On the sidelines of the 7th Kerala Bala Krishi Sastra Congress, budding young farmers are setting a model for adults through exhibits of the yields of their toil.
From cereals and vegetables to mushrooms and small fishes, the students have tried their hand at cultivating everything, showing that a healthy and nature-friendly lifestyle is easily achievable.
For many of them, mid-day meals at school and even some of the meals at home are now made by the rice, vegetables and fish they harvested themselves.
At the GHSS for girls, Venganoor, a special treat of Punnel payasam, made of paddy cultivated by a group of 100 students in a 75-cent plot next to the school, is also available along with the meals. The rice and vegetables are also purchased by the students and teachers, says A. R. Bindu, a teacher who heads the Agricultural club at the school.
Members of the Malayalam club at BRMHS Ilavattam have used the seeds and farming tips given from their school to cultivate plants in their own homes. Spinach or Cheera, in particular, is cultivated in all their homes, with the programme being given the moniker ‘Cheeragramam.’
The vegetables they grow, while not sufficient to meet the needs of the household, is much tastier than the store-bought items, says Abhirami, a member of the club.
True to the spirits of organic farming, these young farmers follow the mantra of ‘no waste, no chemicals’.
While at GHSS Venganoor, it was the plastic bottles and other containers collected during a cleaning drive that were used as pots for plants, at BRMHS Ilavattom, the wooden stands and PVC pipes left behind after painting jobs, and broken boxes from fish outlets have been used for cultivation. Leftovers from meals are deposited in these boxes as fertilisers.
At GVHSS Vithura, it is the Student Police Cadets, or ‘Kutti Police’ as they are fondly known, who have taken to the soil with the help of the police themselves. Apart from growing vegetables in a plot next to the Vithura police station, the cadets also cultivate fish in a post-harvested paddy field.
Titled ‘Oru nellu, oru meen’, their project is based on farming practices in Kuttanad.
