With a majority of the residents in metros unaware of the source and efforts behind the food they consume, some farmers of Didupe, a remote village on the foothills of Western Ghats in Dakshina Kannada district, have undertaken an exercise to introduce farming life to the interested.
Located about 25 km from taluk headquarters Belthangady, Didupe is home to waterfalls, forests and paddy and arecanut fields.
Farmers in the village saw city residents visiting the attractions in the Kudremukh range of the Western Ghats. While some knew the etiquettes of nature, many used to litter the forest lands thereby prompting farmers to educate them.
Thus began the concept of hosting trekkers in farmers’ houses wherein city denizens lived like family members of hosts. Normally, they would come during weekends, spend time in learning farming activities and undertake trekking to nearest places of interest, including the Charmadi Ghat, Ballarayana Durga, Kalasa and many more.
It is not homestay, says Shreehari Marathe, a progressive farmer of Didupe, who till recently hosted guests. “Visitors stay with us as our family members and put a camping tent either in the verandah or the frontyard of our houses. They utilise whatever infrastructure we have,” he explains. Visitors pay nominal charges, much less to what they pay at homestays.
Last week, a group of techies from Bengaluru was in Didupe and prepared paddy fields and planted paddy shoots.
Shivakumar Shivaraj, an IT consultant from Bengaluru, bought a piece of land in Didupe last year and began promoting organic farming among villagers.
Hosting city residents too began almost the same time with villagers forming Shikara Camping and Trekking Group with the objective of having the organic eco-tourism model.
G.K. Parameshwar, son of Krushi Rushi Deva Rao, who has preserved seeds of 154 paddy variants and resident of Kukkavu village, too joined hands in the mission. About nine farmers in Didupe are hosting guests with many more interested to join the initiative, Mr. Shivaraju told The Hindu .
During last week’s event, Mr. Parameshwara also gave a demonstration on paddy seeds and other farming issues. Mr. Shivaraju said hosting guests would bring secondary income to farmers, whose produces normally would not fetch a good price. It is win-win situation for farmers as well as guests, he said.
