Life seemed to be cruel to Sangeeta Boraste, a grape farmer from Niphad taluka, Nashik, who inherited a debt of Rs 30 lakh from her late husband. But when life gave her lemons, she sure made a lot of lemonade every single time. After getting married at the age of 15 to Arun, Sangeeta moved to Niphad, which is known as the prosperous grape belt of the region.

“I got married in 1990 but disputes divided the family in 1991, leaving my husband 10 acres of land in property division,” says Sangeeta, adding that he struggled to grow grapes. “Though the area is known for grape vineyards, my husband was working in a bank, and he had to quit his job to learn farming from scratch. We suffered losses and even had to sell 2.5 acres of the land owing to the heavy debts,” Sangeeta recalls.

Weathering the storms

However, after years of struggle, a silver lining appeared in 2014, when a fresh plantation was about to bear fruit and help solve their financial crisis. “My husband passed away just before the harvest season, leaving behind three daughters, one son, seven acres of land and Rs 30 lakh of debts,” she narrates.

Sangeeta says she only knew how to get work done from farm labourers, and “didn’t even know the basics of farming”. But having to let go of the labourers, she had to take things into her own hands. Recalling an incident from her days of struggle, she says, “I remember one evening during Diwali, I was in the field till 9 pm, struggling to get a tractor out that was stuck in the field.”

As a novice, she relied heavily on relatives and neighbours for help. “After a point, I was alone with my younger son and a nephew to assist me in the fields. However, the situation improved slowly,” she says.

Over the years, Sangeeta literally weathered the storm, from droughts to extremely heavy, unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms. “Every year many issues sprung up. The grapevines are sensitive to the weather. I have even stayed late at night to warm up the vineyard with a bonfire,” she laments.

However, she later received assistance from Sahyadri Farms, who helped her market grapes abroad.

Grapes novice turns expert

“I worked hard to improve the quality of grapes to make them eligible for exports. Today, over 50 per cent of the grape produce gets exported each year,” Sangeeta tells The Better India.

The farmer not only paid-off her debts but started earning Rs 40 lakh a year.

“Vineyards are extremely difficult to maintain, and most of the earnings go into expenses. I earn a profit of about Rs 15 lakh a year,” Sangeeta says, adding that she has married off two of her daughters and is now preparing for the third one’s marriage.

Her success has earned her pride, a sense of achievement and a strong sense of confidence.

Sangeeta says, “The only thing I learned in life is to be courageous. I think anyone else in my position would’ve given up much earlier. But I was determined to taste success and ready to put in all the hard work for it. All the farmers need to remember this.”

The recent COVID-19 lockdown also dealt her another harsh blow. “I incurred losses of Rs 35 lakh as the grapes could not be exported. During this period, my total earnings were Rs 15 lakh, which hardly covered some of the expenses. But I made raisins from grapes and sold them at Rs 3 per kg,” Sangeeta says.

However, at the age of 46, Sangeeta continues to stand strong and brave all the odds. “I will continue to work hard and make up for the losses in the coming harvest,” she concludes.

Check how does it looks to walk inside a vineyard.

https://youtu.be/bZGFDqIoZ_k

Everyone has a dream house, Thacholath Gopalan too had one in mind since his childhood. When The Better India (TBI) contacted Gopalan, he said that when he was a child, he wanted a house in a river, like a houseboat. But when he grew up, he came to know that people can’t construct houses in paddy fields as it is against building regulations. All hopes of that dream seemed lost until the chance came actually to build a home.

Environmentalist Gopalan’s father, Chappuni Nair, handed him a 10 cent plot of paddy field to construct a home in the early 90s. “I was very particular that at any cost, I wouldn’t level the field. My childhood dream flashed in my mind. I dug a pond in 4 cents of land and made a 2 cent house in it without levelling the paddy field. Inside the pond, I constructed 15 concrete pillars and then on top of it my house was constructed on a slab which was made above the pillars,” says Gopalan.

The interesting story of Gopalan doesn’t end there. “I constructed the house in Kozhikode’s Mukkam with just Rs 75,000 in 1992. I had received some wood from my wife’s family for the construction of my house. Those who visit my house say that it feels like they are sitting in an air-conditioned house, but here I have no air conditioner. I have made a cooling effect spread in the entire house with some tricks. The walls of the home are made of mud blocks, the roofs with brick and the pond under the house complete the cooling effect,” said Gopalan to TBI.

In the pond, Gopalan has fishes, frogs, snakes, water lilies and many other plants. He also said that none of these frogs or snakes has entered his house or disturbed him as they are happy in the pond.

“If people have some dream and if it is a good one, then that dream will come true. I never thought that I would be able to construct a house in water but yes, proudly I can say that I constructed one without breaking any rule”, Gopalan added.

Gopalan, who is also the former president of Mukkam Panchayat, said that his happy house has different kinds of Ayurvedic plants and he also grows 27 Malayalam birth star trees in his compound. He happily added, “I also give the saplings of the birth star trees to the ones who contact me. I also have the Dasapushpam at my house, which is ‘ten herbs’. These Dasapushpam flowers are also used to make folk medicines. Earlier, these flowers were visible in every Kerala house, but now they have vanished”, added Gopalan.

The former president added that if people contact him saying they have free land, then he is more than ready to travel there and plant trees. With a laugh, he added, “Those who contact me should assure me that they will take care of the plants, then only I am ready to go to their place and plant my seedlings,” he says.

“At home, we have different birds and four Vechur cows. Firstly, I give food to the birds and then to the cows, only after that I have food. At my house, I don’t collect the cow’s milk. I allow the calves to have it because they own it,’ Gopalan added.

Apart from this, Gopalan also owns a 60 cent paddy field. He also cultivates different varieties of vegetables including pumpkin, yam, turmeric, beans, banana and many more on his farm. He guarantees that whatever he cultivates is through organic farming. He uses cow dung and urine as fertilizers for the cultivation.

In 2017, Gopalan was honoured with Vanamitra award, which is given every year (one in each district in Kerala) for protecting medicinal plants, farming, mangroves, sacred groves, and biodiversity.

Talking to TBI, Sudhir Balan, a Kerala school teacher, said that he owns a 25 cent plot of paddy land, but due to building rules, he is unable to construct a home there. “Gopalan master inspired me a lot. Seeing his house, I too got an idea to do something in my paddy land without breaking the building rule. I hope many are there in Kerala, who would have kept their land without doing anything due to the building rule. Master’s innovative idea will surely help those people,” said Sudhir.

“I love advising others, but I won’t force them to take up my advice. If they also get convinced of my advice, then let them use it. I have built a small house, and I believe a smaller house and small happiness make people happy. I am ready to help people to construct a house like mine. Many have contacted me for the same, and I happily helped them in all ways I could,” said 67-year-old Gopalan.

Gopalan can be reached at 9447660347.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Chandranath Pandey, a 51-year-old resident of Baldirai village of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, was hoping to find a “high-paying job in a big city” to fulfil his dream of living a better life. While he did not get a job in the city, he still managed to achieve his dream through farming.

After earning his diploma in electrical engineering from Government Polytechnic Faizabad in 1988, he worked as an electrical engineer in a government office in Sultanpur, where he earned Rs 4500 monthly. Unhappy with his job and unsure of the scope of his career, he began working as a contractor in his village. Simultaneously, he also began farming his own land.

“As a contractor, I could not increase my earnings by much. I wanted to earn more to give my children a better education and a better life for my family. I also wanted to do something unique with my farmland and not just grow crops that are necessary at home like rice, wheat and veggies. I wanted to make it a profitable business,” says Chandranath, who has dabbled in farming for almost three decades now.

By growing sugarcane, Chandranath was earning a profit of less than Rs 1 lakh, which wasn’t worth “the time taken” or his efforts. So, he strived to find something unique, more profitable and low-risk and eventually stopped growing sugarcane in 2018.

About five years ago, Chandranath heard of Ram Saran Verma, who won the Jagjivan Ram Kisan Puruskar award for cropping varieties of banana in his farmland in Barabanki. He also won about 20 awards at district, state and national levels. Inspired by his success, Chandranath went to meet Ram to learn how to grow bananas efficiently and earn a profit.

After noting down the tricks of the trade from Ram, Chandranath began harvesting bananas in a quarter-acre plot of farmland. By the 14th month, the fruit was ripe for the picking and Chandranath yielded a profit of nearly Rs 4 lakh for the first time. Since then, he has been dedicating a quarter acre of land to grow bananas.

Tips and tricks on banana farming

Chandranath reveals that banana farming is low-risk as every season is suitable for the banana plants. He says that even heavy rain can’t affect the crop. “It also doesn’t demand much care as compared to sugarcane or any other crop,” he adds.

He further adds that farmers must be careful while buying compost fertilizer. He says that instead of believing medicine and fertilizer sellers blindly, farmers should consult experts before making such purchases.

He also suggests that farmers grow different crops in one place – a phenomenon called crop-rotation. For example, if a particular piece of land is used for growing bananas in one year, then it should be used for other crops in the following year. This technique helps to yield better crops.

Farming, a profitable venture

“From farming alone, I earn more than Rs 12 lakh a year. My day job earns me just Rs 11,000 a month,” says an assertive Chandranath, who adds that now he has farm labourers to help him with his harvest.

He adds, “Farming is a very profitable business. Those who have farmland but are facing a financial crunch should opt for a farmer’s loan and then work hard to become successful. It’s just a matter of striving to farm in more efficient ways.”

Chandranath also grows crops like tomatoes, tarui (sponge gourd) and other vegetables along with bananas. From his tomato produce, he earned nearly Rs 2 lakh as a profit. He also yields watermelon from a quarter-acre, which he reveals is ready to sell in just three months. “Growing watermelon is also profitable as it is harvested in three months and will earn you more than Rs 2 lakh in a quarter-acre farmland,” he shares.

“Although I wanted to fulfil my dream while securing a well-paying job in a big city, I am doing it in my homeland. Now I have everything that I have ever dreamed of,” says Chandranath, adding that he bought three acres of farmland through the profits he has been earning from farming for the past five years.

Chandranath has two sons — one is a software engineer and working with HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited), Pune, while the other is working as a junior engineer in a government department in Sultanpur district. “I am happy with both my sons, who are now financially independent. My dream of seeing my children happy in life is fulfilled,” he says.

After improving his earnings through farming, Chandranath now tries to help farmers with tips and tricks of optimising farming techniques. “I want Sultanpur district to be the hub for all the crops like bananas, cauliflowers, tomatoes, green peas and lauki (pumpkin). Farmers in Sultanpur should supply various vegetables and fruits to other parts of India,” he says.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

From tapioca, iron-filled red spinach, to the sweetest bananas, this vegetable garden is filled with nutrition and protein. However, it’s hard to believe that this green patch was once just a pile of garbage. Kerala school teacher Jinal Kumar turned a 15-cent waste land, belonging to the State Government’s NGO living quarters, into a mini vegetable garden in Kannur district all by himself. The physical education teacher still recalls how he transformed the land once filled with waste and building debris into a beautiful garden.

Speaking to The Better India (TBI), Jinal says, “I started my journey in cultivation when I was working at Government Town Higher Secondary School. I received some seeds from a particular project and I began to grow them at the school. In the meantime, I also started cleaning the garbage dumped at the quarters by residents and outsiders, so that we could grow some of the produce there, too.”

The vegetables cultivated at the school were used for the afternoon meal provided by the school, and the other vegetables were distributed among the students and teachers, too. “Almost 25 kg of vegetables were left over every week, even after using them for the noon meals. To reduce wastage, we give them away to students and teachers who require it. At school, we cultivated the vegetables on a 10-cent land. Students and teachers take care of the vegetables so anyone can take them home,” adds Jinal.

Jinal also appreciated the State Government’s agricultural department authorities who visited the garden. He adds that the authorities would pick every single call and cleared the doubts regarding the cultivation.

It has been almost four years since the inception of the vegetable patch, which now has different varieties of vegetables including three types of chillies, tapioca, banana, beans, okra, spinach, brinjal and many more. Not only does the school grow its own vegetables but also a small chicken farm, too. Jinal has over 50 chickens at the farm, which the 87 families living at the quarters can avail of. The eggs from the farm are collected and distributed to the residents and some are sold in the market.

“At home in Trivandrum, we cultivated many vegetables and I still remember taking care of the cattle. In those days, before going to school, I had to bathe 15 cows but now there is nothing left, no farm, no crops,” he says and adds, “Before the lockdown, I didn’t get much time to concentrate on the cultivation at the quarters. I could only manage a few hours in the evening after work. But during the lockdown I got more time to cultivate and was able to take care of the vegetables in better ways.”

Currently, Jinal is also providing saplings and seeds of the vegetables for free to the people in the quarters as well as outsiders. “Some outsiders, who provide food waste for the vegetables’ growth also take the vegetables for free. I am ready to provide the harvest to anyone who really needs it,” he adds.

Jinal shares that with the onset of winter, he is all set to cultivate a new set of vegetables in his garden.

Now working at Chelora Government Higher Secondary School, Kannur, he has inspired others toward a more sustainable form of living. “Jinal sir’s story is quite inspiring. Being a teacher I never thought of something like this. He proved that people can cultivate anywhere, so long as they will it. So, I am also planning to grow some vegetables in my courtyard,” says Laseena Mohan, a school teacher from Kannur.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

“When you like a flower, you pluck it. But, when you love it, you water it daily and let it flourish,” says 28-year-old Kusini Jyothi Priyanka, a nature lover and an avid urban gardener. In her hometown – Bhadrachalam, Telangana, she is growing 20 varieties of seasonal flowers in 700 flower pots on her 600 sq ft terrace!

How does she manage them? With a deep passion for growing plants, consistent efforts, and by dedicating all her time to raise the plants. Today, tending to her garden has become a full-time job, and Priyanka says that she would rather do this than anything else.

How did it start?

Gardening was something Priyanka was passionate about since her childhood. Her mother would grow many plants such as mangoes, guava, custard apple, pomegranate in their backyard and today they have grown into large trees.

“After I completed my engineering degree, in 2015, I moved to Hyderabad to work with a corporate company. During my time there, my lifestyle turned stressful. I would work until the late hours, not eat healthily, and skip meals. In 2018, I decided to move back to my hometown and take care of my health. The first step I took on that journey was to eat healthy and nutritious food. To do that, I decided to grow my vegetables,” says Priyanka.

The same year, she purchased 30 flower pots to grow only tomatoes. She got the saplings from a nursery near her home.

“I made a potting mix with garden soil, cocopeat, cow dung, vermicompost and rice husk, which adds nutrition to the soil and enables water retention. Within a few months, most of the flower pots had tomatoes growing in them, and I not only used it for cooking all my meals that month but also shared it with my neighbours for free. I started growing tomatoes because I wanted to start with growing something simple.”

After her first experiment was a success, she decided to move on to other vegetables and in the next few months, she got a 100 pots to grow tomatoes, ladyfingers, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, capsicum, ginger, peas, some leafy greens, turmeric and more.

Growing flowers

Though her vegetable garden was a success, and she had started to eat healthily, Priyanka wanted to add more colours to the terrace. She always enjoyed looking at pretty flowers. If it were on the side of the road or in someone’s wedding, she would pluck a few and try to identify the name of it.

“At one wedding, I came across very exotic flowers. After looking it up online, I learnt that it was a white exotic lily. By this time, I had an entire list of flowers I wanted to grow such as Amazon lily, oriental lily, freesias, frangipani and more. But, these saplings or flower bulbs were not available at the local nurseries. So I went online and sourced it from a vendor in Delhi who was selling a variety of flowers. I planted each variety in a minimum of 15 pots, and within the next six months, I had around 700 flower pots on my terrace” says Priyanka.

Space is never an issue for her because the 9-inch pots are placed close to each other, in a systematic manner, with enough space for her to walk alongside them. There are a total of 20 varieties of flowers which includes lilies, marigolds, jasmine, night-blooming jasmines, adeniums, chrysanthemums, orchids, and more.

It takes eight hours of hard work and dedication to maintain her garden. Priyanka’s day begins at 4 AM so that she can watch her flowers bloom, birds and butterflies flutter as the sun rises. Then she spends one hour watering her plants and speaking to them.

“I do not have the funds to install a drip irrigation system, so I water the plants using a mug and a big bucket. But I never feel tired. In the evening, I have tea or coffee with my plants and again spend a few hours admiring the flowers and checking for any pests or insects. I consider myself very lucky because till now there have been no infections on any of my plants,” says Priyanka adding that she never found the need to use any organic pesticides or insecticides.

Sharing the flowers

Apart from growing the flowers, Priyanka started to share pictures of her garden regularly on her Facebook and Instagram page. Seeing this, many of her followers would ask if they could get a few propagations or bulbs of the flowers growing in her garden. Without any hesitation, Priyanka would carefully take a bulb, pack it along with coco peat in a newspaper and send it across through a courier service. The price of the bulb depends on the variety of the flower, weight of the package and the delivery fee.

Vinit Khandelwal, a resident of Kolkata, purchased the bulbs of Asiatic lilies and freesias from Priyanka and said that they had bloomed really well.

He says, “I work as an interior designer and manage a garden as my hobby. 6 months ago, I saw some pictures of Priyanka’s garden on a group on Facebook. I was stunned at the number of plants in her pictures, and the flowers looked magnificent, so I placed an order and got them delivered. Today, all the plants have given flowers, and I am pleased.”

Priyanka believes that every human on earth is sent with a purpose, and hers is to grow food, beautiful flowers, and share that with others. Today, she claims the number of plants on her terrace is at 1000, and she plans to expand her garden by adding hanging pots and a vertical garden.

If you wish to know more, you can reach out to Priyanka on her email iamjyothipriyanka@gmail.com or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Most of us like the strawberry fruit, filled as it is with fibre, vitamins and good taste. But we do tend to assume it can only grow on some cold hills somewhere. Shattering that myth, Shashidhar Chikkappa Goravar, a farmer from Karnataka, is cultivating the fruit at his farm in Dharwad district.

“Many assume that this fruit can be cultivated only in temperate climates, but I can say that the fruit can be grown in hot places too and I am an example for it,” says Shashidhar to The Better India (TBI).

The 44-year-old farmer has cultivated organic strawberries, just before the winter in Karnataka. Shashidhar currently cultivates 25,000 strawberry plants in one acre of land. He says, “I have taken the land for lease. In one acre, 30 tonnes of fruit can be harvested. I have already received strawberry orders from Kerala, Maldives, Goa, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.”

He recalls, “Earlier I was working in a construction company in Maharashtra’s Mahabaleshwar, which is also famous for strawberry cultivation. I completed training at a Mahabaleshwar farm for a year and learned how to grow organic strawberries. With the help of an agent, I procured about 250 mother plants of strawberry from California and began cultivation in September 2019, in Karnataka.”

With the help of family members and other workers, Shashidhar began cultivation. After a month, the strawberries were ready for harvest. “My family and I were so delighted about the harvest. Many authorities had claimed strawberries wouldn’t grow in my place, but I proved them wrong. There are many varieties of strawberries, some can even grow in hot places like mine,” says Sashidhar to TBI.

Once the harvest was completed, Shashidhar, his wife, two kids and other workers packed the strawberries and sent them to different places as per their orders. “My younger son helps me in packing strawberries and the elder son helps in marketing the products. And my wife supports me in all things, whether it is watering the plants or packing the products,” says Sashidhar.

Talking about the profit from the cultivation, Shashidhar says, “The profit is based on the market price. This time I got Rs 6-8 Lakh. If the market price is low then I won’t get this much.”

Shashidhar has also grown raspberries. He is expecting a harvest of raspberries by next year. The farmer is also planning to grow mulberries and gooseberries in his farms.

He is also selling saplings of strawberries. Each plant costs Rs 10, though Shashidhar adds that he is willing to give advice for free.

Not any easy job

“Lots of efforts are required to take care of these plants. I water the plants once a day. Each plant must be cleaned otherwise the harvest will be harmed. Dry leaves also should be removed,” he says, and adds, “If the plant needs any kind of medicine, then it is given through the water. Anyone can start cultivating strawberries, if there are two members in a family then they cultivate in their terrace as well.”

He adds, “Things to be remembered before planting the strawberry plant is that the soil should be good enough for the growth of the sapling. Water the plant once in a day. You may also put food waste as manure. Clean the area where the plant is placed and also remove dry leaves in the plant. Nothing else is required. After 1.5 months, you will get fresh strawberries from the plant.”

He says, “In just 30×40 sq ft, almost 500 strawberry plants can be cultivated. To keep the plants cool and moist, drip irrigation can also be used.”

If everything goes good then Sashidhar is planning to open a training institute for berry farming.

“Once the Coronavirus tension goes, I will be talking to authorities and going ahead with the training institute. Many of us don’t have knowledge about berry farming. I am happy to help others to get a good income from berry cultivation,” adds Shashidhar.

To know more, get in touch with Shashidhar on WhatsApp at 86988 89944.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Planting even one tree and nurturing it is a big deal for a 7-year-old child. Prasiddhi Singh from Tamil Nadu. on the other hand, has planted over 13,000 trees! That’s quite a feat. And she is not done yet. In fact, she has barely begun. With her army of eco-warriors, with whom she has created 12 fruit forests in the state, she is now on a mission to plant one lakh trees in the coming years.

Prasiddhi Singh says that her vision is to increase the green cover on earth. “I still remember the first time when I grew a chilli plant at my home. I was just 2 years old at that time. And now I am planting trees. In my own house, I have planted many trees in my backyard and even have a herbal garden,” Prasiddhi tells The Better India.

Prasiddhi started the mission to plant saplings after witnessing the loss of trees in the 2016 cyclone Vardah. She was initially teased by her friends as she always loved to be with nature and plant saplings.

“My friends said that my hands were dirty with mud. However, they later started to eat the fruits and vegetables from the trees I had planted when I was just three years old – like lemon, tomatoes and red spinach, and their mindset changed. Now, they help me plant trees, make paper pencils and collect funds to plant trees,” she adds.

She says, “At my school, I have a small forest of 100 fruit trees. I am also happy to share that these trees were planted on my birthdays. I don’t have a ‘happy birthday’, but I have a green birthday every year.”

Prasiddhi also adds that the reason why she chose to plant seeds is because of the biodiversity. She says, “Biodiversity is a term that represents the total varieties of all life on earth. The more biodiversity, the more secure all life on earth is including us.”

One Lakh Trees

“I don’t know how, but I will definitely grow one lakh fruit plants in the coming two years. The reason why I choose to grow fruit plants at schools, colleges and public places will give access to healthy and natural fruits to the people. Nowadays we get chemical-filled fruits, but my fruit trees will provide chemical-free fruits to people. I am also ready to go to any place to plant trees, if I am given a place for planting them,” Prasiddhi says.

And how will she pay for this? To plant the different trees, from mangoes to guavas, the little forest creator is trying every way to source funds. From selling paper pencils, bookmarks, to crowdfunding and collecting fruit seeds from her neighbours, she has done it all.

She adds, “I feel, more than donations from people, collaboration is more important. People are ready to donate funds, but then they don’t know how to go about planting trees. Collaboration is something which is an ongoing process, and I think that is better for planting trees.”

“Save water, plant trees and help biodiversity,”

Before the Coronavirus pandemic, she used to go out every Saturday to plant trees, but now the situation isn’t the same. Making the best of what she has, Prasiddhi gives online sessions to children regarding planting saplings, yoga classes and storytelling to raise funds for growing more saplings every Saturday.

Prasiddhi, who is also the Youngest Fruit Forest Creator in India by India Book of Records, says that her only request to others is to save water, plant trees and help biodiversity for a better India.

Adding that Prasiddhi also likes to paint, do crafts, sing and dance besides planting saplings, her father, Praveen Singh says, “I won’t restrict my daughter from anything. I have given her the freedom to do what she wants.”

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

A small, lush plot of land in Chengalpet, a town 76 kilometres away from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is the face of the future of farming. The integrated hydroponics and fish farm was created by Jegan Vincent, a software engineer who quit his job in the US and returned to India with the goal of doing something more meaningful with aquaponics.

He bought an acre of land and started Freshry Farms five years ago in order to experiment with efficient and eco-friendly farming techniques. The result was an aquaponics farm. Aquaponics refers to an integration of aquaculture such as pisciculture with hydroponics, i.e. cultivating plants in water.

Recently, he made his farm open to researchers from universities and colleges. He also runs a free three-day course for anyone interested in modern organic farming and pisciculture. Besides teaching, he supports the local farmers by providing them with tree saplings for free, making his dream farm holistic in every sense of the word.

“My aim is to see if we can generate as much produce on an acre of land as is conventionally possible on 7 acres,” Jegan tells The Better India. The farm currently yields 45 tonnes of fish every year and 3 to 4 tonnes of vegetables every month. He has been able to achieve this by developing a cohesive farming system.

Building A Wholesome Farm

The aquaponics farm consists of a central 40-lakh-litre reservoir in which plants are grown in water, without soil. A stone-metal grid supports the plants.

“People tend to think plants need soil,” Jegan explains, adding, “But the main function of the soil is to provide support. Nutrients can be absorbed by the roots from water or surrounding air.”

Connected to the water reservoir are 30 to 40 tanks in which fish are cultivated. The fish feed and fish waste enrich the water with nutrients. In turn, the plants oxygenate and cleanse the water. With the help of a large motor, the water circulates through the whole system, replenishing itself.

His engineering background helped with automating several processes such as water-level regulation and nutrient-content monitoring.

“And no artificial fertilizers or pesticides are used anywhere on the aquaponics farm,” Jegan points out.

Initially, he experimented with 80 different varieties of vegetables before narrowing it down to a few that worked best. Now he grows tomatoes, brinjal, hot chilli, and ivy gourd, locally known as kovakkai.

On small islands scattered across the mini water-world, there are also hundreds of tropical trees like banana and papaya and many sugarcane patches. The roots of these plants help absorb excess nitrates.

There are nine varieties of fish, the main one being Tilapia. Besides fish and plants, hens, ducks, sheep, rabbits, and other small animals thrive on Jegan’s farm.

Why Aquaponics?

The initial cost of setting up a farm like Freshry Farms is very high – around Rs 20 to 25 lakhs for an acre. And five years later, Jegan is just about breaking even. But he believes that developing new agricultural methodologies is essential for a sustainable future.

An integrated and holistic ecosystem is many times more efficient than a traditional farm. For instance, Jegan’s farm needs only a fifth of the water a traditional farm needs. Moreover, techniques like aquaponics and hydroponics are the backbone of vertical gardens and farming.

Read More: 70-YO Madurai Man Grows 20+ Fruits & Vegetables On His ‘Floating’ Terrace Farm!

“Within the next 10 years, we should have large vertical farms in the middle of cities, even as a part of malls and buildings,” Jegan says, describing his hope for the future. It simultaneously solves the problems of space and logistics.

“Even though my farm was expensive to set up, there are much cheaper ways of setting up smaller aquaponic and hydroponic farms,” he adds. In places where water and fertile soil are scarce, such farms will be economically and ecologically beneficial.

To share his findings with the world and to encourage more research in the field, Jegan has tied up with four universities in Tamil Nadu and two in Africa. Many students and researchers from India and around the world visit the aquaponics farm every year.

Dr Kayalvizhi Jayavel is an engineering professor at SRM College, Chennai, with an interest in IoT systems. She had visited the aquaponics farm two years ago to learn more about automation and IoT in an agricultural context.

“It was altogether a different experience,” says Dr Jayavel of the training, adding, “It was a new culture by itself where you educate yourself technically, still being environmentally connected. We used to collect fresh veggies from the farm to cook, the best way to relax after each day’s training. In a nutshell, it was a very insightful and knowledge-building experience.”

(Edited by Yohita Rao)

While flying back to Kerala from Qatar, an industrial nurse—one who is “assigned emergency cases to provide medical aid in ambulances”—Eldhose P Raju was mulling a plan to find a similar job in his hometown. Wanting to come back home to his family in the Ernakulam district, he was confident enough to find a job as he has 10 years of experience catering to emergency cases. However, his plans took a drastic turn as his job search turned futile. That’s when the lotus entered.

Adopting a winning attitude when life dealt him a bad hand, Eldhose turned to his childhood passion. “Since childhood, I was passionate about plants and had a special love for lotus flowers. So, I set up an aquatic garden on my terrace with some bowl lotuses which were imported. When they bloomed, I shared pictures of them on my Facebook page and Instagram account, and that’s how all it started,” Eldhose tells The Better India.

With a variety of plants at home, he started watching YouTube tutorials on lotus farming and decided to cultivate lotuses at home in the month of March. From then, he began to import lotuses from different places, including Thailand, Europe and America. Once the imported lotuses started to bloom on the terrace garden, Eldhose began to fill his feed with the pretty pictures.

Social media: The saviour

Seeing pictures of flowers in flowerpots and plastic bowls on social media pages, people from different parts of India started to contact Eldhose. “Mainly people from North India contacted me for lotuses seeing the pictures I posted on Facebook. Then I began to supply lotus flowers and its tuber – its dormant roots, across India,” says the 34-year-old.

Most of the customers are from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune. “People from Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram had come to my home and collected lotus plants and bowls too,” Eldhose adds.

More than the tubers, there is a demand for plants. Once Eldhose receives the orders, he removes the dirt and water from the bowls and then sends them to the customers. He adds, “The plants can survive for almost 12 days and tubers survive longer than plants. Once the customer receives the plant, they just have to replant it.”

“I am also happy to help my customers with tips and tricks to take care of the plants. I don’t encourage those people to buy plants who buy them just for fun,” he says and adds, “Seeing my plants, I feel relaxed and happy. They are my stress busters. Money will come and go, but I believe peace of mind should be there for every individual.”

20 varieties of lotuses

Eldhose cultivates almost 20 varieties of lotuses, including the Zhizun Qianban, Magnificent, Charming lips, Da Sajin and Fire bowl. From the lotus farming, he receives a “good salary”. “In a month, I make approximately Rs 30,000, which I feel, is good. In my garden, I have plants ranging from Rs 850 to Rs 3500,” he says and adds that he is proud of himself for doing what he loves.

“I also thank my family for being my all time support system. Without their support I wouldn’t be able to reach where I am today. My family respected my decision to choose the plant business even though I have a different educational background,” says Eldhose, who lives with his father, mother and wife.

Eldhose receives orders via direct messages on Instagram and Facebook. If you wish to order lotus plants from him, you may contact him on this number 89439 11901.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

The recent lockdown, which lasted over 200 days this year, has helped many realise their hidden talents and provided opportunities to hundred others to explore new methods of earning. For this couple from Kottayam district in Kerala, who with little or no means, has discovered a new way to grow rice during the lockdown. “During the lockdown, many cultivated different crops, but I couldn’t find anyone cultivating paddy, so I thought of growing it,” Titus Sam Joseph tells The Better India.

Titus and his wife, Celine, cultivated paddy on their terrace using mineral water bottles. “Without much hope, my wife and I began the paddy cultivation process. Our first step was to collect 175 empty mineral water bottles from a nearby shop, which didn’t cost us a dime. The bottles were cut horizontally and the lower part of the bottle was filled with water. The top portion that tapers was then turned upside down and filled with cow dung, soil, and then inserted into the lower part of the bottle, so as to submerge it in water. After this the seeds are planted,” says Pala KSRTC station master Titus.

Within days, the rice paddy started to grow, Titus adds, claiming that not a single drop of pesticides were used for its cultivation.

Rice in a bottle

Two major difficulties Titus and his wife faced were watering of the plant and to check if the bottles could take the weight load of the plant. “We water the plant once a day. If there is no sufficient water, then the plant’s growth will be affected. We also have to keep an eye on the bottles as small winds can cause it to topple over. However, the plant started to grow well without too many difficulties,” says Titus.

The 47-year-old adds, “Last month we harvested the paddy cultivated in our terrace garden. We cultivated at least 4 kg of rice. It was sufficient for my family to sustain for a while.”

He adds that now he has the confidence to cultivate paddy and eagerly awaits the next season to do so. The best months to grow rice paddy are June- July, but Titus says he hasn’t planned his next harvest. “I am happy to help others who contact me asking for necessary help in cultivation. Along with cultivating paddy I also dabble in pisciculture, grow vegetables and I also have a small stingless beekeeping nest at home,” he says, adding that he is always interested in trying “new methods of cultivation”. “It takes almost one year to start harvesting honey from new colonies. Here, by the month of May, we can begin harvesting,” says Titus.

Something fishy

The fish cultivation at Titus’s home includes various varieties of fishes including Nater and Tilapia in the tarpaulin pond. He has two ponds, each spanning 11 feet wide and 15 feet in length, that hold almost 700 fishes in them. He says, “One pond is on the terrace and it has almost 200 fishes in it, the other is outside and it has 500 fishes in it.”

Speaking about their vegetable garden which grows different varieties of produce, he says, “I have brinjal, chillies, passion fruit, ridge gourd, long beans, ivy gourd. I cultivate these vegetables for my family and also share the vegetables with the neighbours, who also have their own vegetable patches and share their produce with us.” Speaking of how his produce is not for sale, he adds, “If my paddy cultivation is successful then I believe any plant can grow on the terrace.”

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

For the past two years, the villagers of Farsh Majra, near Kaithal city, Haryana, claim that no toxic fumes from stubble burning have been emitted from their farms and the neighbouring eight villages.

The phenomena of torching agricultural waste from the farms at the onset of winter in the Northern part of India is an environmentally hazardous event, which is reported every year. Crop burning contributed 44% to Delhi’s PM2.5 level on October 31, as per a report. This was about 20 times higher than the safe threshold limit defined by the World Health Organisation.

Post the harvest season, the farmers go on a stubble burning spree, which causes thick clouds of pollution. This affects the air quality and the smog spreads all across Delhi and the Northern states, affecting the visibility of citizens and heavily damaging their health.

To some farmers, burning stubble seems to be the quickest and easiest way to clear the farmland and prepare it for the next season. However, 32-year-old Virender Yadav, a farmer from Farsh Majra, has not only found a way to manage the stubble in an eco-friendly way but also earned Rs 45 lakh from it.

To earn from agri-waste

Virender went to Australia in 2008 to study hospitality. After completing his education, he worked as a customer service manager at a fruit shop. But considering the old age and poor health of his mother, he returned to India for good in 2015.

“I was shocked to see the amount of pollution that caused heavy smog due to stubble burning. The toxic fumes were one of the main reasons my mother suffered lung ailments. My children and wife also started complaining of chest pain and breathing problems. My daughters also developed an allergy,” Virender says.

But he soon realised that just stopping the burning of stubble in his four-acre farm alone would not help. This needs a permanent solution. So he started researching for long-term solutions for the menace.

In late 2018, the farmer knocked on the doors of the agriculture department, seeking a solution to his problem. “I was suggested various stubble management equipment by the officials, who also explained about the subsidies and documents required,” Virender says.

The farmer then bought a couple of saw balers in 2019 to manage the stubble and another two in 2020. After the stubble is removed from the ground it is neatly lined up across the fields. The baler then collects the stubble to process it to compress it into blocks, which is tied by a rope. These stacks of stubble are then sold to the factories.

A network of 200 farmers

But Virender did not limit the benefit to his farm and extended his research and techniques of managing stubble to other farmers. “I roped in farmers from Sirta, Siwan, Khanpur, Patti Afgan, Kheri Gulam Ali, Polad, Mandi and Kawarthan to extend the management of stubble,” he tells The Better India.

“In 2019, stubble collection from all the villages amounted to 60,000 quintals, while 48,000 quintals this year covering a total 5,500 acres of land. The stubble was sold to a nearby paper mill and agro-industry in the area at the rate of Rs 135 per quintal,” he adds.

In the past two years, Virender earned Rs 1.5 crores by selling the farm waste. “After cutting down the expenses on labour, diesel and transportation, I managed to retain a profit of Rs 45 lakh,” Virender says.

Karam Chand, the Deputy Director of the Agriculture Department, who guided Virender, says he was highly impressed by the earnings made by the farmer.

“About 100 applications are received by farmers each year to seek technological solutions on stubble management. We form groups of farmers and once eligible, the farm equipment is given with subsidies as much as 80%,” Karam says.

Role model for all

Watch how Virender Yadav manages stubble with a swag in the video below.

Karam adds, “The unique aspect of Virender is that he formed a network of farmers, labourers and equipment holders. The people collectively supported each other in sharing the farm equipment, balers and stubble and managing machines to clear the agricultural waste.”

The agriculture department officer says along with Virender, the move benefitted 200 farmers in the area. “Virender has set an example for other farmers in the area. He was also felicitated for his efficient work on stubble management and is invited as a speaker to motivate other farmers during government outreach programmes,” he adds.

Virender says that many farmers are becoming aware of the environmental impact of stubble burning. “The farmers are aware of the pollution and the harm that burning causes. It is important to realise that there are multiple positive solutions to stubble management instead of just burning and polluting the environment,” he concludes.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

The humble lemon is not only rich in medicinal and nutritional value but also useful in many other ways. For some, just a dash of lemon turns a dish into a masterpiece, for others it’s an essential part of their beauty regime, and for Babu Jacob it is a source of income.

In 2010, Babu decided to return to his hometown in Kerala’s Kottayam district, ending his 15-year stay abroad, where he worked at different companies as an Industrial worker in Bahrain, Portugal and Denmark. “The concept of cultivating lemons came to mind after I realised how popular its demand is in the marketplace. Not only for kitchen uses, lemon also has many more benefits as it contains potassium, folate, molybdenum, which boosts the immune system,” Babu tells The Better India.

He says that in his vegetable plantation, he gets some fruits only during specific seasons, but when it comes to lemons, it is more readily available. Usually, the lemon plant bears fruit during three seasons, but surprisingly, in Babu’s plantation, lemons are abundant in supply all year through.

Babu recalls, “As the first step, I collected 14 saplings from my ancestral house and planted them in my 7-cent plot. And in just four years, I harvested about 1,000 kilograms of lemon and sold it for Rs 100 per kilogram. I sell my produce mainly in shops and food processing units. I have got almost 80-100 kilograms of lemons from a single tree. According to the market price, the price of lemon increases and decreases. But as I understood the revenue opportunity from lemons, I expanded my cultivated land.”

He then went on to plant more saplings in his 2-acre property by cutting the rubber trees from his plantation. Currently, he has almost 250 lemon trees.

Teething problems

Babu says that during the initial days the trees did not grow well. After testing the soil for various parameters, he understood that it did not have some elements, which was in turn affecting the growth of the plant. Adding manure to the soil, the plants started to grow well.

Lemons at the plantation are safe from the attack of animals like monkeys, rats and bats due to the sharp thorns on the trees. Also, its sour taste keeps the animals at bay.

Babu also suggests new farmers to begin planting the trees in a smaller plot of land. “Planting two or three plants in a small plot will help in identifying whether the soil is good for the plant,” he says.

Essentials for a lemon tree

Babu says that the trees need a good amount of sunlight, water, fertilizer and maintenance. “Only with hard work will we get good results. From day one, I have given my plants good care and love so that they bear more fruit,” says Babu, who also owns a nursery, named Lemon Meadows, for selling saplings.

Both hybrid and local saplings are sold in the nursery. He says, “Hybrid lemon saplings, which are shorter, and can be grown in apartments and/or drums, are a cross between a citron and a pomelo hybrid distinct from the common lemon.” The hybrid saplings, which are imported from North India, are also available in the nursery along with local saplings that are germinated in the nursery.

Babu also cultivates rambutans, passion fruits, guavas, areca nuts, seedless lemons and mangosteens his plantation.

If you wish to know more about lemon cultivation, you may contact Babu on this number 95625 49231.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

A retired couple in Kerala’s Palakkad district is celebrating their retirement together in a very unique manner – by growing a staggering variety of vegetables and fruits in their farm. “There are different ways to enjoy retired life. We wanted to make it special and peaceful so my husband and I decided to do cultivation in our plot,” says P Thankamani, who retired in 2005 as the principal of the Government Moyan Model Girls Higher Secondary School, Palakkad. Her husband A Narayanan retired as a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus conductor in 2002.

While still working, Thankamani and her husband purchased a 7.5-acre plot of land. In 2013, the duo started cultivation in the plot.

As Narayanan tells The Better India, “From childhood, I have been cultivating crops at my house. So before my retirement itself, I had made the decision to utilise my retirement for cultivation. Now I have different varieties of fruit trees, vegetables at my farm named ‘Prakruthi Kshethram’. In some more years, I will have far more varieties of plants at my farm.”

Bitter Beginnings on The Farm

Narayanan recalls, “The home where we stayed before 2013 was 30 kilometres from Palakkad town. Just to farm, we travelled there a lot – which is really far from our home. Travelling to the farm every day was not possible due to the distance. So twice or thrice a week we visited the farm. But then we noticed that some people were destroying our crops. So we decided to make a small shed for my wife and me. The shed has two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom. We were more than happy to live there.”

Read More: Kerala Photographer Raises 80 Types of Veggies, Fishes & Beehives in His Backyard

After the couple shifted to the farm, they installed cameras to check on intruders destroying the farm. The cameras seemed to have worked as a deterrent. After their installation, no one has tried to enter the farm or destroy the crops.

The couple has two daughters, Aarathi and Ardhra. Both are working abroad. “When they come to their hometown, they live with us in the shed. They are happy to be with us in the peaceful farm,” Narayanan adds.

An Abundant Variety on The Farm

The farm has over 20 varieties of jackfruit trees including Vietnam Early, Chembarathi, Sugandha Varikka, Seedless Jack and Rose Varikka. It also features 30 varieties of banana including West Indian Cherry, White Apricot and Wood Apple. The farm also has mango, rose apple, dragon fruit and guava trees. It also grows star fruit, mangosteen and star fruit.

Narayanan adds, “I also have vegetables including tomato, beans, and pumpkin. The sapling of the vegetables and fruits were mainly collected from my friends who are staying in different parts of the state. Once they get some special or rare fruit seed, they give it to me as they know I will look after them. That is how I have varieties of plants on my farm. For example, I grow a bitter gourd which doesn’t taste bitter. ”

There are two helpers at the farm to help Narayanan and his wife. The 73-year-old adds that if there is more work on the farm then he hires more people when needed. Still, he says that most of the work is done by him and his wife.

Making Profits at a Bus Stand

Narayanam used to earn almost Rs 20,000 to Rs 45,000 every week by selling his produce. But the pandemic has changed the scenario and there has been a dip in income. However, he is confident that in some months things will be alright.

Jaiva Samrakshana Samithi’s members collect the organic vegetables and fruits from Narayanan’s farm and sell the produce on all Mondays near the KSRTC bus stand in Palakkad.

“I don’t prefer to sell my farm produce to unknown people. Those who want can collect it from the bus stand, or can come home and collect it from me,” he says.

Narayanan, who is also the president of the Jaiva Samrakshana Samithi, says that more than profits, he chose cultivation to feel relaxed. “At this age, there is no need for me to make money because I already have a good pension from the government. My wife also gets a good pension for our livelihood. Whatever we earn, we use it to buy more varieties of vegetables for the farm,” says Narayanan.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

In 2013, Samir Dombe decided to quit his corporate job and take up agriculture in his hometown. A native of Daund, which is located around 90 km from Pune, Maharashtra, he was working in an engineering solutions company and used to earn Rs 40,000 a month.

However, after 1.5 years of work, he realised hectic travel and constant changes in work pressure were not worth the money. He then decided to cultivate figs, which is a tradition his family has been involved in for two generations now.

“Not a single person in my family, or even my friends, supported my decision,” says Samir. “But now, I have a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore a year by selling figs.” He adds that the strong opposition to his decision was due to the uncertainty in the agriculture sector.

“There are no irrigation facilities in Daund, and agriculture depends on monsoon rains, which are entirely at the mercy of the rain gods,” he says.

Samir’s parents felt it would be difficult to find a match for their farmer son, who is in his 20s, as they believed preference would be given to salaried professionals. “Everyone was sure I would not survive in the agriculture ecosystem,” he adds.

Creating a brand for supermarkets

Samir had a few ideas in mind. Growing up in a farmer family, he knew techniques of agriculture and continued farming on the 2.5 acres of land. However, instead of selling the figs directly in the market, he started packaging them into 1 kg boxes, and approached different market segments.
“Looking at the smaller boxes, a friend suggested I approach the supermarkets,” he says. “The deal was signed with one, and following good response, I started selling figs under the name ‘Pavitrak’ in three other supermarkets.”

The produce also started reaching Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi.

“The packaging mentioned the phone number and address of the company,” Samir tells The Better India. “Customers who loved the product started approaching us directly. They created small groups to coordinate and made bulk orders.” He adds that it was not just about targeting the buyer differently – it also helped him earn more profits.

Filling the market gap

“Figs are rich in nutrients, but grow selectively depending on geographic conditions. Daund is ideal for the fruit, because it is hilly, water gets percolated easily, and the area has medium levels of evaporation. The farm is away from pollution, as the highway is about 10 km away, and there is access to clean water,” Samir says.
The ideal weather conditions made the product of high quality, which was preferred by consumers. Besides, there was no availability of the fruit on a large scale in the market. “I happened to fill the gap at the right time, which is the most important aspect of marketing,” he says.

Eventually, he increased his farm size from 2.5 acres to 5 acres and established food processing units to make jam, pulp, and other products from figs.

Samir says his direct connection with consumers helped his business survive during the Covid-19 lockdown. “I reached out to many customers who shared feedback and approached directly. We started taking direct orders on WhatsApp, and sold the produce even when supermarkets did not accept our fruit,” he says. He earned around Rs 13 lakh during the lockdown.

More educated farmers needed

Having worked in agriculture for seven years, Samir has a message for all farmers’ sons. “For over two generations now, children of farmers have studied and taken jobs in the private sector to earn a stable and lucrative income. The move has created a huge gap in the farming sector,” he says.

He adds that agriculture largely remains an unorganised market that needs to be more streamlined. “Children of farmers became literate and earned profits for corporates. But no educated individual has returned to farming and put their education to use for its betterment. The scenario needs to change,” he says.

The agri-entrepreneur says there’s no point in just criticising the government. “We have to market our farm produce and brand it like corporate markets, have creative taglines, and emphasis on nutrition value. That’s how farmers will progress,” he says.

Rohan Ursal, a member of the Fig Growers’ Association, says figs are in good demand. “Good quality fruit sells at Rs 80 to Rs 100 per kg. Innovating marketing channels and trying new methods can certainly help farmers make good profits by establishing last-mile logistics,” he adds.

After spending her entire life as someone’s daughter and then a wife, Shamima Begum from West Bengal’s Molaypur village is now carving her own identity as a farmer.

She recently sold 12 tonnes of potatoes to PepsiCo India, and with the revenue generated, she paid off her husband’s debt. She also purchased household essentials like the fridge and cooking gas and kept aside some money for her daughter’s medical career.

Some 200 kilometres away from Shamima is another woman farmer, Malati, who has a similar story. A resident of Harishchandrapur, Malati has been helping her husband in farming but it was only last year when she independently grew potatoes.

She, too, directed her profits towards fulfilling her needs — a toilet inside the house and a tubewell on the farm to ease the irrigation process.

Both of them decided to start their second innings as individual entities despite being fully aware of the deplorable conditions of growing potatoes in their region.

West Bengal is one of the largest producers of potatoes in India with sizable cultivation in Hooghly. However, the region is plagued with price fluctuations, untimely rains and high agricultural input costs. Due to this, farmers are often subjected to extensive losses.

However, the mutual desire to become financially independent pushed them to grab a common opportunity that came their way in 2019.

PepsiCo India partnered with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) last year under the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) initiative to empower women in agriculture and help build a more sustainable food system. The programme imparts various lessons like crop rotation, pest control management, financial literacy and so on. So far, they have provided potato production training to 500 women.

“I was nervous about the yield-related failures and debts that I may have to incur, but this was a risk I was willing to take for the well-being of my family,” Shamima tells The Better India.

Shamima Sheds Her Farming Fears

A high school graduate, Shamima was married off as soon as she turned 18. She effortlessly emulated the role of a homemaker and occasionally started helping her husband with basic farming activities like removing weeds and warding off pests.

While she liked helping her husband, Shamima never actively took an interest in farming. She says that she didn’t have the calibre to deal heavy crop losses or the physical stamina to sow seeds and till the land. She was happy taking care of her two children and the house.

Every year Shamima’s family takes a loan of Rs 3 lakhs to grow potatoes and after the harvest, they repay it. While it may sound like a straightforward transaction, it is far from it.

Hailstorms are very common in the region just before the harvest season, it can destroy all the vegetation which is spread across their 4-acre land or the quality is compromised due to heavy use of fertilizers to save the vegetation. In both cases, they suffer.

This leads to selling potatoes at a very low rate. In 2015, they sold potatoes at Rs 3 per kilo!

Dealing with middlemen or traders to acquire the right price for potatoes is another daunting task that she saw her husband going through.

“The pressure is immense and often my husband falls sick because of this. For each potato, I have seen him bargaining and struggling for days. I never wanted to get into this vicious cycle,” says Shamima.

So what changed?

“My biggest fear was dealing with the middlemen. I am aware that they take the lion’s share of profits but we don’t have much say in the matter. Under this programme, my produce would directly be sold to the giant corporation. Plus they would guide me in terms of seed selection, disease identification and packaging. So, I underwent the training,” shares Shamima.

Post the training programme, she took a loan of Rs 30,000 from the bank and purchased an acre of land on lease.

In the first season in October 2019, Shamima successfully grew 12 tonnes of potatoes which is equivalent to 45 packets, each weighing a kilo.

“After clearing the debt, paying labourers and buying household essentials, I was left with a profit of Rs 14,000. I deposited it in the bank for my daughter, who is currently preparing for NEET,” she adds.

Shamima has shed her fears vis-a-vis farming and today she confidently guides her husband on pest management control.

Gone are the days when Shamima didn’t have a single penny to spend on her children. She now contributes to the household expenses with her earnings and this has instilled confidence in her to increase her production and subsequently the average household income.

Dust and eye allergies are a thing of the past for Shamima Begum from West Bengal’s Molaypur village as a cooking gas has replaced her chulha. She now wears a mask and changes clothes while spraying fertilisers in her newly built farmland.

Malati Builds A Toilet, Installs Tubewell

Unlike Shamima, Malati has a considerable farming experience. The 50-year-old has been actively helping her husband for the last two decades on their 0.8-acre land.

Unsold potatoes have been one of the most recurring problems for the couple. She says, “We strive hard to save each potato but there are not enough traders in our village. Due to lack of knowledge and exposure, we can’t access the larger market.”

Malati has seen good and bad days but her love for farming has not subsided a bit, for she still believes this is a noble profession. This is probably the reason why she decided to undergo the programme at her age despite having back frequent backaches.

She decided to break their uncertain hand-to-mouth lifestyle and grabbed the opportunity to improve her yield and farming techniques. Her husband extended unconditional support and even encouraged her to experiment on a bigger portion of their land.

After the programme, she started farming independently in October 2019. All the harvest was directly sold to PepsiCo India.

With the money earned, she constructed a toilet and installed a tubewell to improve the irrigation process.

At this point, Malati is quick to mention that success did not come easy. In the process, she also lost some crops and felt she should give up. But the reality of going in the fields to defecate and building a new toilet for herself, kept her going.

“The pre-agreed prices of the company helps me decide my monthly investments. Plus, with the newly learnt techniques, I can grow more with fewer agri-inputs,” she says.

The best part about this transformation, according to Malati, is that her activities have inspired other women farmers in the village to take up farming independently. No wonder the sight of women walking in and out of her farm is common.

Traditionally speaking, farming is predominantly considered to be a male-dominated profession, especially because it requires physical stamina. However, the story of these two rural women are breaking stereotypical gender norms with their simple and smart techniques.

W hen you step into Farmer’s Share, Ambrose Kooliyath’s organic farm and craft centre on the outskirts of Shornur, you immediately feel a sense of calm. A few women are occupied with working the looms at the Khadi weaving unit, while the heady aroma of butter emanates from the kitchen and warehouse.

Here, cookies are being baked – unconventional flavours like curry leaf and moringa leaf, which taste heavenly.

The centre’s pottery unit’s talents are displayed via terracotta pots with different kinds of hanging and flowering plants. Hibiscus bushes surround the area, with carpets of red flowers laid out in the sun to dry. A worker gathers a batch of colourful sun-dried leaves and flowers, which will be used to make dye. Adorable indie dogs run around – their occasional barking and the splashing of fish in the irrigation pond are the only sounds that break the silence in this part of the farm. Walk further, and you enter the woods, and finally the Nila River.

Ambrose’s wife Mini Elizabeth, their two sons Amal and Akhil, and a few teenagers staying on the farm to learn and help, go about their duties quietly. Twenty-year-old Amal designs the orders at the handweaving unit with his friend Rashid, while 18-year-old Akhil designs the terracotta cookware and planters.

On his philosophy in life, Ambrose says, “The essence of it all is the Gandhian concept of self-sufficiency and self-reliance. His idea of a just society is one where the basic needs of a person – food, clothing and shelter – are met with products sourced from within one’s locality, and not imported from outside. The farm is an attempt at that.”

“There was a time when families survived on the produce from their compound and made houses using locally available material. Now, for every morsel of food, every household item or piece of clothing, we’re dependent completely on the market and international brands. Kerala currently imports more than 80 per cent of the rice it needs from other states,” he adds.

Farmer’s Share is also a centre for learning, where children and adults can learn practical life skills like farming, weaving, construction, pottery and associated crafts.

“There is no school or that teaches children such farm skills.”

One may wonder why the youngsters on the farm are not in school on a weekday morning. However, Ambrose’s two sons have never attended school, or been homeschooled. “We might be 100 per cent literate in Kerala, but how many know how to grow their own food or build a house for themselves? There is no school or education system that teaches children such basic life skills either,” Ambrose says. That, he adds, is precisely why he decided to teach his children such skills instead of sending them to conventional schools.

Read More: Maharashtra Man Quits Steady Job To Farm Figs, Has Turnover of Rs 1.5 Crore/Year

“I’m continuously bombarded with queries about my children’s future. But this is not an alternative education model. I just moved my kids away from a system which churns out education aimed at a particular “respectable” set of professions that consider all else below their dignity,” he says.
He quickly adds that he is well aware that total self-sufficiency and self-reliance is impossible in the current circumstances, and he only does what he can. “I’m not saying everyone should grow their own rice and weave their own clothes. But we should try and see why a farmer doesn’t want his son to follow in his steps. Because he is not given a fair price for his produce, neither is he allowed to set one. In our farm, we sell our own produce, and associate with neighbourhood farmers and help them sell their products at a fair price.”

“It’s their right, not charity.”

The focus of the food section is hibiscus products – tea, concentrate, jame, infuse, honey and dye. The reason behind this, Ambrose says, is because hibiscus is native to their state. “It grows easily, with least chances of pest attacks. The same goes for tulsi. These are rich in Vitamin C and have plenty of other health benefits. Also, corporates have taken over our mountains for tea estates. Why depend on a market for a cup of tea when you can grow your own in your garden?” he asks.

The property also has plenty of jackfruits, mango and plantain trees, the produce of which are used to make daily meals for the residents. “The idea is that nothing should go to waste. Everything is available in plenty in the markets, which is why people throw away anything which looks less than perfect. We utilise each and every edible part of the vegetables, fruits and plants, and preserve the rest by pickling, drying and powdering them – even tomato and onion,” Ambrose says.

The hibiscus and trees are planted randomly, and farming is done in such a way that birds and squirrels are allowed to eat first. “It’s their right, not charity. The moment one stops expecting a particular amount of yield, things become easy. I make sure to harvest the hibiscus flowers in the evening so the bees can get their share of honey in the morning,” he adds.

While the weaving unit is associated with Khadi, the colouring of the textiles using natural dyes was developed by Ambrose.

“We use flowers and leaves of hibiscus, rose, turmeric, and also weeds considered useless, like communist pacha, for the dyes.”

Ambrose himself is the engineer and architect of all the buildings in the property. Materials used include earth, sawdust, stones and bamboo sourced from the neighbourhood.

An entire cabin for visitors has been made with left-over wood from a guitar manufacturing unit, while the roof of an outdoor hut is thatched with dried river grass from the nearby area of Bharathappuzha.

“Why I left it all to launch Farmer’s Share Farm three years ago.”

“I am basically a stonemason. I had to leave school to work in construction at the age of 15, to support my family,” Ambrose, who is a native of Vypin in Kochi, says. However, those seven years working as a mason helped him with all his craft ventures, he says. “Technically, I’m a school dropout. But my confidence comes from my knowledge and ability to build a house for myself.”

The turning point in his life came when he joined a Gandhian movement named Swashraya Vypin at the age of 22, “I learnt about the possibilities of organic farming and food in camps held as part of the movement. Later, I improvised on it and started a minimal investment organic eatery named Grasshopper in Kochi with a few friends. It was part of a tourist home where all kinds of art and culture programmes were held. I met all kinds of people.”

It was the first time Malayalis felt organic food could be tasty as well, and a regular visitor named Manjunath suggested that he and Ambrose collaborate. Together, they started a full-fledged organic restaurant named Lumiere, which ran for 14 years, first in Kochi and later in Bangalore. “It was very fulfilling, but I always wanted to focus on the concept of self-sufficiency; permaculture farming is just one part of such a lifestyle. I wanted to expand the concept of self-sufficiency to all aspects of life, which is why I left it all to launch Farmer’s Share three years ago. I included handweaving and pottery because both are dying fields,” says Ambrose.

The farm is owned by a trust comprising Ambrose, Mini and their friend Manoj Kumar IB, an IT engineer cum organic food enthusiast.

People often ask him about his alternative way of life, but Ambrose can’t understand why he is considered different. “Shouldn’t self-reliance be the norm? During the lockdown, we minimised shopping and treasured every bit of food, because we feared scarcity. Isn’t that how things should be all our lives? I don’t wish to find fault with society, I have immense faith in the power of human beings to change and adapt. But I’m a small man with no great power of influence. I can only send a message through my own life, which is what I’m doing,” he signs off.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

The village of Zapade, in Maharashtra, is home to a farmer who is unique in a way — he has steered clear of growing Alphonso mangoes, which are a favourite of every Konkan farmer. Instead, he has introduced the cultivation of jackfruit. In all likelihood, Harishchandra Desai is the only farmer in the state to have devoted 13 acres of his farmland — located in Lanja taluka of Ratnagiri, to solely growing this otherwise ignored fruit.

At 60, Desai looks towards a future when the phanas (the Marathi word for jackfruit) will receive its dues for bringing prosperity to farmers in the wettest region of the state. “Every year, a week before Vat Poornima in June, traders arrive at the Konkan villages to pick jackfruits and pay a paltry of Rs 5 to Rs 10 per fruit,” says Desai, adding, “I want to change that.”

He believes that farmers can earn Rs 100 to Rs 200 per fruit, as they did in Toobugere village in Karnataka after a jackfruit growers’ association was formed there. This was the first and only such association in the country with direct connectivity to the market.

Zapade is located 4 km away from Lanja, and has a total population of 600. Like most villages in Ratnagiri, the major crops grown here are mango, coconut, cashew, nutmeg, jackfruit, betel nut, rice and ragi. In the villages of the Konkan region like Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, one is likely to find one or two jackfruit trees at any household, scattered as a border crop for which farmers do nothing except harvest the fruits. In fact, harvesting is not done as a matter of routine and the fruits are often let to rot and fall.

Jackfruit – The fruit of the future

There are two kinds of jackfruit — the softer rassal, and the firmer kaapo. Tender jackfruit is used to make phanasachi bhaji, while ripe ones are sold as fruits. Grown mostly without any management practices, jackfruits are promising fruits grown organically by default. Researchers believe the fruit could be a replacement for wheat, corn and other staple crops that are under threat from climate change. According to Dr P Rajendran of Kerala Agriculture University, jackfruit trees are solar efficient, and in a five-year period, add 12 per cent organic carbon to the soil, which is equivalent to 40 tonnes of carbon.

Largely, due to its odour, the jackfruit never gained popularity in the country, unlike in the far eastern nations. The fruit’s botanical name, Artocarpus, is derived from the Greek word artos (bread) and carpos (fruit). It’s name comes from the Portugese word jaca. Its origin is identified with the evergreen rainforests of Western Ghats, the fruit also grows in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and in the northeastern states.

The world’s largest fruit is called by a variety of names — Chakka (Malayalam); Kathal (Hindi), Phanas (Marathi); Kathal, Gach Patha (akin to vegetarian meat) and Enchor (Bangla); and Halasu, Kujee and Halasina Hannu (Kannada). Every region of India has a unique way of preparing this versatile fruit. It can be deep-fried or made as dry or wet gravies, as well as into cutlets. Of late, freeze-dried tender jackfruit flour has come as manna for diabetics.

Though Desai’s farm plot is located on a hilly terrain close to the perennial river Beni, he practices drip irrigation on his jackfruit orchard, which has lemon, ginger and turmeric as intercrops. “I want to prove that one can have a drip-irrigated jackfruit plantation. I adopted this method due to non-availability of farm hands,” he says.

‘Phanasachi Raja’

In an effort to popularise the cultivation of the fruit in Maharashtra, Desai has started a nursery as well. During the lockdown owing to the pandemic, he sold around 3,000 saplings to growers from Sangli, Nashik, Pune, Panshet, Karad and Satara, and has an additional 10,000 saplings awaiting sale. “I educate the prospective grower on selecting a variety according to one’s agro climate. What is grown in Ratnagiri is not suitable for a dry region, like Karad,” he says.

Desai advises farmers to limit the vertical growth of the tree while encouraging its horizontal spread. His mantra is, “Don’t let it grow beyond 12 to 15 ft. That will make it easy to pluck the fruit.”

He has close to 75 varieties growing on his orchard and is well-versed with details such as the place of its origin, preferred region for its planting, the month it bears fruit, its total weight, colour of its fruit bulb and its weight when harvested. He can rattle their fancy names too, like Super Early, Jalbhog Raja, Champadak, Singapoori, Vietnam Seedless, J 33, Milky White, Madagascar Gomleos, Ramchandra, Tubbogera, Kaudisingana Kachahalli etc. A variety developed by him and named Desai Kappa, which he considers to be the sweetest, is very popular among growers in Kerala. He even guides the farmers on the fruit’s TSS (Total Soluble Solids), aka its sugar content. “I have trees with fruits that have TSS between 15 to 30 per cent,” he says.

A former employee of Ratnagiri’s District Hospital, Desai has collected varieties of the jackfruit from within the country and from countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam. His 1,250 plus plants of different cultivars are spread across 13 acres and yield at different times of the year. On the remaining 10 acres, he grows cashew. Interestingly, he was the only farmer from Maharashtra to attend the 2017 International Jackfruit Festival held in Wayanad, Kerala. His passion for the fruit has earned him the title, “Phanasachi Raja (King of Jackfruit)” in Maharashtra. He is ably supported in his ‘jackfruit mission’ by his son, Mithilesh (28), an Agri Engineer and a Civil Services aspirant who has abandoned his dream to become a farmer instead.

According to Desai, a mature jackfruit tree can produce some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. With hardly any labour costs, no fertilizer and no pesticide, the fruit has the potential to make farmers earn lakhs. “It’s only during the harvest that you need additional hands,” says Desai, who has formed a Farmer Producers Company with 500 jackfruit farmers and prospective jackfruit growers.

Sri Padre, editor, Adhike Patrike, who has an encyclopedic knowledge about the fruit and believes in its potential to bring a radical change in the life of the growers, has this to say about Desai: “He has taken an interest in the jackfruit when no one else is serious about it in the Konkan region. He has shown a model and displayed a professional approach that can bring good dividends. Systematic cultivation, promotion of the fruit and a bit of marketing can take care of the farmer’s livelihood for decades. What is remarkable is that he is supported in this endeavour by his son.”

(Written by Hiren Bose, Edited by Divya Sethu)

The western belt of Maharashtra is famously known as the sugar bowl of the state. Kolhapur district, located in this belt, is also famous for its jaggery, footwear and tourist attractions. But this region may soon also be popular for growing organic exotic vegetables.

The reason behind this is the aquaponic and hydroponic farms that have sprung up in a small patch of 50-acre land for growing exotic vegetables. About 40 varieties of exotic plants like kale, lettuce, Pak Choi, mushrooms, and other vegetables are grown here and sent across to other cities in India.

Interestingly, it is not the natives who have changed the cropping pattern, but IIT-Bombay alumni with no farming background. The initiative is called LandCraft Agro.

Mayank Gupta and Lalit Jhawar became friends while pursuing engineering at IIT. Mayank launched a start-up called Zilingo and travelled across Southeast Asia between 2012 to 2018, while Lalit joined his family business in the textile and real estate industry back in 2011.

From sellers to growers of vegetables

In early 2018, Mayank quit his job and returned home for good. “I became homesick and felt the need to work in a sustainable food space in India. I discussed the idea of launching an e-commerce platform for organic and fresh vegetables with Lalit,” he says.

However, after some research, Lalit and Mayank soon realised their venture would not materialise. “We had planned to become a channel to access fresh, organic and exotic vegetables from growers and provide them to customers. But to our disappointment, there were very few who grew good quality organic produce in the exotic vegetable space,” he says. The two then decided to consider growing the produce themselves and selling it.

“Nashik is the vegetable capital of Maharashtra and it seemed difficult to comprehend that we could not have a good range of exotic vegetables growing here.

There is always inhibition in such varieties growing well in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and other Northern states with cooler weather conditions,” Mayank says.

After some research, the duo shortlisted Kolhapur as the ideal place to set up the farm. “Kolhapur is best for agriculture due to its soil, water availability and farmer presence. The geographic location also makes it possible to send the produce to potential markets. Places like Pune, Goa, Mumbai and Bangalore are within a 12-hour drive, making it possible for the vegetables to reach customers within hours of harvest. This will ensure freshness,” Mayank says.

“Neither of us had any experience in farming.”

In April 2019, Mayank and Lalit set up LandCraft Agro in Ichalkaranji, about 30 km away from Kolhapur city.
Changing consumer mindset

LandCraft grows 40 types of vegetables on 20-acre hydroponics and 3-acre aquaponics farms. Lalit and Mayank trained about 150 farmers to convert 100 acres of land into poly houses for vegetable cultivation. The produce is sold under the brand name Trueganic.

The vegetables are sent to Hyderabad and Chennai, and flown to Delhi, in addition to cities in Maharashtra. The one-year-old start-up is churning a turnover of Rs 80 lakh a month. While the earnings look promising, entering a niche market by growing organic food was a challenge.

“Neither of us had any experience in farming. I had never grown a plant in my life before. So we made many mistakes in the beginning, but quickly learned from them,” says Mayank.

Lalit, the co-founder, says the duo accessed a lot of research work and contacted technical experts and advisers to get things straightened out. “After we learned how to grow organic food, marketing and convincing customers became a bigger challenge,” he tells The Better India.

Lalit says that the average consumer saw the same vegetables available at cheaper costs, but convincing them to try the product for its superior quality and freshness became a task. “Repeat orders faced lesser friction. It’s more of a psychological challenge to change mindsets for buying better. However, the COVID-19 pandemic helped customers make healthier choices,” he adds.

The agri-entrepreneurs say the next plan is to get farmers to sign up for contract farming and extend the supply chain to multiple cities.

“We wish to reach out to more cities and increase our customer base,” Lalit says, adding that more farmers are being trained to grow exotic crops—in addition to conventional ones grown in the area—which will help them earn better.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Many assume education is a must to attain success. But Kavita Mishra, a sandalwood and fruit cultivator, is challenging this notion with her hard work and dedication. “The difficult road I traversed has led me to this beautiful destination. Like all women, I too had many dreams when I arrived at my husband’s home. But I never expected that my biggest dream would never take off because him,” Kavita, who holds an MA in Psychology and Diploma in Computer Science, tells The Better India.

After marriage, Kavita received an offer from Infosys to work for them.  But her husband, Umashankar, coerced her to give up the job. As everyone at Umashankar’s home was into cultivation, he forced his wife to do the same. He gave Kavita eight acres of the 43-acres he owned, imagining that his wife would be happy to have an area for cultivation, as she too belonged to an agricultural family.

From Programming to Fruit Cultivation

Despite her agricultural background, Kavita was more interested in software programming than any farming, leave alone sandalwood or fruits. However, instead of being upset by her husband’s coercion, she decided to try her hand at cultivation 11 years ago. As the first step, she sold her jewellery, which had been gifted to her by her parents for her wedding.

“The land my husband gave me was barren, and I was confused about what to do with it initially,” says Kavita, a native of Karnataka’s Raichur district. “I cleaned the land myself, and thought I would do some cultivation, but didn’t have much hope. With the money I received from selling my gold, I learned about the process of starting cultivation with the help of a few experts in the state. I learned the lay of the land and started growing fruits.”

The first fruit crop she cultivated was pomegranate, which saw a good harvest and earned her a decent profit. So she kept at it, choosing to get into the more profitable sandalwood farming. She collected sandalwood saplings from different farmers across Karnataka and Telangana.

“In our plot, we have only two inches of water in our borewell, so we can’t cultivate traditional crops such as paddy or ragi, as they need more water,” she says. “During monsoon, trees hold rainwater, which is used for four months, and for the remaining eight, we use our bore water. I believe that mother earth won’t leave our hand, even if our family members leave us. I have trust in her, and she still helps me in all ways possible in cultivation,” says Kavita. Kavita also believes organic fertilisers give good productivity, so she uses cow urine and sheep dung, which are available on her farm.

“The farm is also home to birds and snakes. I personally believe that if we don’t disturb them, they won’t harm us. These snakes and birds help keep insects and rats away instead of pesticides,” Kavita says.

Today, apart from sandalwood, Kavita also cultivates 8,000 fruit-bearing trees – including Mango, Guava, Custard Apple, Amla, Sweet Lime, Lemon, Coconut, Drumstick, and Jamun. She also has 800 Teakwood trees on her land.

Hi-Tech Security System

“In our farm, we have dog squads to alert us about strangers entering to steal sandalwood trees. Apart from this, we have also inserted a microchip in our trees. In case someone tries to put an axe in, the tree will vibrate, which in turn will send an alert to my smartphone. If the thief takes the tree before we reach the farm, we can track it using GPS too.” Kavita shares. Such security is a must, as the theft of sandalwood trees is a serious and ever-present concern.

Speaking about the profits, she says, “We get Rs 20-30 Lakh per month. Fruit trees generate a monthly and yearly income. The forest trees (like Teak) are ‘fixed deposits’ for our retirement. We sell our farm products by putting up a stall for 10-15 days on the Hyderabad-Goa road. and one is put up in front of the farm.”

The farm also sells the saplings of the fruit trees by grafting method to farmers. Price of the fruits is fixed as per the Bengaluru market. Kavita is also ready to help beginners in farming. People from different parts of India visit her farm on Sundays to learn more about it.

For more details about the farm, one can contact 8861789787.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

Most aspiring gardeners look for plants that are easy-to-grow and ones which require minimal maintenance. The most common recommendations being tomatoes, chillies and brinjals. Besides the real taste of the vegetable, a positive result becomes an encouraging factor for any beginner to pursue gardening further.

Bengaluru-based Bhaskar Reddy was also advised the same but, even with no prior experience or knowledge of growing food, he preferred taking a rather unusual route. All he knew was that bananas flourished in the area where he resides — Yelahnak.

He saw plantations flourishing on the road with no caretaker and took that as a good sign. This could only mean that the sunlight and geographical condition was apt for growing bananas.

Fast forward three years, today the 60-year-old is a proud owner of 15 banana trees in his front yard. After experimenting with the local variety, he bought the ‘amrutpani’ variety from his native in Andhra Pradesh.

“Since I used only natural methods to grow bananas, the fruit’s overall lifespan has risen. In fact, the sweetness increases by the day. Every month, we get 30 kilos of bananas that we distribute among family and friends,” Bhaskar tells The Better India.

Coming from an agrarian family, Bhaskar always wanted to grow food but his hectic professional life never gave him the chance to do so. So, as soon as he retired, he actively engaged himself in gardening at home, along with his wife, Sowjanya.

Together they have more than 60 varieties of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers at home since 2017, which meet 90 per cent of their food needs!

A Garden Without Pots

Sowjanya and Bhasker surrendered themselves to tutorials and approached their friends, who are into gardening, to acquire basic knowledge. Bhasker even attended lectures and workshops in the city on gardening.

Once the couple figured out the sunlight, water and soil requirements, they started with bananas.

Since their first tree was planted on the ground, they continued this ritual for all the other plants as well. So, when you enter his compound, you will find fruits and vegetables blooming directly from the ground. For this, Bhasker got red soil for his plants as it is rich in natural nutrients like iron.

Next, he arranged for cow dung as a natural fertiliser, which he has been using ever since. Oil and cake made from neem are recent additions.

The couple reveals that mulching is an important aspect when growing food on the ground. Sowjanya explains, “Mulch acts as a protective layer that is spread on top of the soil. It helps retain moisture for a longer period and increases the fertility and health of the soil. Earlier we covered it with plastic sheets available at home but now we have replaced it with an eco-friendly material like dry banana leaves.”

As for the seeds, Bhaskar recommends procuring them directly from farmers or nurseries. One can also preserve seeds from fruits and vegetables instead of discarding them as waste.

60+ Varieties

The Reddy’s homegrown food list is impressive not only because they have so many plants but also because of the multiple varieties of plants like tomatoes and bananas.

The garden boasts of carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, all kinds of gourds, French beans, chillies, brinjals, ladies finger. Their leafy veggies selection includes curry leaves, mulberry spinach, coriander, spinach, methi, fenugreek and gongura hibiscus.

Fruits like Indian gooseberry, mango, sweet lime, custard apple, ramphal, while turmeric, cardamom, tulsi (Holy Basil), ashwagandha (Withania), ginger and drumsticks are also grown here.

Meanwhile, the aromatic ones like roses, Mysore Mallige and lilies keep the garden fragrant throughout the year.

Multiple fragrances, colours, and of course the quality of food prepared from the fresh produce of their own garden has had a direct impact on the health of the Reddy couple. In addition to this, they share that the shelf life of all their produce has increased due to organic farming.

Edited by Yoshita Rao