kilos of turmeric in a 6×6 sq feet space last year. The harvest cycle is such that on any given day, his garden will reap at least four fresh vegetables.
The 40-year-old started farming in the early 2000s, a hobby which later translated into a full-time practice.
It was his son who spotted a stark difference between naturally grown produce and that infused with chemicals.
Recalling the incident he says, “On that particular day, I had harvested a few tomatoes and kept them in the kitchen. My wife purchased some tomatoes from her vendor as well. Interestingly, my son ended up eating both types. Children’s taste buds are more sensitive than ours and he almost thought that the outside tomato was rotten. This incident inspired me to grow more veggies.”
Of course, the main problem was the lack of space and time. Thankfully, that did not deter him from addressing his concerns about chemically-grown food.
Developing A Low-Cost & Smart Model From Waste
Instead of going for composting units available in the market, Sandeep used alternatives like a drum, a bucket, vegetable crates, mud pots.
He dries the wet waste in a container and then finely chops all the dried bits. He also prepares fertiliser at home using jeevaamrut (a mixture of cow dung and cow urine). The properties of this mixture quicken the process and increase bacterial activities.
For a healthier option, Sandeep ferments wastewater from his kitchen and adds it to the compost, which is ready in about 30 days. He uses it to grow his vegetables.
Sandeep has upcycled discarded items from his home like shoes, purses, and plastic bottles, using them to grow plants.
One of his best ideas was reusing plastic milk pouches, “I took seven pouches and kept them on top of each other. The mountain is the height of a pen and I have grown spinach in it. Nature is ready to come anywhere, provided it is given the right care and water.”
While all this sounds so simple, success did not come to him in the first. It was only after months of experimentation that his garden started giving veggies regularly and in significant proportions.
A few years ago, Sandeep escalated his practice by starting 5-layer farming or growing five veggies together in minimal space. For this, he prepared a four-foot bed to accumulate the five types of seeds.
Here are the steps he followed:
Lay a plastic sheet on the ground
Place three bricks to cover it add coconut coir
Add a layer of dry leaves and cover it further with compost or soil
Sow five kinds of seeds and witness your garden give you a fresh harvest
What started as a hobby has now turned into a full-fledged servicing firm called ‘Gacchi-varchi baug’ which translates to ‘the terrace garden’. Sandeep provides enthusiastic gardeners with gardening kits and consultancy to grow their own food. He says he finds that people are increasingly becoming environmentally sensitive.
“Using garbage to grow food fulfills twin purposes–treating waste at source and growing natural and healthy food. Rooftop farming also increases biodiversity as it attracts birds. Urban areas in India are slowly catching up on the fad of ‘Grow Your Own Food’. This is the sign of a healthy environment,” concludes Sandeep.
Get expert advice from him on 98505 69644 or click here.
Since last one year, close to 500 students across 70 government schools in Punjab’s Mansa district have been quietly setting an example in healthy living that the entire nation should learn from. In their mid-day meals, these kids have been consuming organic vegetables.
Naturally, eating food which is free of dangerous pesticides has directly and positively impacted the health of these children.
So how did these schools manage to serve organic veggies and fruits to its children?
Did they increase their budgets to import fresh veggies on a daily basis? Is any farming organisation providing the same for free?
Not really! Instead, all the vegetables that are consumed in mid-day meals are grown and harvested by the students in the backyards of their schools as part of their curriculum.
In an innovative way to imbibe practical knowledge and lead a healthier life, students from classes 5 to 10 are being taught to grow vegetables like brinjals, mushrooms, chillies, bitter gourd, pumpkins and leafy vegetables.
This change in syllabi is part of a project called ‘Edible Gardens’, started by the district’s Horticulture Department under the state government’s “Tandrust Punjab Mission”.
The brainchild of Horticulture Development Officer (HDO), Vipnesh Garg who has served in the horticulture department for over 3 years, the program is already showing incredible impact.
“While the state government is promoting organic or natural farming, it may take a while before a concrete change can be visible. Till then, we have started a small initiative that not only raises awareness about the harmful pests but also provides a solution in the form of backyard farming,” Garg tells The Better India (TBI).
Since the freshly harvested veggies are used in the mid-meal scheme, this project also addresses the problem of inadequate food supply in government schools.
“There are so many government schools who are deprived of wholesome meals. Students often end up eating one type of dal or vegetable. By growing varied types of veggies, this project also ensures sufficient nutrient intake among students,” adds Garg.
From Farm to the Table – Organic food for all
The horticulture department began by training the school faculty on topics like plantation, mulching, cultivation, nursery establishment, landscaping. Next, they provided gardening kits that include seeds and green fertilisers to the schools for free.
Furthermore, based on weather conditions and the landscape of the school, the horticulture department also shares tips on growing certain type of veggies or fruits.
For example, in areas with a lack of sunlight or water, the horticulture team advises the school to grow trees like moringa, banana, curry leaf, amla, citrus, mulberry and herbs like aloe and basil.
Additionally, Garg and his team have designed a unique system called ‘biomimicry’ that emulates the process in which food is grown naturally in our ecosystem.
Biomimicked raised bed garden set up in a local govt school
“The soil in a forest has five layers – pebbles/gravels, dry matter like twigs or leaves, nitrogen like manure or kitchen waste, compost and mulch. Every layer has a role to play in storing water, sunlight and decomposed matter. Due to this, the trees optimally utilise the land and needs minimal maintenance. We replicated the same five-layer gardening in government schools,” explains Garg.
While the team was quick to replace pesticides needed with organic fertilises that the school children prepare from kitchen and green waste, some schools also prepare compost from crop residues like wheat and paddy straw to grow oyster mushrooms.
“We use one kilo of wheat straw substrates to grow 600 grams of mushrooms in our small edible garden every month. We were surprised to see the sheer volume of students who participated in this training workshop,” Dr Jasbir Singh, an entomologist and biology teacher in Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS) in Boha village tells TBI.
Incidentally, GSSS was one of the first schools to experiment with reusing crop residue that is otherwise burnt in fields causing massive air pollution. In fact, Dr Singh went a step ahead and even built chairs from straws in the garden where he takes open classes on farming.
“Stubble burning is a serious environmental crisis that requires immediate attention. Apart from farming, we have also trained students to use paddy straw in innovative ways like composting and building furniture out of it. So many of our students regularly bring agro-waste from their parents to prepare compost,” adds Dr Singh.
To incorporate the initiative into the everyday schedule of the children, the schools prepared the time tables in a way that every school allots an hour every week to the edible gardens. They first learn about the week’s farming activity and then have practicals. To ensure every student takes farming seriously, it is treated like every other subject and students are given marks.
As for the harvest, it depends on the area of the garden and ranges from anything between a kilo to ten kilos. When the produce is very high, the schools distribute it among villagers for free.
Take for instance, the government school in Gorakhnath with a student strength of 120. Thanks to a huge backyard and enthusiastic learners, the school harvests upto 20 kilos of vegetables like chilli, brinjal, bitter gourd and pumpkin daily.
“We do not let our food go to waste. If there are veggies left after we have made the meals for students, we give to the needy villagers for free,” says Harbans, teacher of the school.
Understanding the Impact
“The edible garden is a gift that is making students realise the hard work put in by our farmers to give us fresh vegetables. Children are not only learning to grow veggies but also concepts like shared labour, healthy eating, responsible agriculture and what it takes for a sustainable future,” Shailender Kaur, Director Horticulture, Punjab tells TBI.
According to Garg, many children and teachers have started growing vegetables in the backyards of their houses too, “On WhatsApp groups parents often share pictures of their fresh harvest at home. It has become a great community platform to share activities and information.”
As a result, a trend is being noticed in households where children are happily consuming vegetables that they have grown.
Also, developing garden schools is a great way to engage the young populace in the farming profession, “We have seen many students take an active interest in understanding the economics of farming. They are curious to know how much money is needed to grow a crop. Some even discuss the process of farming in detail with their parents and explain the problems to the teachers,” says Dr Singh.
Models like edible gardens teach students eco-centric skills, alter the general negative perception about farming and teaches them a thing or two about being an eco-farmprenuer. If they are replicated in all schools across India, it can go a long way in promising a greener and healthier future for everyone.
In 2008, Ajay Tannirkulam was all set to leave for Nice, France to pursue his life long dream of studying the sun, stars, planets, galaxies, and other non-Earthly bodies and phenomena.
The excitement was sky-high and his close ones proud—after all, the boy from Ranchi had completed his PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Michigan and obtained a fellowship in Astrophysics.
Before embarking onto his new life, Ajay took a break and decided to put his knowledge and skills to productive use. He applied as a researcher to the Institute of Financial Management and Research (IFMR) and secured it in Chennai. One of his projects involved studying banking systems in rural parts of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu.
Little did Ajay know that this break would one day change his life goals and lives of hundreds of small-time farmers.
Learning the Harsh Realities From Farmers
As part of this fellowship programme in Tamil Nadu, Ajay regularly visited Thanjavur which is also known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.
There, he found how farmers were struggling to cultivate rice due to several reasons like poor quality seeds, erratic climatic conditions, insufficient water and expensive labour.
“My interactions with the farmers were limited to their plans with regards to financial management. But often, they ended up describing their problems which were not impossible to solve. All they needed was access to the right technology to cut down capital costs and increase the yield,” says Ajay to The Better India.
Ajay and Jayaram, founders of Magasool
After learning about the harsh realities of farming conditions in India, Ajay gave up his lucrative fellowship and formed an organisation called ‘Magasool’ (yield in Tamil) in 2012 along with Jayaram Venkatesan in 2012.
Magasool provides technology-based solutions that reduce investment prices, cultivation costs, usage of toxic fertilisers, water and manpower.
In turn, this has increased the yield and income by 20 per cent of close to 1500 marginal farmers in nine districts of Tamil Nadu.
The Problem
In a paddy field, rice seeds are first sown and raised in a nursery. Once they grow in seedlings, they are transplanted across the field. These seedlings are as high as ten inches, and the majority of farmers in rural India transfer them manually.
Though transplanting requires less seed for good output, it is very labour-intensive and time-consuming. It takes approximately 14 workers and one day to complete the process in an acre of land.
While planting the seedlings, it is crucial to ensure that there is adequate space between each one. If this is not done, there is a risk of seedlings eating into each other’s nutrients and water, which can lead to sub-optimal plant growth.
Arranging for skilled labour is another challenge as most of them prefer working in big fields for more money. Since the labourers are hired on an hourly basis, farmers end up spending a lot, especially if the transplantation has to be repeated. This way, they not only lose a lot of money but also risk a low yield.
“We have seen from past experience that paddy profits can be increased by Rs 3500 to Rs 7000 per acre (more than 40%) with lean farming techniques of a modified system of rice intensification,” says Ajay.
The Solution For Farmers
Magasool lends the Modified System of Rice Intensification (MSRI) machinery that cultivates rice with a mix of organic fertilisers to farmers.
While the machine is lent without any charge, the farmer has to pay salary for the trained operator given by the organisation, running cost of machine and daily maintenance. Since the operator is a local who has been trained, the machine also generates employment.
“We did not provide training as multiple farmers in that village use one machine. So, whenever any of them need the machine, they call us and our operator goes to the field and does the job,” explains Ajay.
Weighing around 120 kilos, the machine transplants the 20-day old seedlings without disturbing the roots and plants them in an equidistant format allowing access to sunlight, water and root growth. It also weeds and loosens the soil, thus leading to better aeration and increased tillage. MSRI fields also require 25% less water in the initial ten days.
Women farmers using Pest Traps
Vani Muthaiya, a farmer from Tamil Nadu’s Periyakulam town, was one of the first farmers to use the machine on his 7-acre field.
“I used to spend Rs 1.26 lakh on seeds, manpower to sow and transplant saplings every year with no guarantee of profits. Despite spending lakhs, it took ten labourers to transplant paddy on just one acre of the field in a day,” Vani shares with TBI.
After the intervention by Magasool, Vani’s capital cost reduced by almost 4,000 and yield improved by 15% per acre.
Additionally, Ajay claims that most farmers have recorded an increase of 10 to 20% in production and a rise in their incomes (anywhere between Rs 2500 to Rs 5000 per acre).
Tackling Problems In Drylands & Farms
As the company gradually made inroads in rural spaces, they encountered different issues on their way. One of the biggest issues was the indiscriminate use of toxic chemicals and fertilisers in fields for higher growth and killing of pests.
“The rampant use of harmful pesticides was most found in rain-fed fields. In districts of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli, farmers have only one cultivation cycle during monsoons. The sudden rainfall post-summer attract pests in huge numbers. Farmers spray high volumes of fertilisers on fields as they have only one chance for earning from their land,” says Ajay.
To help such farmers, the organisation trained them to develop eco-friendly fertilisers from cow dung and organic waste.
They have set up two vermicomposting units in Parameswaramangalam and Cuddalore village. Every month, both the units generate five tonnes of compost that serve around 400 farmers.
Though the farmers have not completely shunned pesticides, the usage has reduced to half, and farmers save around Rs 3,000 per acre by replacing it with organic compost.
The organisation has also introduced an alternate source of food consumption for farmers utterly dependent on rains.
They help farmers set up organic kitchen gardens and also provide vegetable seeds of leafy veggies, chillies, tomatoes, beetroots, and so on for free. A total of 500 farmers now grow their food for self-consumption four months in a year.
Way Forward
Ajay and Jayaram are now working towards collaborating with Gramvaani, a community radio that addresses local issues.
“The list of problems that farmers face daily is never-ending. While the government has made provisions where farmers can look for solutions in subsidies or YouTube tutorials, they are not region-specific. We want to produce content that caters specifically to the farmers of Tamil Nadu region, and feel that community radio is the best way to reach every farmer,” concludes Ajay.
A thick canopy of trees shield the entrance of Saroja Thiyagarajan’s home, which is located in the corner of Anna Nagar B Sector, Chennai.
The first thing one notices when entering her abode is the magnificent facade of the building covered with branches, and blush-tinted jungle geranium—one of her first flowering plants.
Then, the lotus pond with colourful fish and white water lilies (Nymphaea nouchali) at the entrance, welcome you. From unique varieties of hibiscus and adenium decorating the garden area, to the repurposed planters from jars and mugs hanging from the veranda grills, every corner is a feast for the eyes.
It is a beautiful result of 16 years of hard work and patience. And it all began, almost 60 years ago when she came to Chennai after her wedding.
“I was 16 years old when I was married and moved to Chennai with my husband. At the time we were staying near the ICF (Integral Coach Factory) colony, and in the limited space there, I managed to grow small potted plants. From that to more than 500 plants in this house, has been quite a journey,” says 80-year-old Saroja to The Better India.
The Garden Queen of Anna Nagar, Chennai
Born in Keezh Velur, near Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, Saroja shares how she developed a green thumb over the years.
“I grew up in a family that was always rooted in the soil, quite literally. So, the love for agriculture and all things green runs in my genes. Plus, I had a tuition teacher who believed that awareness about the environment was crucial for a complete education, so, he would regularly engage me in gardening. I think that’s how my interest grew into a passion, so strong that it sort of defines who I am today,” says the octogenarian.
Over the years, the passion grew, and her husband began to get more involved.
“Post-retirement, he wanted me to take it up seriously. Every month, we would allocate a set amount of money for the plants. I wanted to keep growing and learning more about plants. And that is why I started to have a yearly garden party to share, discuss and spread more awareness about urban gardening,” adds the Chennai resident.
Today, she is among the well-known gardening experts in the area, and a prominent member of Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG), a group consisting of organic gardening enthusiasts, which was formed almost a decade ago with the intent of spreading valuable information about organic techniques of farming and gardening.
“I never feel lonely because of my plants”
Saroja mentions that she has over 100 varieties of adenium, 10 varieties of vegetables and greens, bonsais, roses and 20 varieties of hibiscus plants.
A sight of nature’s bounty, every time students and sometimes even teachers from neighbourhood schools come to collect fallen hibiscus flowers for Botany classes; she makes sure they come inside and have a tour of the green home. She has also set up a composting section in her house which uses wet waste and garden waste to make organic manure for the plants.
“Telling and educating people about plants continues to excite me,” she exclaims. In 2015, Saroja was awarded the Tamil Nadu Horticulture Department award for her contribution to gardening. Later in 2019 as well, she received the Lakshmi Organic Award at the Anna University.
“My husband passed away in 2012, and all my children are now living in different parts of the country. But, I never feel lonely because of my plants. I know they will always be there for me,” she concludes, with a smile.
It is no secret that Punjab’s cancer rates are the highestin the country. In fact, there is a ‘Cancer Train’ that leaves from Bathinda to Bikaner, Rajasthan every day carrying 60 odd cancer-affected patients for treatment at the government’s regional cancer centre.
The horrific state of affairs is reportedly due to the rampant use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture, which have mixed with the region’s water table. Consequently, the use of that water for agricultural activities as well as drinking has spread the chemicals in residents’ bodies, causing severe ailments, including cancer.
Just like every resident of the state, Anurag Arora, a resident of Jalandhar, was well aware of this reality while growing up.
“On one hand, where the state is reeling under the drug menace, there is the problem of lethal pesticides that farmers are exposed to, as a result of which we are consuming toxic food. I couldn’t continue my comfortable job and turn a blind eye to the crisis taking place in front of me. I embarked on the road to make pest-free and nutritional food accessible to people,” he tells The Better India.
To help tackle this crisis and provide healthier food alternatives to the population, Anurag quit his lucrative job with Trident India and started MINK Organics, an agro-enterprise, along with his wife Jayati in 2017.
The organisation helps people grow organic food on their rooftops by providing free consultations and seedlings or seeds at market prices. Till date, it has helped around 200 people across Punjab.
At its outlet, the organisation also sells organic veggies, grains, pulses, microgreens and superfood at affordable prices. These products are grown by Arora on its farm and also procured from 20 organic farmers.
Working Towards A Healthier And Cancer Free Future
Anurag and Jayati were low on savings when they started out. With no money to purchase land for farming, the duo used what was available to them—their rooftop.
With no prior experience or knowledge, Anurag purchased seeds and fresh soil from a nursery and planted them. Just when the seeds were turning into saplings, a heavy monsoon destroyed everything.
That’s when Anurag took professional help and underwent a certified course on cultivation from Centre of Excellence for Vegetables Indo-Israel Project, Kartarpur. He also completed a course on organic farming from Punjab Agriculture University.
In the 1.5 square feet area, he planted mushrooms, cucumbers and apple guard. Gradually he expanded to other veggies like broccoli, onion, cabbage, radish, brinjal, lettuce, tomatoes on his 300 square feet rooftop. For most of the plants, he used a vegetable crate, which allows proper drainage.
To keep pests at bay, Anurag prepared jeevamrutham (a mixture of cow urine and dung) and natural fertilisers from neem oil, jaggery, garlic, ginger, and so on.
Once the rooftop veggies started giving regular produce for self-consumption, Anurag intensified his mission of providing nutrient-rich food.
He ventured into growing microgreens like sprouts, wheatgrass and superfoods like stevia—without soil.
“In soilless gardening, minerals and nutrients are provided by mixing fertilisers in water. Natural fertilisers have five macro-elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium and magnesium) and micro-nutrients (iron, manganese, copper, sulphur, molybdenum, zinc and borate) that are needed to grow plants,” says Anurag.
For sprouts, he uses filtered water from the organic pulses.
As the yield from the rooftop garden is limited, he started providing free consulting and services to other people. For people who do not have enough space, he helps them set up a garden, in the balcony or kitchen. Two of his clients even grow veggies in bathtubs!
For people who have no space and time to grow food, the organisation grows them and sells the pots.
“We cultivate the seeds, and just before the harvest period, we sell the pots. After that, all a customer has to do is water the plants and enjoy the benefits,” adds Anurag. The average cost of the organic veggie pots, as compared to setting up a garden is higher by 29 per cent.
Making Organic Food Affordable
In 2018, the organisation scaled up its activities and established its outlet to sell fresh vegetables, pulses, grains, etc. to people.
Anurag rented 7,000 square feet of land to grow vegetables like wheatgrass, leafy greens, radish, onion, spices, etc.
As he practices the multi-cropping farming method, it helps him grow an average of 200 kilos of vegetables daily. He has also collaborated with 25 farmers in Jalandhar who grow vegetables without any chemicals and pesticides.
Customers can either purchase the vegetables at the outlet, his farm model or order it online.
One of the most popular items at the outlet is wheatgrass juice priced at Rs 30 and close to 200 glasses are sold every day. “To see rickshaw driver sipping on the juice on the hot afternoon next to a businessman relishing is such a heartwarming scene. This is why I do what I do,” says Anurag.
Customers at MINK Organics outlet
Sanjeev Tehran and his wife, who has cancer, are regular customers at MINK Organics outlet.
“Along with medications, switching to healthy diet plans is equally important. It is better to spend Rs 2,000 extra on food that is chemical-free than spend lakhs and lose mental peace. In her new diet, wheatgrass juice has helped a lot in improving her health” Sanjeev tells The Better India.
Sanjeev Tehran and his wife.
Overcoming Challenges & Way Forward
One of the biggest challenges that the organisation faced in the initial period was overcoming the perception that organic food is only for the privileged and wealthy.
“The MINK Organics outlet saw 1-2 customers and on same days no people at all. People would look at the store, read the word organic and pass. We worked hard to dispel that notion through social media platforms and word of mouth,” explains Anurag.
Some people even questioned the authenticity of products. Anurag now live-streams his farming activities on his rooftop and farm. Besides, 70 per cent of his shop’s products are organic certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Financial crunch is a recurring problem. To manage the expenses, the husband-wife duo also runs a coaching centre for National Talent Search Examination.
The organisation now aims to scale up its reach across the state. As per Anurag, individuals and organisations have approached them from other cities to adopt a similar farming model.
As the world continues to exploit natural resources, efforts by people like Anurag can go a long way in not only sustaining the environment but also improving our health.
In the last week of February, India witnessed one of the most devastating communal clashes in its capital city. A series of inhuman acts took over 50 lives, left several people gravely injured and destroyed properties in East Delhi.
While the communal riots spread, there were people who chose to discard religious tags, pick up the flag of humanity and helped people in distress in face of mindless hatred.
Here we write 5 heartwarming tales that emerged in Delhi where people came forward undaunted in a show of solidarity and support for their brethren:
1) Love Thy Neighbour
When a few residents of Gurudwara Mohalla in Gali 6 decided to build a metal gate to prevent rioters from damaging the properties and hurting people, the news travelled fast and a total of Rs 4,000 was collected.
Once the gate was constructed, the residents of the Mohalla stood guard 24/7 on a rotational basis and allowed outsiders to enter only after a thorough check-up.
Located between Jaffrabad, a Muslim-dominated area and Hindu-dominated Maujpur, the Mohalla happens to be a very sensitive area as people from all religions have been living in harmony for ages.
“Our neighbours are like family, we have an understanding that if I am in trouble, they will protect me, and if they are in trouble, I will protect them,” Mohd Imran, a resident told Indian Express.
Meanwhile, a few blocks away in Gali 4, a similar sense of camaraderie was witnessed. Apart from taking turns to be vigilant, people also formed a WhatsApp group to dispel rumours or fake news.
“On Tuesday night, there was a rumour that the gurdwara had been set on fire and around 200 Sikh men wanted to rush here. I had to tell them that I am standing in front of it and there was no fire,” says Palvinder Singh Khalsa, a resident.
Such heartening scenes from both the lanes are very hard to believe considering that only a 100 metres away properties were destroyed and stones were pelted all night in Maujpur Main road.
People in Gurudwara Mohalla gracefully emulated unity in diversity, a lesson that needs to be remembered in such turbulent times.
2) Every Life Mattered for This Hero With Severe Burns
Even before Sumit Baghel, a resident of Shiv-Vihar could try and process that a frenzied mob had set fire to his neighbour’s house, his brother, Premkant had already begun rescue operations.
All Premkant knew was that his friend’s family was in trouble. Whether he belonged to another religion did not even enter his mind when he put his life in danger and rescued six members of the family. While the 29-year-old was escorting the last member, an elderly woman out, he suffered severe burns on his body including his face.
दंगा पीड़ित क्षेत्र शिव विहार में रहने वाले प्रेमकांत जी अपने एक मुसलमान पड़ोसी को दंगे से बचाते हुए 70% जल गए। उनसे GTB असप्ताल में मिली, प्रेमकांत जी जैसे लोग दिल्ली के असली हीरो हैं। उनसे मिलकर बहुत हौसला मिला। मेरी प्रार्थना है कि वो जल्द ठीक हों और हमारे साथ मिलकर काम करें। pic.twitter.com/qPLrrJhYpx
What made the situation even worse was that Premkant couldn’t go to the hospital due to the unavailability of an ambulance. It was only in the morning, after several hours, that he was taken to the GTB Hospital for treatment.
At a time when concepts like compassion and empathy are dying slowly, it is extremely rare to see people like Premkant who rise beyond the politics at play, and prefer to save a life.
3) Children Show A Promising Future
In riot-infested zones of Delhi, as despair and hysteria ran wide, school children were setting examples of brotherhood for everyone.
As per a report by The Indian Express, a group of four close friends – Shoaib, Vinay, Sameer and Akash were in touch with each other during the horrific nights of violence. Everyone updated each other about their respective conditions through phone calls.
During the clashes, three of them went to Vinay’s house in Gurudwara Mohalla to catch up.
“As we were stuck in our homes during the violence, we called each other up to ask if everyone was fine. We have many students of both religions in our class and we’re all friends,” said Shoaib.
Likewise, 12-year-old Vipan Kumar rang up his classmate Ayan in the Noor Illahi area of Shahdara to inquire about his well being.
How amazing it is to know that a divisive atmosphere could not create faults in along religious lines in their friendship.
4) Sikh Hero Leaves No Stone Unturned to Save 80 Lives
On 24 February, Mohinder Singh sensed the tension in the morning and by evening he was on his scooter helping people in the Hindu-majority area of Gokulpuri.
The 54-year-old and his son were safely transporting men, women and children, irrespective of their religion, to a safer zone in the Kardampuri area, a kilometre away.
Singh protected close to 80 people from the miscreants and on some occasions, he even put turbans on the victims to save lives. .
In the very first hour, the father-son duo made 20 trips on their two-wheelers.
“I just saw people. I saw little children. I felt like they were my children and that nothing should happen to them. We did this because we all should act humanely and help those in need. What more can I say?” he told Huffington Post.
After he was done ensuring that residents of Gokapuri were in a safe spot, Singh made several attempts to stop the mob from destroying and burning properties of the locals. According to the report, Singh did not wait for any help to douse the fire in a local shop after he realised a nearby gas cylinder would blow up their entire street.
5) Human Chain
With almost 100k views and 3,000 shares, a video shared by journalist Bodhisattva Sen Roy on Twitter was probably the most heartwarming gesture that emerged on 25 February.
As the protests turned violent and horror unfolded in several parts of East Delhi, a group of good samaritans formed a human chain to safeguard school children.
See the video here:
This is happening now at Yamuna Vihar in East Delhi. Locals form a human chain to escort schoolchildren to safety.
Police is nowhere to be seen. Remember this is Delhi, barely 20 kms north of Hyderabad house, the site of Modi-Trump joint statement an hour or so back pic.twitter.com/HHodTvJpK8
We teach by practising. When these children will look back at this tragic event, they will remember those who set the fire, and the ones who doused it, they will remember the hands that threw the stones and the ones raised to protect them and they will remember the hatred-laced eyes and those filled with compassion and the light of humanity too.
Never forget that we can teach our children by standing by for what is right.
Three years ago, when the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) asked a Mahadevpura-based society to stop generating wet waste, there was a wave of mild panic among its 200-odd residents. While all of them were segregating their waste, very few knew about or even practised composting.
But Shilpa Maheshwari and Nitin Sinha rose to the challenge and decided to take this opportunity to move towards a healthier future.
“Due to the lack of equipment for community composting, I started my experiments with composting, using methods like storing the used vegetable waste etc. from the kitchen and making compost out of it,” Shilpa (38), an entrepreneur tells The Better India.
Over a period of time, the experiments translated into developing a nutrient-rich compost. The high volume of compost generated every month gave Shilpa the idea to use it as an organic fertiliser to grow vegetables.
Today, the couple grows all kinds of organic vegetables from their kitchen waste. In the last three years, they have not generated any kind of wet waste.
While they tell me this with pride, Nitin jumps in and excitedly reveals that their home garden fulfils 60 per cent of their vegetable needs.
Cost-Free Composting
“Initially, we turned to the internet to acquire knowledge about composting, but it left us very confused,” says Shilpa.
However, they understood the basic idea that wet waste has to be dried to make compost. So, they drilled holes at the bottom of four buckets and deposited kitchen waste in them for the next month.
The buckets were placed in the balcony to avoid pests and odours.
“All the liquid from fruit peels and food waste left the bucket through the holes and after 15 odd days, I was left with the remnants, and mixed cocopeat in it. By the end of the month our compost was ready,” explains Nitin.
Further, they stored liquid from the waste to use as a pest repellent in their garden.
When asked if there was a stench from the buckets or attracted any insects, Shilpa says, “We covered the buckets with proper lids and regularly cleaned the area around the buckets, so there was no problem.”
During the course of experiments, they also realised the amount of food wasted every day and decided to tackle that as well. “ We have stopped wasting food. We consume everything that we cook. Everything else out of the kitchen, like vegetable leftovers, fruit peels etc. are converted to compost,” says Shilpa.
The home-based composting proved cost-effective as all they invested in was the buckets and cocopeat.
Organic Gardening
The couple had always dreamed of growing vegetables at home. Since now they had a motivation (compost), they began to attend online gardening workshops.
“Learning pot-based gardening turned out to be an interesting experience. This type of gardening involves a mix of soil and extra nutrients to make up for the space crunch. In addition to that, a high breeze can shred plant foliage and even break stems. The pots need proper sunlight which results in quick evaporation. So it is vital that plants are watered more frequently and are well-protected,” says Nitin.
It took several failed attempts for the couple to attain feasible results.
They took care of providing enough nutrients by regularly feeding wastewater, waste milk, banana peals, crushed eggshells, buttermilk and tea leaves to the soil.
From easy-to-grow vegetables like tomato, coriander and green chilli to growing seasonal vegetables like ladies finger, radish, capsicum, cauliflowers, cabbage, variety of beans, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, lemon etc., there are around 50 types of organic vegetables that the family consumes. Recently, they scaled up their gardening activities by growing pomegranates in a drum.
Impact
“The most important impact of these two practices is the satisfaction of seeing our kids eat safe and freshly grown food,” says Shilpa.
Then there is the fact that their neighbours, both young and old, take an active interest in learning about gardening and composting.
“The way the kids interact with our kitchen backyard is perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this whole exercise for us. Moreover, this helps to spread the awareness that it is possible to grow your vegetables in your concrete balcony using homemade compost. You do not require acres of land to do the least to save the environment. On a personal front, we also made a shift to eco-friendly products and practices like eliminating plastics,” concludes Nitin.
In a city where the green cover is rapidly dwindling, such eco-friendly practices by citizens like Shilpa and Nitin give us hope for a healthier and greener future.
When Suresh Devang, an IT professional working in California told his parents about leaving his job and taking up organic farming in India professionally, he faced protests in place of support. His family members failed to understand why someone at a senior position would want to give all up for farming, a profession that is filled with risks.
For days, the 48-year-old told stories of successful organic farmers to his wife and parents with a hope they would at least consider his decision. But, the tales of farmer suicides and farming debt are so grave in the Indian landscape, that even today four years later, having proved his mettle as a farmer and earning neat profits, his parents are not fully convinced. But Devang has found his calling.
From Engineering to Organic Farming
Devang left a lucrative job in the US to practice organic farming in India
In 2016, Devang purchased 6-acre farmland and a year later moved to Mysuru’s Pura village of HD Kote taluk.
So, what made the software engineer leave behind a life of comfort and luxury and venture into a profession that he had very little expertise in?
“It was a combination of various things that prompted me to quit my job and return to India. I came across the story of an old Indian lady creating a forest without expecting anything in return. While I felt extremely proud of her, it was also a triggering point for me,” Devang tells The Better India.
Devang hails from an agrarian family and grew up eating chemical-free food. Along with many things he had left behind in his childhood, eating fresh food was one. Something he realised after exploring the benefits of organic food.
“All of us want to eat healthy food, but no one actually wants to grow them. Some studies I read even pointed out how we get lifestyle diseases at an early age due to unhealthy food. All the articles on farming I read during my free time motivated me to go back to my roots,” he adds.
Entering Into Farming When Pura was Struggling with a Drought
When Devang finally took the brave step and settled in India, Pura was going through a horrible drought and the distressed farmers were moving to other areas in search of employment.
If the discouragement from family and friends and mockery of other farmers was not enough, the drought dissuaded the engineer further and almost broke his morale.
But, not one to give up, Devang took advantage of this drought to level his land and develop water-conserving methods. For this, Devang hired the farmers who chose to stay behind, thus generating an alternative source of income for them.
He built a farm pond (15×15 feet) with a capacity to store 1.25 lakh litres of rainwater.
In addition to that, he also dug a manhole around a borewell to recharge the groundwater. In the manhole, he kept pebbles of different sizes that filters the rainwater.
Devang practices organic farming in 6 acres of land
He also utilised the time to meet other farmers and officials from the Mysuru agriculture and horticulture department to learn about farming techniques. Among all the farming techniques, Devang chose Integrated Farm Management (IFM) to ensure sustainable farming.
Elaborating on this method, he says, “A cycle is formed on the agricultural land, where crop residues are fed to the animals and in turn, animal waste from the livestock is used as an organic fertiliser to grow food. In simpler terms, waste is reused as a useful product.”
The Benefits of Organic farming: Growing Healthy Food Round the Year
For any new entrepreneur, sustaining the business amidst failures and losses is very crucial. Thus, Devang chose to produce food around the year instead of the seasonal harvest.
For intercropping (where two or more plants are grown on the same place), he made a blueprint of short-term and long-term vegetables, and crops and shrubs he could grow on his farm.
He ordered organic seeds from nurseries across India and started his activities. He dug trenches across the land, deposited organic wastes and covered it, “Trenches retain soil moisture for a longer time, allows only partial sunlight and prevents soil erosion from rain,” he adds.
Here’s how Devang has intercropped the seeds:
He has planted one coconut tree each on four corners of the field at a distance of about 40 feet
He planted 100 lemon trees between two coconut trees
He then planted banana trees at eight feet apart in between lemon trees.
Finally, the space between each banana plant was filled with plants like chillies, beans, marigold, medicinal plants, leafy and green vegetables.
As the vegetables in between the banana trees only take three months to grow, he is able to replace vegetables in every cycle.
Explaining the reason behind his blueprint farm, Devang says, “Coconut trees give coconut every 5-6 years, whereas it takes three years for lemon trees to give lemons. So I had to plant short-term veggies to sustain myself.”
One of the biggest advantages of this type of farming, says Devang, is the water that is saved, “When I water the outside trees, the same water runs off in the middle, watering the vegetables. I save up to 50 per cent of water every time I irrigate the field.”
Additionally, in the adjacent 11-acre plot, Devang grows rainfed crops such as millets, ragi, rice, maize and so on.
Winning Hearts & Accolades
For his novel methods, Devang was recently given the ‘Best District Farmer’ award by the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. In terms of yield, the farm gives an output of 10-15 quintals of vegetables every year and 40 tonnes of bananas. This yield translates into yearly profits of around Rs 6 lakhs.
Devang has also tied up with local vegetable vendors, organic food outlets and companies across the state to sell his produce.
Like Jeevamrutha, an organic outlet in Mysuru, which has been purchasing vegetables from Devang’s farms for the last two years. It’s owner, Smita N tells TBI, “Many of our customers have given positive feedback in terms of the quality of Devang’s vegetables. It takes less than an hour to sell the fresh produce every morning.”
With three years of experience in farming, Devang aims to disperse his knowledge among others, especially farmers and students, “Every child must know the basics of growing food without chemicals and pesticides. I hope to invite schools for farm visits.”
Devang represents one of the many people who switched from the corporate world to farming with an aim to not only grow their own food but also make organic veggies accessible and affordable to others. At a time when farmers are quitting agriculture, people like Devang provide hope for a greener future.
Get in touch with Suresh Devang at: sureshdevang@gmail.com
Hailing from a farming family in the small village of Manoli in Rajasthan, Anu Meena grew up watching the struggles of rural cultivators from close quarters. Aside from the inaccessibility of advanced agricultural infrastructure, the small-scale village farmers also grappled with securing the proper pricing of their products.
“(As a child), I used to see my grandfather facing difficulties to sell his produce – finding Mandis, searching for buyers, getting payments and mostly for getting a good price for the harvest. So I decided to work on this problem for my grandfather and many more farmers who feed the world,” shares Anu Meena, an IIT-Delhi graduate who started an agro-tech firm ‘AgroWave’ that bridges the gap between remote farmers and the consumer sector.
Anu Meena with the AgroWave app
A Childhood Full of Struggles
In a conversation with The Better India, Anu Meena shares about the struggles of her childhood that fuelled the idea for her startup, which is now aiding hundreds of small-scale farmers in North India.
“Growing up, I experienced struggle from up close. I had to walk barefoot for 5 km to reach the village school, often watching the farmers toiling in the fields on my way,” shares Anu.
Her academic brilliance prompted her to pursue her plus two in science from the small town of Sawai Madhopur, before she cracked the IIT entrance examination. Her initial days at IIT-Delhi were riddled with hurdles. Language proved to be a difficulty for her in communication and learning, owing to her background in a Hindi medium school. It affected her academic performance and drove her into depression.
But with grit and determination, Anu persevered. She brushed up on her English skills soon and worked harder. She soon began acing her classes like before. After completing her graduation in Biochemical Engineering, Anu started working as an Operations Analyst at a startup dealing with logistics In 2017.
To Do Something for the Farmers
“I worked there for a brief period of time, but somehow my experience there reminded me of my family’s struggle to transport and sell their produce at bigger markets and for better profits. I remembered how much trouble my grandfather went through simply to rent a tractor from larger farmers in the village. At the same time, the regular news of farmer suicides from across the country upset me a lot. I decided the job was not my cup of tea and I had to do something for the farmers,” expresses Anu.
While doing her research for her startup, Anu learnt that the problems her family faced once are still affecting more than 50 per cent of the farmers around India. Mostly, they are unaware of the huge demand in urban market clusters and continue selling their produce for a low price in rural belts. Moreover, their sales are regularly intercepted by unscrupulous middlemen, who tend to pocket a larger share of the profit.
Anu’s target was to connect these farmers to urban consumers, and thereby eliminate the middlemen in the chain. Within a short time, Anu conceived the idea of AgroWave and started the company in March 2017 along with a group of dedicated friends, including Payal Jawalkar, her batchmate from IIT-Delhi.
A farmer involved with AgroWave
How AgroWave Functions
With thorough ground research, analytics and the intervention of technology, the company tries to optimise the agricultural supply for the partnering farmers, and also helps to secure the best price for their harvest.
Anu informs, “We are building a Farm2Market mobility supply chain through an integrated network of mobile pickup station MPS(s) using data-driven technology like smart route mapping, price prediction engine and supply-demand mapping.”
“We buy fruits and vegetables through MPS(s) from farm gates and sell the produce to retail outlets in metro cities and other businesses,” she simplifies. In everyday terms, AgroWave helps a farmer plan everything – ranging from the fastest and cheapest transportation route to accurate price prediction and finally reaching the customer. From higher revenue for guava farmers in Sawai Madhopur to more price for cauliflowers across farms of Agra, AgroWave has managed to bring smiles to many families.
“We have farmers who are happy to work with us as we give them instant payments,” says Anu highlighting another excellent aspect of AgroWave.
Ringing in Increased Profits for Small Farmers
AgroWave started with just 15 farmers in Palwal, Haryana. At present, their farmer count stands at over 3,000 across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Like Narayan Singh who owns a 3-acre organic farm in Khandoli, Agra where he grows seasonal vegetables like potato, cauliflower, chilli, gourd, watermelon and okra. He has been partnering with AgroWave for the past one year, after their field executive invited him onboard by buying all his cauliflower. His sales have only grown ever since. “Earlier, I had to travel to the Mandis in town to sell my vegetables. Sometimes the transit would take up to two days. Not only was it tiring and a waste of time, but there was also price discrepancy often at the wholesale vendors. Through AgroWave, now I can transport the entire produce at one go, thus saving a huge amount on transportation expenses. I also get at least Rs 2-3 extra per kg for my vegetables that the normal Mandi rates,” shares Narayan.
The AgroWave team
He adds that a lot of his neighbouring farmers have started working with AgroWave following his example.
Anu claims that they have charted an average increase of 10-15 per cent of profits for the farmers they have started working with. Their steady customer base includes retail outlets, canteens, caterers and restaurants in Delhi-NCR and other cities of North India.
She envisions to launch AgroWave as a pioneer in the farm-to-business sector of India. The company also plans to have a tie-up with state governments soon to upscale their initiatives and thereby aid more farmers.
‘To build a sustainable supply chain of fruits & vegetables!’ – reads the AgroWave motto. And true to their vision, Anu Meena’s unique startup is truly empowering the often-overlooked agricultural sector of the nation.
For years, Thammaiah PP had to continuously fight recurring problems of poor irrigation and crop failure despite practising organic farming since 1984. The primary concern was availability of water to irrigate his fields. At his wits end, the farmer from Hunsur taluk of Mysuru (susceptible to droughts annually) decided to take an unconventional route a couple of years ago and experiment with five-layer farming on one acre of his farm – a model that proved to be self-sustaining.
And now the 69-year-old is now reaping great benefits. His water usage has come down by 50 per cent and yields have increased tenfold, giving him annual profits of Rs 10 lakhs.
Through multi-layer farming, Thammaiah is growing 300 varieties of plants, from coconuts, jackfruits, millets, leafy vegetables, mangoes, areca nut, bananas to black pepper on just one acre!
The kind of benefits that Thammaiah is reaping is something that a farmer only dreams of but is hardly able to achieve it.
So What Exactly is Five-Layer Farming?
Thammaiah’s farm in Mysuru
In this method, a farmer grows plants of different heights on same field at the same time to optimise the use of land. Elaborating about its benefits, Thammaiah tells The Better India:
It is a self-sustaining technique as by the time the first crop is harvested, the second crop is already getting ready to be cut. Since the plants are growing in close proximity with each other, the amount of water required for one crop is sufficient to cover two or more crops, thus saving lakhs of litres of water.
The one acre space with five-layer farming model
When he first learnt about this process a few years ago, he laughed it off considering the hardships he faced when he ditched chemical fertilisers and switched to organic farming in 1984.
“My crops were so addicted to chemical fertilisers that it took them almost a year to get comfortable with organic manure. My production was low for the first few cycles despite having 6-acre farmland. So when I came across multi-layer cropping that allows multiple plants to co-exist I did not pay much need. It was only when I visited a fellow farmer and saw the theory turned into a practical success, I started it,” he informs.
Wanting to experiment, he dedicated one acre to 5-layer farming and on the rest of his farm, he continued growing crops in the conventional way.
How It Works
Thammaiah’s experiment began with coconut trees and he improvised from there.
He first planted coconut trees on the east and west side of the field at a distance of 30 feet.
In between two coconut trees, he planted a chiku tree. In the space between the coconut and chiku, he planted a banana tree.
Below the coconut trees, he has planted areca nuts and black pepper. In between these trees, he planted spices.
In the north and south side of the field, he planted trees like mango, Jamun, jackfruit, wood apple.
The second layer under mango and jackfruit trees consist of moong dal, lemon tree, drumstick.
He has also planted green vegetables and millets. They prevent the growth of weeds by covering the soil.
Below the ground, there is turmeric, elephant yam, ginger, carrot, and potatoes.
The other plants that Thammaiah grows include 140 medicinal plants, amla, reshma cherry, coffee, rosewood, custard apple, sandalwood, and sugarcane among others.
The system depends on symbiosis – each plant helping the other to grow.
“Turmeric controls the bacteria growth due to its antimicrobial properties, vegetables prevent weed growth, spices are in between as they require less sunlight. Meanwhile, coconut trees help the penetration of the sunlight to other plants and at the same provide shade so that they are exposed to the light for long,” informs Thammaiah.
During the harvest, instead of cutting the plants, he uproots them that allows sunlight, water and oxygen to penetrate deeper, thereby improving the soil quality.
Benefits Of Five-Layer Farming
“Oh! there are many,” points out Thammaiah
To begin with, water usage goes down significantly as shrubs, creepers and veggies retain the water and the shade by large trees further prevents evaporation.
“If in one acre, a conventional farmer uses more than 20,000 litres of water per rotation, I need less than 6,000 litres,” claims Thammaiah.
Additionally, he has also constructed six water ponds (each with a capacity to store 25 lakh litres of water) that conserve rainwater, thereby eliminating the problem of water scarcity. Another benefit of this model is getting yield round the year since he grows crops that have different harvest periods.
“One tree gives me 300 coconuts regularly, harvesting cycle of bananas and some vegetables is one week. Meanwhile, seasonal crops and fruits are produced across three seasons. And medicinal plants are harvested every day,” informs Thammaiah.
Though he churns profits from selling the produce in the market throughout the year, Thammaiah has alternate earning options as well.
He maintains a coconut and medicinal plant nursery and makes value-addition products like groundnut oil and pickles.
Overall speaking, Thammaiah’s model farm has recorded a cut in investments, multiplied profits, solved water woes, recharged groundwater while giving him pest-free healthy food in minimal space.
In a country like India where marginal farmers are struggling to earn a decent living and the sale of chemical-infused is rampant, Thammaiah’s organic model could be an effective solution.
If Thammaiah’s story inspired you, get in touch with him here.
After working for ten years in the Middle East, Joy Vakayil and his wife, who was working there as a nurse, returned to their hometown in Kottayam, Kerala in 2004. The couple had just had their first child, Naveen Joy.
When asked about the reason for his return and what his plans were, Joy shocked everyone by stating that he was back to start his own farm and cultivate different vegetables and fruits there. Having grown up in a family of farmers, he wanted to return to his roots and create something of his own.
At that point, he only owned a few acres of a rubber plantation, but decided that he wanted to cultivate a wider variety of products rather than sticking to just a single cash crop. So, he weeded out all the rubber plants, and cultivated pineapples and easy-to-harvest vegetables like ladies finger and bitter gourd as well as plantain trees.
Today, the farm is home to a variety of fruits and vegetables along with cows, goats and fish, but for Joy, the biggest validation of his efforts is the fact that he gets to export his organic harvest to Europe!
The Initial Days
“I had to face a lot of criticism in the beginning because the people around me didn’t believe that I had the skills to follow through this plan. Additionally, many said that cutting down the rubber that I had was something I would always regret. But today, I’m glad I took that risk because now the farm has expanded to a level that I never anticipated,” Joy exclaims.
Finding the money to invest in the farm was the real struggle. Joy had about Rs 2 lakh saved, and with the help of the Kisan credit card, he took a loan of Rs 3 lakh. He used this money to procure land and materials required for agriculture.
The 14-acre farm is now spread out with almost 5 acres solely dedicated to the cultivation of ladies finger, bitter gourd and green chillies, 2 acres of paddy cultivation, 4 acres for the cultivation of coconut trees and the remaining land for the tubers and the rearing of the cows and goats.
“Soon, the farm started expanding and curious media persons and people started visiting it. I was even featured in an episode of an agricultural show,” says Joy.
On seeing the show, an export company in Kerala approached Joy and asked him if he would be interested in shipping his organic produce abroad. Joy agreed, and after sampling all the vegetables, the company started taking in his harvest for export.
“I have been exporting my vegetables to Europe for the past six years. Some months, I export almost 3/4th of the harvest. The international market is mainly interested in turmeric, ginger, tapioca which is not commonly cultivated abroad but abundantly grows in my farm,” he explains.
Besides exporting his harvest, Joy also provides his vegetables to the nearby Krishi Bhavan.
Dairy Farming And More
“When the farm started expanding, the need for fertilizers and compost also started building up. That’s when my friend, Dr Kuriakose Mathews, who is a veterinarian, gave me the advice to start dairy farming. Since he lives nearby, he assured to give me the necessary guidance and help whenever I needed it,” Joy says.
Today the farm has almost 25 goats and 10 cows that provide an average of 90 litres of milk every day. All the manure from the animals is used for farming purposes, and similarly, all waste leaves and plants are given to the cows and goats along with their fodder.
Joy also creates a manure powder which he sells in the market.
“Joy has always been very passionate about farming. The reason the farm became so successful was because he was always concerned about the harvest than the profit it made. He even goes around the neighbourhood and helps out budding farmers in our locality,” says Dr, Kuriakose Thomas who has been closely involved with Joy’s farm for the past 6 years.
“Many professionals from Krishi Bhavan and Krishi Vinjan Kendra often visit the farm and give me the necessary guidance for a better harvest. I was even given the opportunity to do a course at the Agricultural University to expand my knowledge and build a more scientific understanding about farming,” he explains.
Along with the farm, Joy has also started a nursery where people from across neighbourhoods and cities can purchase a variety of plants. Joy says that he started this initiative to encourage farming in the surroundings and especially to cultivation in the growing generation.
“I’ve ventured out into many levels of farming at the moment, the most recent one being a zero-energy cool chamber which I’ve set up to restore vegetables in their fresh state for upto a week. I’m also trying pisciculture (fish farming) at the moment with different varieties of fish like Rohu and Catla,” he explains.
A recipient of many awards given by the State Agricultural Department, Joy is also conducting an online farm school for beginners under the leadership of Mr Korah Thomas.
“A few years back, the people who knew me would never recognize me as a farmer. But I have worked hard, and am glad that the effort and the risk that I put into the farm changed that perception and I am so glad to be known as a farmer now,” he concludes.
It’s safe to say that we all know the basic components of farming. Seeds, water, sunlight and most importantly, soil, which forms the base for any successful harvest. But what if I told you that there exists a technique that allows you to grow plants out of thin air? Yes, that’s right. I am talking about aeroponics.
Aeroponics is a cultivation method in which the roots of the plant remain suspended in the air and the plant grows without the use of soil as a medium. This technique was first discovered in the West in the 1940s.
Perhaps the biggest merit of this farming technique is that it is not subjected to the vagaries of weather conditions like excessive rain or no rain, along with factors like pest attacks.
Tomatoes grown with aeroponics at Prabhu’s farm
Although aeroponics may have caught on in the West, in India, it is still in a nascent stage. However, a Coimbatore-based Agriculture Engineer has mastered the technique after over 10 years of research and development!
Meet Prabhu Shankar who has grown over 18 types of different vegetables using Aeroponics. Additionally, by following his version of aeroponics, one can achieve a level of productivity that is 15 times more than conventional agriculture. Also, as for water, his aeroponic setup uses only 10 percent of what is used in traditional farming methods.
So, Why Aeroponics?
“Small farmers do all their work on their own. But, in the case of farmers who are into commercial agriculture, farm size is a problem. Managing different aspects of agriculture in big farms like crop selection, irrigation, applying fertilisers can be a difficult task. Also, these farms need large amounts of water when we are already facing water shortage,” states the 47-year-old.
However, the best feature of this controlled agriculture technique is that it allows you to grow seasonal crops all round the year!
Beetroot cultivation on the left and carrot on the right
To make this technique more accessible to commercial farmers, Prabhu launched his startup ‘Neoponics’, under his company Neoponics Projects India Pvt. Ltd, in January 2019. Neoponics provides the services of setting up customised aeroponic farms, known as ‘neo farms’, to commercial farmers.
A Passion for Agriculture
If you ask Prabhu about his work experience, you will perhaps get an idea of how his life has revolved around agriculture from the beginning.
He graduated with a degree in Agriculture Engineering from Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth located in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra in 1995.
Fresh out of college, he joined as a consultant at an irrigation company. He managed projects, helped his firm commercialise their technology, supervised the installations and trained people working in the company.
Prabhu Sankar, Agriculture Engineer and entrepreneur
Hailing from an agricultural background, Prabhu wanted to innovate in this space to make farmers’ lives easier. Thus, in 1998, he quit his job and started his own proprietary firm – IAC Agro Inputs. He had a team of about six people, all with expertise in the field of irrigation.
“Under this firm, my objective was to leverage the irrigation tech which was already existing with farmers, for additional benefits. We came up with something called the ‘fertigation injection’ tool where one could integrate liquid fertiliser in their irrigation system, a technology that wasn’t available in India at the time,” he explains.
The impact of this company was that IAC ended up managing farms on a project basis and this technology impacted over 100+ farmers in Coimbatore.
Ten years into the business, Prabhu realised that the operations for this venture couldn’t really be scaled as they were deep into managing each farm project and they did not have the resources to grow bigger. So, he dissolved the company in 2008 and decided to work henceforth in technologies that could be scaled continuously.
Onions being grown without soil!
“During this time, I got increasingly interested in controlled agriculture practices. My observation was that in conventional agriculture, the farmer does not have full control over the production processes and the yield,” he says.
In the course of working with farmers and in the field of irrigation, Prabhu came across aeroponics and began reading about it.
His research finally saw the light of day ten years later in the form of his startup Neoponics, the operation for which started in June 2019.
Growing Produce From Just Air
When Prabhu was conducting R&D, he was sure about the objectives his innovation had to fulfil. The first thing he wanted to achieve was to be able to grow crops without worrying about the environmental factors.
Secondly, all the produce had to be toxin-free and lastly, the production should be able to meet the market demand.
Prabhu with Vijay Mohan who is the Director of Neoponics
His 26-acre farm in Thalavady that he bought in 2001 became the field of Prabhu’s experimentation. Here, Prabhu was already growing sugarcane, bananas, capsicum, cucumber, and tomatoes for commercial purposes. This ensured that there was a steady flow of income during the 10 years of his research into aeroponics.
Over the years, he mastered the climate control technology which involves growing produce in a closed and controlled manner. He developed special nutrient solutions needed for each crop, free of any kind of pesticides. He also created the mineral compositions for at least 20 crops and everthing was completely organic.
To test his agricultural technique, he set up a 10,000 sqft aeroponics farm where he grew a total of 15 crops like tomatoes, potatoes, brinjal, beetroot, carrot, onion. Subsequently, he also developed the devices needed for the aeroponic farm set-up:
Thermo Hydro Plant that controls the grow-room humidity, temperature, and sterility.
Process solution temperature control plant, which controls the temperature of water
Mineral Dosing Plant, an intelligent mineral injection for plants
Modular crop production platform, the structure where the crop is planted
The roots of the vegetables visible through the other side of the layout
These are the systems that come with the ‘Neo farm’ set up. The farm set-up usually takes about three months to be installed and the startup is still working towards standardising the costing. Currently, it depends on the size of the farm and the customised requirements of the customer. Also, the tech involved in the set up helps in online monitoring of the farm through sensors integrated into devices.
Neoponics first does a site visit for their clients to understand the topography to establish the farm. The first month is the dry run period where they fix all the system features and the first commercial crop cycle starts in the fifth month. For two years, there is complete hand-holding from the startup’s end where the staff is present at the site to monitor all the processes.
Currently, Neoponics has two corporate client projects, one of which is a pilot project that is under wraps. While the other client is a Pune-based client whose farms are located in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district.
Entrepreneur Arindam Paul started his venture, KVB Nutra Products Pvt Ltd in 2018, which manufactures toxin-free medicinal herbs like moringa and turmeric for the nutraceutical industry. The entrepreneur had a chance meeting with Prabhu back in 2013 through a common friend in Coimbatore.
Fresh mint leaves
“When I first met Prabhu, the whole idea of growing plants out of thin air sounded crazy to me! But, when I saw the productivity in his farm and the benefits in relation to productivity and conservation of resources, I was sold!” says the 48-year-old.
The entrepreneur got the aeroponic set-up installed on his one-acre plot even before the startup was formally started.
“For me, it is important that my produce is toxin-free because of the nutraceutical sector that I am supplying to. The water use is extremely minimal, almost 1 per cent of what I would have perhaps needed in the case of conventional agriculture. The yield too, is 10 times more and I can produce these crops throughout the year without having to worry about any failure or pest attacks. What’s better than that?” he smiles.
Challenges of the Agripreneur & Looking Ahead
Although the startup is relatively new and it hasn’t been too long since operations began, Prabhu has had to overcome many challenges to reach this point.
“The 10 years of research and development was a challenge in itself. There were so many times when I would experiment with crops and it would fail. Also, when a client approaches us for a farm set up to grow a crop where we haven’t standardised the nutrient composition, the R&D for that takes a lot of time,” he explains.
Prabhu with visitors from NABARD and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Regardless, after 10 years of struggle, Prabhu truly believes that no challenge is difficult and that with persistence one can achieve anything they set their mind to.
So, what lies ahead for Neoponics?
Prabhu mentions that currently, they are working on integrating artificial intelligence into their farm setup. This would help in reducing human effort required in the management of the farm operations. Additionally, they are also working towards making the farm set-up be easily adopted by smaller farmers by reducing the cost of manufacturing and making the concept easy to understand by simplifying the processes.
“I hope that by scaling our aeroponic farm set up, we help farmers in meeting the food demands by reducing the environmental costs. This means more productivity on a smaller piece of land with minimal use of resources like water and no involvement of pesticides. The idea is to make agriculture a sought after venture for future generations,” he says signing off.
Goa-based Peter Singh is 74-years-old, and his wife Neeno Kaur is 65. They are a power couple, setting an example of how to be self-reliant with food, and at the same time, converting biodegradable waste into something useful.
On 185 square meters of greenhouse and rooftop garden, in their house at Dona Paula, Panaji, they produce 120 kilograms of fish a year and grow 3,000 plants consisting of vegetables and fruits.
For the last four years, they have been practising aquaponics at home, a combination of aquaculture (raising fish in tanks), with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water).
However, they do with a twist. “We do aquaponics with permaculture,” says Peter Singh, explaining his system to a bunch of enthusiasts earlier this year.
(L) Peter Singh in his air conditioned greenhouse that has plants which require cooler climate. (R) Ornamental fish grown in a fish tank
He adds, “We compost our kitchen and garden waste and use it in our aquaponics. Plants are potted in a layer of gravel, 1/3rd of coco peat and 2/3rd of compost. So, our plants get compost plus fish waste, which results in a higher yield. I don’t use any chemicals for this, and I am taking care of my waste and my food.”
One may wonder why they are doing it. For them, the answer is simple–they want to eat organic and be sure of how their food is grown.
Moreover, both have a background in agriculture.
“I was studying Mathematics at the Delhi University; the idea was to stay in Delhi, but then we thought of moving back to our farms in Jalandhar, Punjab. We worked on different forms of agriculture, in which different fruit and timber trees were planted, we did intercropping in the orchard of oilseeds and pulses, produced seeds for the national seed corporation, had a dairy farm, did beekeeping and even exported the honey,” explains Singh.
They moved to Goa seven years ago and found it difficult to source organic vegetables. The majority of the vegetables in the state come from the neighbouring city of Belgaum in Karnataka. So, they decided to grow their food in this unique way.
“As we have limited space in Goa, we experimented and discovered aquaponics. We downloaded papers from universities, and read about it. And came up with this model,” says Singh.
They opine that they are still experimenting and bring in changes accordingly. As they have the technical know-how and a background in farming, they are quite confident of their system.
How this system works
Peter Singh explaining the model
This system of aquaponics which involves the fish tank, NFT pipes, (Nutrient Film Technique) which are used to grow vegetables, water-pumps, and artificial grow lights, may look complicated. But Singh makes it easier to understand. He has also made a model of this system that can fit in any balcony or even in any corner of the living room.
“This unit of 2 ft by 6 ft and 6 ft high, with artificial lighting of 200 watts uses 250 litres of water and can grow 180 plants. One can grow lettuce, kale, bok choy or any other vegetable. One fish tank can sustain five kilograms of fish mass so that you can have ten fresh-water fish of ½ kg each,” elaborates Singh.
The system works mainly on electricity, water, and fish waste.
Singh explains, “In a fish tank, the fish waste is mainly ammonia. In this system, aerators circulate the water and create a current. The fish waste settles at the bottom, and the pipes take this waste into the bio-filter, which breaks the ammonia into nitrates and nitrites for plants to use.”
The water gets further filtered and goes back to the fish. It also has aeroponic towers which work as the nursery of plants. It is also a space-saving system as it is vertical.
“Because of heavy nitrogen, green vegetables grow very well. We have lettuce, bok choy, and celery. Also, this system uses 10 per cent of water used in traditional soil-based farming, as water is constantly getting re-used. The only loss is in the evaporation. There’s no need of watering, no weeding, one only has to feed the fish twice a day,” says Neeno Kaur.
The entire system has three fish tanks on the ground floor. One is of 3,000 litres of water; second is 1,500 litres, and the third is 4,000 litres. They raise three types of fresh-water fish—rohu, catla, and chonak or sea bass. If one does not eat fish, Singh suggests using ornamental fish.
The rooftop garden
On their roof, they have a greenhouse of 12ft by 24ft, which has 2,000 plants. The greenhouse in the back garden is 6 ft by 16 ft and has 500 plants. A roof-top garden has 25 fruit trees, 300 onions, and an assortment of chillies, lemons, tomatoes, aloe, chives, creepers like ivy gourd, bottle gourd, cucumber, bitter gourd, ladyfinger, brinjal.
Along a boundary on the ground floor, they have mango, banana, and papaya. They also have an air-conditioned tunnel of 8 ft by 12 ft in their greenhouse, with 1,000 plants of lettuce, kale, bok choy, basil, parsley, cabbage, and broccoli. For the whole system, they spend around Rs 14,000 per month.
The aquaponics system doesn’t require cleaning of water as water gets filtered in the process. And all the fittings are made by Singh himself. He has also part-time workers for about six hours a day. He adds, “We spend Rs 6,000 on electricity, Rs 4,000 on feeding the fish and another Rs 4,000 on labour.”
They won the first prize for Most Innovative Stall at the Aqua Goa Mega Fish Festival 2020 held in February.
Agriculture expert from Goa, Miguel Braganza opines, “Peter Singh’s aquaponics is good for those who can afford it as the basic cost of the unit is Rs 30,000. Also, it is ideal for those who eat salads and continental cuisine.”
Regarding the cost, Singh states that it is high “because we pump water from the ground floor to the greenhouse on the roof. If it is on the same floor, this is much lower.”
They also have plans for solar panels and making fish feed at home to be self-sustainable. He adds, “If we automate the system, and put in solar power, then costing will go down substantially. We are also working on growing feed for fish. So our whole system becomes self-dependent.”
However, they are also trying to monetise from this system, by conducting two-day training programmes priced at Rs 5,000. Singh adds, “We also custom design and help set up aquaponics systems, of any scale, from small home systems to commercial systems, charging 10 per cent of the capital cost for the design.”
(L) Bok Choi grown in aeroponic towers. (R) Gourds grown on the roof.
Recently, they started selling these vegetables from their home. A basket contains two bunches of lettuce, a baby bok choy, three sticks of celery, sprigs of parsley, basil and a small bunch of mint, priced at Rs 100. They will also add kale and Swiss chard to it. From next month, their air-conditioned model will produce about 300 packs of greens a month at Rs 120 each.
Singh and Kaur are hopeful that more people will learn from this system and eat healthy food as it is the need of the hour.
He concludes, “This method is independent of the weather, rain, hail, and sun; it is protected from predators and is the future of agriculture. It doesn’t need land, soil, or chemicals, and produces vegetables and fish wherever you are.”
This shows that aquaponics could be next best thing in agriculture due to urbanisation and loss of agricultural land. It is estimated that the market of aquaponics will grow with the awareness to eat healthy food.
According to a report by Assocham and Ernst & Young, organic products market in India have been growing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 25 per cent, expected to touch ₹10,000-₹12,000 crore by 2020 from the current market size of ₹ 4,000 crore. As aquaponics is a part of the organic market, the future looks bright for this new-age form of agriculture.
During the current nationwide lockdown to tackle COVID-19, Peter Singh is selling their produce once a week from their home by maintaining social distancing. He says, “We slowed down the sale of our produce in the first week, and worked out a weekly production schedule, which includes a weekly harvest and transplantation. This means we will be able to supply every week all year round.”
(Written by Arti Das and Edited by Shruti Singhal)
An apartment complex in Kolkata’s Newtown came up with a way of engaging school students in producing organic vegetables and getting them closer to nature.
By being in urban settings, kids are increasingly isolated from the land and farming. The learning of the food production cycle is mostly confined to the pages of the schoolbooks. We launched the project ‘Little Farmers’ to bridge this increasing gap by engaging kids in the fun of farming.
(L) Kids painting their dream farms. (R) Kids having group discussion on how to promote organic farming in India.
An IT professional, I grew up with significant exposure to farming, which I wanted to share with the children in my apartment complex. While designing the project, I found that ‘gardening’, ‘farming’ are included in the curriculum of many schools.
The initiative received the prompt attention of the parents living in the apartment complex. Soon, 20 students registered for the winter-long farming project.
The initiative was meant to give the kids a hands-on experience as well as to challenge their mental faculties. Topics like soil types, pollination, composting, recycling, irrigation, food production, use of pesticides, which they read in their textbooks, were discussed. Quizzes were held to trigger their thought process, and they were also given the task of writing their farming stories to exercise their creative writing skills.
We organised a 45-minute session where they posed as members of the Parliament and debated practical ways of propagating organic farming across the country. Parents guided them as they worked on their verbal and critical thinking skills.
(L) Little farmers busy preparing the soil. (R) Kids readying for organic haat.
Dyooti Bhattacharya, a class 9 student, said, “While we are habituated to talking in groups, experiencing a structured group discussion has been a great learning.”
Initially, the project started with a kick-off event in the presence of parents and children. A local organic farmer trained the kids on the use of spade, cleaning up of soil, mixing up of compost, cowdung cake, mustard cake with soil etc. Each 2-member group was assigned a small space in the 400-500 sq ft space, where they could choose to farm herbs/vegetables of their choice.
Under his guidance, they worked during the weekends to prepare their plots and plant the seeds. Spinach, coriander, fenugreek, beans and tomatoes were some of the vegetables they grew.
(L) Organic haat. (R) The colourful produce.
Ritisha Kar, a participant, said, “I had some idea of organic farming. But picking up a spade, mixing compost for the plant bed, planting seeds and watching them grow has been a great learning experience.”
The apartment gardener also acted as the guide when needed. The kids harvested the herbs and vegetables, selling to the residents under the guidance of adults.
(L) Preparing the soil. (R) The plot of a little farmer.
The project also involved visiting local organic farms to understand the best practices and see first-hand how a large-scale farm operates. Saikat Dutt, the father of two participating kids, said, “Our kids are accustomed to seeing the vegetables in local markets and superstores. Visiting a large vegetable farm and talking directly to the farmers was an exciting and learning experience for them.”
With the completion of the winter project, Biswajit is now looking after the field, while planning for a similar summer project when the COVID-19 lockdown lifts.
(Written by Biswajit Majumder and Edited by Shruti Singhal)
If you ever visit the White Magic Shooting Floor Studio in Ramanatukaara, a picturesque town in Kerala, you can be sure that you won’t be leaving with just pictures. The studio is also home to a terrace garden filled with organic fruits and vegetables and is, naturally, famous among the town dwellers.
The terrace garden is the labour of love of owner and photographer of the studio, Shibi M. Vaidyar, 42, from Kozhikode. The reason for the terrace’s popularity, besides the novelty of a studio-cum-organic garden, is that Shibi distributes the harvest for free to his customers and neighbours.
“The last set of the harvest that I got was 80kg tomatoes, 20 kg ladies finger, 10kg green chillies and 10 kgs of brinjal. Now you wouldn’t expect such a huge amount of harvest from the studio terrace right?” laughs Shibi.
Saving Water With A Terrace Garden
The idea of utilising the terrace space to grow plants germinated due to the overflowing of the water tank. Shibi wanted to stop the wastage and tried to think of ways to conserve it. That’s when he came up with the idea of setting up his own terrace garden where he can use the excess water from the tank as well as the water used to clean the studio.
Shibi’s studio which is situated on the airport road in Ramanattukara has been open for almost 10 years now but the terrace garden was started just about 3 years back.
“The first plant was tomato, I saw it sprout within a few weeks and this got me really excited because I have no previous experience in farming or even planting anything for that matter and this actually came as a surprise. So I slowly started expanding the garden and now we have a whole variety of plants,” explains Shibi.
Now that his garden has flourished, he harvests around 120kg of veggies in a month!
Harvesting Rainwater
When the garden expanded, Shibi needed more water. He asked the other shop owners in his building and then collected all the excess water flowing from all the tanks in the building in a separate tank exclusively dedicated for the terrace garden. That way, there would be no wastage of water from the entire building.
Keeping the momentum of water conservation going, Shibi has also started rainwater harvesting to store enough water for the summers.
“Things are a lot easier for me because the soil here is very rich in nutrients. All I do is add a little bit of peanut cake manure and neem leaf manure to the grow bags. The terrace is not my own. The owner of the building, Hajiyar was so amazed by the harvest that he has given me the terrace for cultivation absolutely free of cost,” explains Shibi.
All the produce from Shibi’s farm is completely organic and he is very keen on avoiding the use of chemicals and other artificial fertilisers.
“Even if I decide to expand this as a business, I won’t use any harmful chemicals. I spend around Rs 4000 every month for the garden and I think that’s a small price to pay for a lifelong source of healthy vegetables,” he adds.
Simple Idea Big Results
Today, Shibi uses up all his free time in the garden and says that he plans on expanding the garden even further with more varieties of plants that can easily be grown in bags.
“Most of the time, Shibi closes up the building because he’ll be the last one out after watering all the plants and giving them all the required nourishment. It’s truly amazing to see his dedication and what he has done with the small space on the terrace,” says Hajiyar, owner of the building.
“Photography is and always will be my passion but the love for farming is something that I didn’t even know I had in me which surprises me every day,” he concludes.
Overflowing tanks are a common sight in most buildings in our country. Shibi’s simple idea to resolve this issue by creating a terrace garden has brought a huge difference and impacted his life in an unexpected way. Such simple and innovative ideas can save up on our precious resources.
After a string of failures with his startup ideas, William Mathews, an MCA graduate from Kappatumala, a village in Kozhikode, decided to move to the UAE.
But in 2010, William left his job there, returned to Kerala and went on to establish a ‘fruitful career’ (pun intended) there.
In a span of 10 years, this techie has filled 8 acres of his land with 550 varieties of tropical fruits and also diversified into coconut cultivation, pisciculture and apiculture.
Today William’s ‘Infarm’ fruit farm is immensely popular in Kerala and a must-visit place for researchers and agricultural experts from across the country.
“I gave up my job in the UAE because there was absolutely no growth, and returned with the dream of developing a fruit farm. I thought that it would be a hobby but it has become a great business model and generates a lot of money,” explains the 42-year-old.
Kerala’s Very Own Amazon
William’s orchard is home to over 30 varieties of lemons, 19 varieties of dates, 7 varieties of guava and 8 varieties of passion fruit besides exotic fruits like the American Coconia, the “mickey mouse fruit,” wax apples, the Himalayan mulberry, Rollinia, and the Brazilian jaboticaba, from around the world. There are also hyper-local fruits such as ‘Mooti pazham,’ ‘Njara pazham and ‘Karapazham.’
Williams bought the saplings of these trees which were worth Rs 500 back in 2010. Today their cost ranges from Rs 1000 to 2000.
He also converted family-owned paddy fields into mangosteen orchards which are part of his fruit farm.
“Fruit forests or fruit farms are a very popular concept outside India but have not been experimented on a large scale in the country so far. I feel that it is definitely something that the states in the Western Ghats should try out because the humid climate in these areas is apt for them,” he adds.
Besides the fruits, the farm also has a few medicinal plants like frankincense, camphor and rudraksha.
William has also recently expanded into apiculture and pisciculture. The farm currently has 2 ponds with different varieties of fish and almost 100 boxes of honeybees for cultivation.
“This farm didn’t pop up overnight. I’ve done a lot of research and travelled to several farms across India and abroad to get a better understanding of how it’s done. Most of these saplings cost a fortune and at that time since I was struggling financially, my parents advised me not to invest in farming. But every time I found a tropical fruit that was rare and could be grown in Kerala’s climatic conditions, I would purchase it immediately. Today when I look back, I’m glad I took those decisions because I can finally see my dreams coming true,” explains William.
Stepping Stones
As mentioned earlier, before the farm, William had experienced a series of failures.
“Right after my graduation in 1996 from Rajagiri, I had a plan for a startup called ‘Status Idea’ which is similar to today’s ‘Facebook.’ The application would allow people to connect with their friends and colleagues in real-time. But my timing was all wrong. India was not familiar with the concept of a startup at the time and I failed miserably,” explains William.
While his focus was on the farm, to ensure that his skills in IT would not go to waste, he started a skilling centre named Mavoor Institution of Computer Technology (MICT) which would teach students the basic concepts of IT, coding and technicalities of operating a computer. Today, with almost 60 students attending the classes, it has also begun to gain momentum.
“My wife Seena is currently heading MICT and my children Joshua and Joel, who study in Classes 8 and 9, respectively, help me out with the work in the farm. Both of them have developed a passion for farming and I’m glad they understood its value at such a young age, says William.
“I believe that every household should plant vegetable and fruit saplings according to the space they have. This will never go into waste and you will soon be able to use the produce from your own backyard,” William concludes.
William is one of the many people who switched careers from the IT world to farming with an aim to create a diverse ‘fruit forest’ and make these tropical fruits accessible to others. At a time when farmers are quitting agriculture, people like William gives us hope for a greener future.
PM Illias from the Pulickal Panchayat in Malappuram, Kerala has been innately connected to nature since his childhood. Wanting to carve out a piece of heaven for himself, he began cultivating a forest of his own almost 15 years back. And now the 10 acre land around his home is a flourishing farm, home to almost 50 varieties of fruits, vegetables and teeming with livestock! But what the environmentalist never imagined was the recognition he would receive for this project, especially the Kerala State Award for the best farmer.
Today 48-year-old Illias’ farm is one of the most popular ones in Kerala not just for its variety of fruits and vegetables but its effective waste management system that’s helping an entire society! With the manure from the cows and goats and the plant waste from the farm and his neighbours, Illias has created a perfectly organic ecosystem in his farm.
The Better India’s “BETTER TOGETHER” initiative has brought together civil service officers from across the country as they help migrant labourers, daily wage earners, frontline workers, and all those who need our help most in these troubled times. You can join us and support them in this fight against COVID-19.
With varieties of Litchi, Sappotta, Mangosteen, Papaya, Jackfruit, Noni, Guava and many others, Illias has dedicated 4 acres of his 10-acre land exclusively for the cultivation of fruits. Of the remaining 6 acres, 2 acres is for everyday vegetables like bitter gourd, tomatoes and ladies finger and the rest is somewhat of a tree museum with varieties like Teak, Cedar, White Cedar and Hopea.
“In the span of 15 years, I’ve collected many varieties of saplings, all of them from the Teak Museum in Nilambur, Malappuram. These saplings have grown into tall, majestic trees and stand as a reminder of the hard work and time that has gone into the cultivation of this farm,” says Illias. Besides the farm, Illias has also invested time in poultry and dairy farming with cows, goats, ducks and chicken.
Moreover, the water required to maintain the farm is also managed within its boundaries through rainwater harvesting. Illias has set up five ponds in the empty spaces of the 10-acre land to collect water. The dedicated farmer has also ensured to collect biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste from around the neighbourhood so that the waste in their area is managed effectively.
One of ponds in the farmland
“The summers can be a tricky season, especially when you have to maintain such a vast area. That’s when I started rainwater harvesting. Ever since then neither the farm nor the people in our locality have had to face any kind of water scarcity. I’ve also kept aside one of the ponds for children to learn swimming in the summers. That’s just something that brings me joy,” Illias explains.
As for fertilisers, Illias makes it the farm itself with a biogas plant and a vermicomposting system.
“Illias’ farm has become a boon for the entire society. Every day he collects the waste from the entire locality and if it’s biowaste, he uses it in the plant or adds it to his vermicompost and as for the plastic waste, he repurposes them or sends them to the recycling centres nearby,” says Sanjeev SJ, an officer from the Krishi Bhavan in the panchayat.
Illias in his Farm
Teaching Farming
Apart from looking after the farm, Illias is also keen on teaching students about farming and its values. In fact, after completing their training from Illias, the students of the AWMH College, Cheruvannoor have started their own farm and use the harvest to prepare food in their college hostel.
To spread the message of eco-consciousness, Illias has also opened up his farm for field trips and encourages students from schools to come and experience the fun of farming and his recyling activies.
“I’ve given about 2-3 years of training in the past to selected college students and to my surprise they gained interest and now have their own farms. Many experts from the Kisan Krishi Bhavan have also visited my farm and given me guidance on how to expand the farm furthermore,” Illias recalls.
Naturally, Illias has received a lot of recognition for his efforts toward the environment and his society. Apart from the State Award for the Best Farmer, Illias has also been bestowed with the Sarojini Damodhar Foundation Akshayasri Award.
The happy farmer says this success wouldn’t have been possible without his wife Memoona, “It is a combined effort. My wife helps me take care of this farm and my children Aisha Manna, Masna and Abdul Rahman contribute to maintaining it too. A single person cannot develop and sustain all this, “ Illias says.
Though he was born into an agricultural family, the state agricultural department’s classes and other financial aid helped a lot, Illias informs. “Above all though, it was hard work through hardships that bore fruit,” he smiles.
Illias’ farm is a stellar example of people coming together and joining hands to save resources and effectively manage waste, a model that we too could implement.
Nasar, a resident of Arukutti, a town in the Alappuzha district, is an engineer who also doubles up as a farmer.
Spending only 30 minutes on his farm, a plot of land measuring 60 square feet, every day, the man has created an elaborate kitchen garden with 26 varieties of vegetables using simple and natural techniques.
Everything In Just A Small Space!
“I grew up in a family of farmers and was always interested to see the process—right from sowing to harvesting. This interest never died down, and for the past 21 years, I’ve been cultivating the vegetables for my entire family, and have not purchased a single vegetable from the market in the last two decades!” explains Nasar.
Nasar’s farmland is divided into different sections for climbers, creeper and tubers. With just enough space to walk, the farm is filled with vegetables like cucumber, bitter gourd, carrots, ginger, tomatoes, varieties of chillies, spinach and even cauliflower.
“Space is not a factor at all. If you plan out your area properly, you can grow all the vegetables you’ll need. I believe that every home should have atleast a mini kitchen garden. The satisfaction of eating your own harvest in unbelievable and once you experience that you’ll never be able to say No to farming,” says Nasar.
Here are some tips from Nasar on how to grow vegetables in a 60 sq feet space:
You should be able to fit 60 grow bags in 60 sq feet. 15 grow bags must be kept aside for beans exclusively and the rest for other everyday vegetables.
The plants must be placed according to the availability of sunlight.
During the rainy season, laying waterproof sheets over the soil can prevent weed and other pests from the soil entering the grow bag.
The grow bags must be filled with equal amounts of dried manure powder, soil and sand and the saplings must be planted in it carefully.
A drip irrigation system should be followed during the summer so that the plants get the necessary amount of water.
Plants must be watered very carefully. Avoid hosing them down with water as this can severely damage their health.
Chemical pesticides and fertilisers must be avoided at all costs.
Completely Organic
“One thing I’m very particular about is the fertilisers that are used. If you opt for a chemical fertiliser or pesticides, there’s absolutely no point in farming because you’re bringing alterations to the natural process. Always opt for creating an organic fertiliser which will also give you a better yield,” explains Nasar.
For all his plants Nasar uses a homemade organic fertiliser which comprises 1-kilo fresh manure, 1-kilo jaggery, 1-kilo peanut cake powder and 1/2 kg banana mixed in 30-litres of water and left to soak for seven days.
“The mixture must be mixed atleast once a day during this period. While adding it to the plants, this mixture must be used in a 1:8 ratio with water. This fertiliser can be stored for upto 45 days,” he informs.
Nasar also practices mixed cultivation in a 1-acre land where he mostly grows fruits like mangosteen, litchi, sapota as well as coconut trees.
Currently the general secretary of the Organic Kerala Charitable Trust, Nasar has inspired many of his villagers and has received awards from many local committees for his unique and precise cultivation techniques.
We hope that you also try out Nasar’s cultivation techniques and let us know if they worked for you!
After working as an architect for almost 15 years, Eldho Pachilakkadan, 42, a resident of Kottayam, decided to quit his job and turn to a simpler lifestyle surrounded by nature.
He turned this dream into a reality by turning a 10-acre barren land that he owned in Senapathy, a village in Idukki, into a flourishing self-sustaining ecosystem with fruit and vegetable varieties from across the world.
What’s incredible is that he managed to accomplish this in only three years!
Today, he also offers trekking and off-roading experiences in the forest, which he has christened as ‘Swarga Medu (Heavenly Abode).’
So how did he manage to do that?
The Trek To The Top
The trek to ‘Swarga Medu’.
After completing an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the Government Polytechnic College, Adoor, Eldho took up a job at a firm, while also dabbling in several other fields. From owning restaurants to textile shops and even art galleries—he’s done everything.
Eldho was also part of an NGO where he and his friends offered to do voluntary work for the government’s forest services. The treks, hikes and the just being involved closely with nature, inspired Eldho to create something of his own.
“It was during one such trek in Idukki that we came across this plot of land, and I immediately felt some connection with it. It was barren, and I wondered if I could play some role in its transformation,” he explains.
So in 2009, Eldho bought the land along with his friend, Vivek Vilasni, and created a ‘heaven on earth.’
“The idea was to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that was close to nature. Rather than using systematic techniques and traditional methods, I allowed the saplings to flourish on their own with just food waste,” he adds.
10 Acres of Pure Bliss
The view from Swarga Medu.
Located on the misty hilltops of Idukki, Swarga Medu has many delights on offer, and one of them is its fruit forest that has over 20 varieties of apples, 6 to 7 varieties of oranges, grapes, mangosteen, litchi, strawberry, and many more.
“But it wasn’t easy to get these saplings. I’ve travelled all across the globe trying to source plants that would fit the soil and the climatic conditions in Kerala. I would have to say that was the hardest part,” he explains.
Every evening, Eldho collects fruit waste from all the nearby shops and carefully uses it to make the soil more nutritious.
“Besides that, I don’t add anything else for the nourishment of the plants because I believe nature has its way of sustaining itself. As human beings, we are merely there to sow the seeds, and I believe that we shouldn’t be the ones disrupting nature’s cycle,” he adds.
Besides the fruit forest, Eldho has also opened up ‘Swarga Medu’ for tourists and other agricultural experts. Although the forest doesn’t have facilities to accommodate tourists, they are provided with tents and welcome to camp overnight, trek through the hilltops and even taste the varieties of fruits.
“It was never the money factor that led me to create Swarga Medu. I wanted to lead a peaceful life in a natural environment and that’s what I got. As for the revenue, a sufficient amount is generated, which is enough for my family and for the maintenance of the farm,” he explains.
Becoming A Fruitarian
With almost 90% of his diet being fruits from his forest, ‘Swarga Medu’ has also transformed Eldho into a fruitarian—which means that his diet comprises primarily of fruits.
“It’s been about three years now, and my diet consists of only fruits from the forest. My theory is to eat what nature provides me with—nothing more, nothing less. And so far I’ve got enough and more nutrition from these fruits,” he explains.
Eldho’s wife Bincy and his two children have not wholly adopted this lifestyle but have been a constant support for him through his journey.
Future Plans
Eldho with his family at Swarga Medu.
Eldho is currently working on a project named ‘Utopia’ in Kottayam and Ernakulam where he plans to lease out small plots of land and create a self-sustaining ecosystem out of it in a way that it can provide enough harvest for a family to survive.
“With people coming back to the ways of sustainable living, I hope to see everyone living a life closely involved with nature. I hope that ‘Eutopia’ could be the beginning of such a lifestyle,” he concludes.
