There’s a bit of a green revolution going on in Technopark. Many techies, it seems, are taking to home farming, cultivating vegetables, fruits and flowers on their terraces and gardens. And, more importantly, many of these novice farmers are sowing the seeds of change by encouraging their colleagues and fellow techies to also try their hand at cultivation.
Techies cite different reasons and inspirations for this trend. “Have you ever bought vegetables recently?” asks young techie Shiva Shankar, from Kasaragod, one of the “bachelor farmers” in Technopark. “Every time we go to the market it’s as if the vegetable prices have increased exponentially. When you’re living on a budget it can be an issue. That’s why my friend, Vineeth, and I decided to plant cheera (red amaranthus) on a tiny patch of land in our front yard. It’s been fantastic watching it grow. In fact, my six housemates and I had home grown cheera thoran for the first time the other day. It was so tasty!” he adds.
Keen home farmer Anoop Varghese, who hails from Ernakulam and works at an MNC in Technopark, says: “I got into home farming because I thought it imperative to be self-sufficienct. For the past year now I have been actively involved in cultivation, growing chilli, cheera, okra, brinjal and the like in my home. I’ve even bought a cow to get fresh milk and fresh manure! I tend to the farm when I go home every weekend.”
Reji Thomas Mathew, who works at IBS, meanwhile, was concerned about the reports of pesticides and hormones being used in vegetable cultivation and the difficulty of procuring vegetables on hartal days. His terrace is now full of grow bags and trellises where he grows everything from runner beans and okra to cheera and aloe vera. “I now grow enough vegetables for my family’s needs, and then some,” says Reji. He’s so into farming nowadays that he’s started cultivating yam, colocasia, banana, coconut trees, banana and so on in his plot on the outskirts of the city.
“Admittedly, agriculture is not very profitable and it is time consuming and requires a lot of dedication. But that’s beside the point. I’m happy because now I know that my family is eating good quality organic vegetables, fresh from the farm. Moreover, my children who are usually not too keen on vegetables are now interested in eating them, simply because they are home grown. They are eager to help with the watering of the grow bags also. The highlight, though, is the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with eating something that you yourself have grown. Whenever we go visiting friends and family, we now take along a bag of fresh produce. It makes the gift more close to the heart,” adds Reji.
Techie Ambili Chandran, who works for an MNC, says that her children inspired her to take up farming. “I started terrace farming some six months ago when my daughter, Arya, a student of St. Thomas School, brought home seedlings that were distributed at school. I’ve always enjoyed my time with nature and was already growing roses and jasmines. Nowadays my children and I spend quality time tending to the tomato, brinjal, and okra plants on our terrace. They require about 10 to 15 minutes attention every day. In the process, the kids are also learning about the stages of growth of each plant. Another wonderful thing that has come out of this is that I don’t have to run around my kids to get them to eat vegetables. They now relish it!” says Ambili.
Most companies do their bit to encourage agriculture activities too. Infosys’ Grassroutes eco-club, for example, regularly holds awareness classes on agriculture. Reji says that IBS too has a growing community of novice terrace farmers. “We started off with three people, now there are over 50 members. We help each other get seeds, saplings and grow bags. We have a sort of a group e-letter where we share our experiences regarding our agriculture activities and share information and tips too,” he explains.
So too the folk at UST Global. “There are a quite a few such budding agriculturalists here. Some of them are quite serious about it too such as a colleague Shafeek, who we’ve nicknamed ‘polyhouse’ because he grows cucumbers on a large scale, and Sachin Narayana Pillai, who farms vegetables on more than 350 grow bags,” says Sudhish Kumar, himself a keen farmer, who is also involved in animal husbandry activities in his native Pathanapuram.
