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, 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.
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.
The central water reservoir with a capacity of 40 lakh litres
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.
Plants in hydroponic grow-beds made of gravel, under which water flows.
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.
“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.
College students visiting the farm for a 3-day training
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
“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.
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
What is Aquaponics?
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.
Aquaponics is environment friendly.
“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.
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.
Farming has often been considered a rural occupation, mostly practised in the countryside. However, that’s not the case for 54-year-old Poornima Savargaonkar, a resident of Gurgaon. She has always been an ardent nature lover, an urban gardener, and advocate of sustainable living.
“I was raised as one with nature,” she recalls, adding, “My parents lived in Ahmedabad, and were very fond of gardening. They would ensure that one meal every week was made entirely of produce grown in their garden. Even if we were living in a rented home, my father would grow a few varieties of flowers, while my mother would grow fruits or vegetables. When I was staying in a hostel during college, my study desk always had a small pot with a money plant growing in it.”
But only a few know that Poornima is also a former scientist. Till 2003, she worked at the Indian Institute of Space Research (ISRO) in Ahmedabad. After quitting the organisation that year to take care of her family, she took up urban farming, and eventually became an entrepreneur.
Poornima Savargaonkar
Today, she runs Enriched Soil and Soul, which sells seven varieties of soil made using stubble waste and other organic material. In addition, on a 300 sq ft terrace, she grows over 60 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs in pots. Her garden includes fruits such as strawberries, pomegranate, jamun and papaya, as well as vegetables such as radish, carrots, tomato, and capsicum. It also has herbs such as basil, oregano, and moringa, among many more.
During the lockdown, the urban gardener decided to inspire and help others with their terrace gardens by starting a YouTube channel. Not only does she conduct live sessions to explain various aspects of urban gardening, but also speaks in Hindi so she can reach out to more people.
Harvest from Poornima’s rooftop garden.
A self-sustained effort
When Poornima began terrace gardening, she noticed there were too many options on the internet about what kind of soil to use and what plants to grow in that.
“There were also very few articles or videos that explained the soil variety that can be used in India’s climatic conditions. I did my research, and started preparing Amrut mitti, which is a mix of compost, dried leaves, cow dung and urine, to grow these plants. To date, I do not purchase any soil, and only prepare my own. The raw material is sourced from my society, home kitchen and farmers in a village,” she says.
Some plants growing on Poornima’s rooftop garden.
To make the soil more fertile and reduce the burden on the environment, she decided to incorporate stubble waste produced in farms to make the Amrut mitti. For this, Poornima collaborates with a farmer family in a village named Behlpa, located on the outskirts of Gurgaon, to source the stubble waste, horticulture waste (dry leaves), and cow dung and urine.
“Right now, we have one processing unit and every three months, we use about 1,500 kilos of stubble waste to produce at least 12 tonnes of organic soil. Three types of stubble waste are used — wheat, bajra, and rice, and seven varieties of potting mix are produced. The varieties are for indoor and outdoor plants, bonsais, succulents and roses, as well as for planting seeds and growing water plants,” says Poornima, adding that it takes 45 days to process the soil, and that all the consumer has to do is continuously add compost to it.
The soil made by Enriched Soil and Soul.
Zero-waste living
After Poornima moved to Gurgaon in 2003, she noticed the lifestyle in the city was completely different from what she had been used to.
“I was introduced to a synthetic world, where everyone was highly dependent on plastic. Until that year, I had never even come across a garbage landfill. I realised the people around me, and myself, were part of the problem. I decided to change my lifestyle, and ensure that I would not produce waste that can harm the environment. I spoke to others, hoping to convince them to do the same,” she says.
She decided to put her quest for zero-waste living into action. “I grow my own food, and the waste that is generated goes back to growing food again. When I go out to shops, I don’t purchase plastic bags. I use items like bottles and buckets as planters. When the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, I decided to show others how they can do the same. So, I started a YouTube channel and uploaded videos of gardening tutorials, seed and soil preparation, and gave recycling tips,” Poornima says.
Today, her channel has more than 23,000 subscribers, and some of her videos have more than one lakh views.
Subhankar Bharadwaj, a beneficiary of Poornima’s videos, says she is a woman on a mission and a ‘Garbage-To-Greens’ warrior. “Every Saturday, Ms Poornima conducts live sessions where she provides training to urban maalis on how to grow organic fruits and vegetables on the terrace, and make compost at home. She has inspired me to wean off my corporate lifestyle and take up the role of an urban gardener,” he says.
Her goal is to see every household in India have a rooftop garden to grow their food in, no matter how small the quantity.
This article is a part of The Better India’s ‘Best of 2020’ — A list of 60 awesome changemakers recognised and honoured by The Better India this year. This is a celebration of remarkable people who exhibited courage, grit, passion, innovation, compassion and above all else, humanity. Find out all about them here.
To say that it was a tough year for small and medium enterprises everywhere would be an understatement. While the Coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns was a dampener on the Indian economy in 2020 at large, many sustainable initiatives borne out of concerns for ragpickers, sanitation workers, farmers and the marginalised, have continued their journey.
With products ranging from compost to creams, here are our top ten such enterprises, chosen for their dedication to making things better for everyone, from consumers to employees to producers.
Daily Dump: Compost Compost Compost!
For Poonam Kasturi, what holds priority, even during a pandemic, is composting waste. “I am very concerned about everyone composting,” she tells The Better India.
In April 2006, the trained industrial designer and social entrepreneur set up Daily Dump — a platform that changes citizens’ mindsets about waste disposal. Today, having sold their cylindrical shape, terracotta, home and community composters to over 60,000 customers in 17 Indian cities, including USA and Dubai, Poonam says during the pandemic their “home composters, shipped online, monthly, have increased 33%”.
“We are now testing two new products for the community composting market. We have also created an Experience Centre in August 2019, to cater to people who have doubts about composting or about their sustainable choices, and to explain these ideas in a way people of all ages can understand,” says the 58-year-old.
And what keeps her going to innovate new ways to tackle waste management, Poonam says, “Most people these days talk about doing (something) these days. But I feel ‘not doing’ is equally important. One of the things that COVID-19 has taught all of us is — just because you can, you shouldn’t. When you run a small business, especially where you want to remember the connection to this earth and its physical resources, that’s a great space to be in.”
On a mission to eradicate single-use plastic, Sahar Mansoor began her own personal care products called Bare Necessities in July 2016. From personal and dental care products like bamboo toothbrushes and charcoal tooth powder to even sustainable alternatives to plastic bowls, the brand has it all. And today, Bare Necessities continues to innovate in the hopes to lead everyone to a zero-waste lifestyle.
Sahar says the pandemic and lockdown definitely had an impact on their young social enterprise this year. “We decided to innovate and pivot and see what impact we can make during this time,” says Sahar, who also launched a podcast featuring Poonam Bir Kasturi’s Daily Dump and also conducted workshops to keep the community engaged. “We also launched an Easy DIYs to go zero waste ebook as we were all spending ample amounts of time at home,” she adds.
Sahar says she is “inspired by all the stories of resilience” to make it through these tough times. “What drives me to continue innovating in this sector is the need for a sustainable and just future, the need for gender equality and women empowerment and the need for transparency,” she concludes.
The Bengaluru-based IT professional and doting mom turned entrepreneur when she realised harmful chemicals caused her daughter’s acute skin allergies in consumer products. What started as Smitha Kamath’s personal endeavour to provide organic food and cosmetics in 2012, snowballed into a community initiative — PraanaPoorna, which has expanded from Bengaluru to Chennai, Coimbatore, Gurugram, Madurai and now even Mumbai and Goa. “We are scaling up operations. Taking full benefit of the lockdown, we got the lab testing and certifications done for our disinfectant products, which has benefited our sales. We have also added our B2B services during this time,” says Smitha.
At PranaaPoorna, one can buy everything from bio enzyme cleaners to dishwashing soap, body scrubs and beeswax that are sourced organically, employing farmers. Speaking of the current crisis, she adds, “People realised that their immunity was impacted because of the overuse of chemicals in consumer products. Their awareness about the importance of organic products has increased without us having to do promotions.” The brand, which is still in its nascent stage of growth, sticks to community and social media promotions.
Finding local promoters and producers in each city, PranaaPoorna gets into agreements with them to supply the products repackaged by micro-enterprises to reduce packaging. This, Smitha says, is an alternative to distributing her products sustainably, pan India.
“We are looking at microenterprises coming together so the production will be distributed but with a collective marketing approach and all the same certifications as for quality. This will hopefully reduce the transport and packaging in the process, following the UN goals of sustainable packaging and production,” says Smitha who has already kicked off this initiative in Mumbai during Navratri with the brand Prema Safe Earth.
Located in the heart of the Nilgiri mountains, Last Forest Enterprise is an intermediary platform to market forest produce sourced by indigenous communities since 2010. Today, with stores in Coonoor, Kotagiri and Ooty, its founders Mathew John, Pratim Roy, and Snehlata Nath, say there was “a 200% increase in revenues from e-commerce and a 5000% increase in exports this year”.
“There were increased efforts on these two verticals, which has us at a 30% decrease in revenues, compared to this time last financial year,” says Nandan HS, enterprise development head.
Speaking of the challenges of the lockdown, Nandan adds, “We had to shut down one of our stores in Ooty, which saw our revenue from retail drop by almost 83%. We also had to shut down our Slow Food restaurant – Place to Bee. This, unfortunately, saw 12 of our very own being laid -off.”
Along with the World Fair Trade Organisation and WFTO Asia, Last Forest launched the ‘People’s Mask’ project. “We tied up with Indian Yards, who worked tirelessly with us and produced close to 11,000 masks with their strong team of women in the hill station of Ooty. These masks were distributed to sanitation workers, police officers, our own staff, and their families as a lot of orders for these masks came in through our website,” Mathew says.
Brand spokesperson, Madhu Ravishankar says, “What continues to drive us in this sector is the sheer passion for ensuring that the true cost, fair price, and good health is a given at any point to all stakeholders who are involved with us. We were able to impact an additional 150-200 individuals from the communities we work with, to the already existing 1600 shareholders of our producer company.”
(From L-R) Pratim Roy, Snehlata Nath and Mathew John — founders of Last Forest.
Another sustainable initiative based in Mumbai is Beco — a platform for greener alternatives to single-use plastic. The brainchild of Aditya Ruia, Anuj Ruia and Akshay Varma, Beco’s business has “increased multifold, around 10 times of what it was a year ago”. “Along with our global sales picking up as we are selling to more developed countries, our offline Tier II distribution is also doing well,” says Aditya.
Mitigating over 125 tonnes of plastic waste, Beco markets bamboo products such as toothbrushes, tissue rolls, toothpicks, and garbage bags made from cornstarch and paper stick cotton buds. “During the lockdown due to COVID-19 we have been focusing on growing our existing range of products,” Aditya adds.
The research and development for these products were initiated in October 2018; the brand is present across more than 1000 retail stores, organic stores, and online e-commerce portals.
“Today, there is not a very strong need to educate people on sustainability as awareness comes with personal experience. So what drives us is being underdogs in a world where multinationals dominate the sales in the online and offline business. This is a fight we look forward to every day,” Aditya says.
(From L-R) Aditya Ruia, Anuj Ruia and Akshay Varma — Founders of Beco.
Disguise Cosmetics: A Vegan Makeup Brand That Cares
Disguise Cosmetics, a small makeup brand based in Mumbai, founded in April 2018, has a range of 100 per cent vegan and cruelty-free products like lipsticks and kajal. To add to their range, the brand has now launched its talc-free eyeshadow.
“We thought since people will be wearing masks in and around the festive season this year, we wanted to focus on eye-makeup. We have seen that the ability to customise your eyeshadow palettes has resonated well with customers. The eyeshadow also comes in plastic-free packaging,” says Desiree Pereira, a marketing executive for the brand, who started the initiative with Lakshay Mahendroo who manages operations and Shivangi Shah who takes care of product development and evaluation.
“Our most recent product launch should be India’s first talc-free eyeshadow. Talc-free makes it safer to use as even though it is a natural mineral, it often has a lot of asbestos impurity,” she says.
Replacing talc with mica in their eyeshadow, Desiree says, “While we use this as a replacement to talc, we also ensure that the mica we are sourcing is free of child labour. All mines have to follow labour laws, which includes no children working there. We ensure that our suppliers are not using any mine which might be illegal. We also do third party checks. Our suppliers also work with midday meal programmes for families who would send their children to work are incentivised against it.”
While April, May, June saw the brand receiving little to no sales, the founders say they used this time to develop “more sustainable products”.
Founders of Disguise cosmetics (L-R) Shivangi Shah, Desiree Pereira and Lakshay Mohendroo
“The beginning of this year was a dark phase for most businesses, but it seems like there is now a silver lining,” says Sneha Sirivara, who started Sambar Stories—a platform for natural spice mixes, chutney powders, coffee, pickles, ready-to-eat mixes and snacks— in her garage.
Noticing a market for traditional spice mixes, this IT professional with a degree in Computer Science Engineering started Sambar Stories in 2013. “Today, our products have reached different parts of India through online sales. We now get around 2000 orders a month,” she adds.
Along with the sources being ground in a unit, Sambar Stories snacks like chakli/murukku, appalams, nippat/thattai are made by women from villages like Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu.
The brand sells over 50 completely natural products containing no artificial colours or preservatives. Speaking about the lockdown, Sneha says, “New products like healthy ready-to-cook mixes have seen quite some popularity during this time. Sales of our Diwali boxes of sweets and snacks also received a lot of positive feedback.”
Native Circle was started by Swayamprabha Hegde and Mahesh Kallare Hegde in 2016. From helping 15 farmers earn a livelihood, the brand now sources raw materials for their value added products from 300 farmers.
During the lockdown period, Swayamprabha says, their sales dropped by almost 50% “but recently, things have been picking up slowly”. Mahesh adds, “We have four or five rural brands which we partner with for the sale of their products on our website, and their sales are picking up slowly.”
Thinking of how to minimise packaging further, Swayamprabha says, “We are currently using glass and papier-mache to package our products. Though, we are in talks with many sustainable initiatives like using banana fibre to replace glass.”
Native Circle is a big proponent of going ‘vocal for local’. Mahesh adds, “Small businesses are not only important but a vital part of the economy. When you have more local initiatives, there is a larger possibility of focusing on and giving genuine products sourced from local origin.”
(From L-R) Swayamprabha Hegde and Mahesh Kallare Hegde, Founders of Native Circle
RUR Greenlife: Are you Reducing Reusing Recycling?
Another success story of a mother concerned about her daughter’s health, is RUR Greenlife — which stands for Reducing, Reusing, Recycling. In 2009, Monisha Narke joined hands with other mothers concerned about pollution. Today, the social enterprise recycles 750 tonnes of waste annually and earns in crores via this endeavour.
With an array of RUR products made from Tetra Pak cartons like pen stands, coasters, photo frames and even benches. Go Green with Tetra Pak programme has set up over 200 collection centres in Mumbai and Pune. Today, they’re not only supplying composters pan India but also to Kuala Lumpur and Germany. “During the lockdown, we focused on research and development of products and added our new home Green Goal composter, which is compact,” says Monisha.
She adds, “For our tetra pack initiatives, as people couldn’t move out much, we started picking up cartons from homes. It’s our mobile collection drive. Sahakari Bhandar is our partner for this initiative.”
“Over the decade, RUR Greenlife has innovated to design solutions, making solid waste into a resource through eco-education, home and community composting projects, recycling campaigns, CSR initiatives and EPR programmes. I see waste being invested back, and our customers becoming more eco-conscious. This is what motivates me to grow RUR to achieve greater greener goals,” concludes the 47-year-old.
Monisha Narke, Founder of RUR.
Read more about Monisha and her sustainable initiative here.
Satvyk — Organic Food Chain, Empowering Farmers
Realising that most of the fruits and vegetables we consume are pumped with chemicals to enhance their looks, Akshay Agarwal started Satvyk with his co-founder Gajendra Choudhary in 2016. Today, with 40 stores, and over 250 products, along with perishables like fruits and vegetables, Satvyk is a platform which procures organic produce from farmers directly along with providing them with technical know-how on organic farming.
“Due to the pandemic, our sales of organic food spiked. Being covered under essential services, we have seen an increase in customer acquisition rate 12-15% month-on-month as all our stores were open during this time. Average order value per person per day has gone up from Rs 800-Rs1000 to now Rs1300,” says Akshay.
“Our Adrish Zero-waste Organic Store, started in February 2018, where customers bring their own containers and bags to buy grains, pulses, fruits or vegetables, now has expanded to eight stores. The Better India coverage has helped a lot in this endeavour,” Akshay adds.
The organisation now sources produce from 9000 farmers. “At Satvyk, we aim to develop a larger, greener and more sustainable sense of purpose. We have to give a sustainable livelihood to the farmers producing the grains, vegetables and a fair price to customers. But more importantly, we aim to take care of Mother Earth,” he concludes.
(From L-R) Akshay Agarwal, Gajendra Choudhary with Pune Operations Head, Sourabh Salunkhe.
We are in the middle of winter — arguably the best season to grow the healthiest leafy vegetables and herbs. And according to a Delhi startup, coriander, fenugreek, and even garlic, are possible to grow in a small tray in your balcony, right under the winter sun.
Vinayak Garg, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, founded the Lazy Gardener to provide easy solutions for urban gardeners. Speaking with The Better India, he provides simple tips and tricks to grow healthy herbs at home. The startup lists five “must-have” herbs in your garden, so a variety of flavours for your food can be within hands reach.
Coriander
“Coriander seeds usually take about a month to germinate. To reduce this time period and increase the success rate, an easy method can be followed,” Vinayak says.
The first is to split the seeds in two parts. “Remember to not crush them. Soak the seeds in water overnight, and then plant them in a loose layer of soil. Keep the soil moist by spraying or sprinkling water,” he adds.
Vinayak says it will take 14 days for the seeds to germinate. “Do not give up if the seeds show a slight delay in germination. This could be mainly because of less moisture in the air due to winters. Keep watering the tray/pot, and soon, sprouts will start appearing,” he says.
The coriander plant can continue to be harvested till it starts flowering. “Once the plants start bearing flowers, the taste will change, and it is time to change the plant,” Vinayak adds.
Basil
Vinayak says the aforementioned method can be applied for basil seeds as well. “However, you do not need to split the seeds in this case. Make sure they’re covered, and the soil is moist. Germination starts within a week or ten days,” he adds.
He says the only thing to be careful about with the plant is its density. “Unlike coriander, which bears thin stems, basil grows one thick stock with leaves sprouting from it. Hence, the plants should have a couple of inches of distance between them. One way to ensure this is by removing the unhealthy seeds once the healthier ones start growing,” he explains.
Vinayak recommends that once the leaves start to grow, the plant should be moved to a brighter area, but not be exposed to direct sunlight. The holy basil and thai basil can both be grown using the same method. The plants will continue to regenerate under optimal conditions.
Garlic
“The simplest way to grow the herb is by submerging the seeds in water kept in a flat-bottomed container,” Vinayak says.
He adds that once the shoot starts growing, the container should be placed in the soil. “However, it is difficult to ascertain when the plant has grown cloves, as they would be underground. The best way to know this is to observe when the growth of the plant saturates. It would take about five to six months for the plant to mature and be ready for harvest,” Vinayak says.
He also says that to use garlic leaves, the cloves need to be separated, and the flat bottom needs to go inside the soil again. “The clove is to be completely buried under the layered soil. Once the shoots start growing, they can be cut as required,” he says.
The gardener says the same method can be applied to plant spring onions and use it either way (the bulb, or the leaves).
Curry leaves
“Planting curry leaves is easy, but requires patience,” Vinayak says. He adds, “The seed is bigger, which means there are better chances of germination. To increase these chances, make sure the seed is mature and black. If the seed is green, it’s not ideal for plantation.”
He adds that curry leaves grow best when sown in different paper cups in loose soil. “It will take 10 to 15 days for the seeds to germinate, and once tiny shoots begin growing, the plant can be moved to a bigger pot. Once it grows a few inches, you must move it to a spot with good sunlight,” he tells The Better India.
The urban gardener cautions that it would not be advisable to use the curry leaves in the initial months. “The leaves are the powerhouse of plants to conduct photosynthesis. Hence, the plant should be allowed to grow and mature well before the leaves are used. The ideal way is to observe when the green stem thickens and changes its colour to brown,” he says.
The entire process would take about a year. “However, some portion of the stem could be used if it’s ensured that the majority of the plant is growing. Make sure the leaves are at least a centimetre thick.” he says.
Fenugreek or Methi
Vinayak says Fenugreek is probably one of the easiest plants to grow, and adds that this plant is extremely popular during kids’ workshops. “Fenugreek seeds provide instant results. They only take a day or two to germinate,” he says, adding that an interesting fact is fenugreek serves as both a greeny leafy vegetable as well as microgreens.
For fenugreek to be used as microgreens, the seeds need to be planted close together. “Once they grow a couple of inches, they can be harvested. However, once cut, the same plant will not grow again, and a different one needs to be planted,” Vinayak says.
He adds that fenugreek seeds bear yellow leaves. “Move the plant to expose it to better sunlight, but indirectly. The leaves will turn green in a couple of days, and the plant will be ready to harvest when it is mature,” he says.
The same method is applicable for mustard, he adds.
Bonus tips
Vinayak says a common complaint from fellow urban gardening enthusiasts is the growth of fungus during the germination process. “As there is plenty of moisture and water, it becomes an ideal ground for fungus and bacteria to grow. However, if the seeds are well spaced out, and provided good ventilation, the issue will not arise,” he says.
Another advice he offers is to ensure the seeds remain in shade during the germination and initial growth process. “Germination and growth require a lot of water and moisture in the soil. The plants consume large amounts of water. Exposing them to the sun will accelerate the evaporation process and increase the need for water. Hence, exposure to direct sunlight would not help,” Vinayak says.
In 2015, Chintan Shah purchased a 10-acre land for organic farming in Deva Pura village in Gujarat. The only problem was that the land was barren, and Chintan had no agricultural experience. However, by 2020, not only had Chintan made the land fertile but he now also grows large amounts of ginger, turmeric and wheat — which are all unconventional crops in the traditional tobacco belt of the state.
After completing his MBA degree from Mumbai in 2011, the 33-year-old joined his family’s textile business. However, this venture did not interest him for too long, and Chintan decided to try farming.
“The textile business did not flourish as expected, so I decided to experiment with organic farming, considering its increasing demand in the market. My younger brother, Parth, is pursuing agriculture from the Netherlands, and told me he would help me connect with other farmers in the sector,” Chintan says. With Parth’s help, he spoke to organic farmers on the phone, and would sometimes visit them, or join social media groups to absorb as much information as he could.
He joined organic farming groups to gain technical expertise and a better understanding of the method. However, despite all the help he was receiving, Chintan’s efforts to make his land suitable for agriculture were not easy. “I spent a year getting 7.5 acres of the land levelled, which took longer than I expected. There were 20-foot tall hillocks and equally deep pits across the land. Moreover, in the process, whatever was remaining of the fertile layer of the soil for farming was also buried,” he says.
An arduous journey
Turmeric powder
Chintan says he used a lot of cow dung, organic manure, jeevamrut and compost to increase soil fertility. He started by growing bananas, vegetables, millets and turmeric, but with little success.
“Tobacco, vegetables, rice and millets dominate agriculture in the area,” he says, adding, “Some farmers doubted that bananas would grow, but I succeeded in my efforts, and reached an average produce of 25 kg. Millet and vegetables production did not meet my expectations, but growing something gave me confidence.”
After two years of experimenting with and successfully growing turmeric, Chintan decided to also produce ginger and wheat. But the process took long, as he, as well as the labourers on his farm, had no professional organic farming experience. The labourers doubted if growing new crops using organic methods would work in the region. “Using so much organic matter in the soil enables weeds to grow. Using herbicides and chemicals is not allowed in organic farming. So we worked for four months to create manure compost, which reduced the weeds by 60%,” he says.
He adds, “I made many mistakes, which caused me financial troubles at times, but I learned the process. By 2019, I could produce 1 tonne of turmeric, 300 kilos of ginger, and 2.5 tonnes of wheat.”
To market his produce, Chintan distributed free samples of turmeric and ginger to potential customers. “Without a certification in organic farming, it was difficult to convince them. To overcome this, I made small ziplock pouches as samples to send to close friends and relatives. I requested them to buy the product if they liked it. Now, they’re getting me new customers,” he tells The Better India.
‘A long way to go’
Ginger and turmeric powder sold by the brand name Radhey Krishna Farm
With the increase in customers, Chintan has created his brand, ‘Radhey Krishna Farm’, to promote turmeric. The farmer says that in the last two years, he has sold his produce in cities like Anand, Vadodara, Surat and Mumbai. “Most of the farm produce was sold. Customers prefer to buy small amounts, as against the traditional psyche of buying in bulk for a year. Some new customers also wish to simply sample the product, and so some stock needs to be available at all times,” he says.
The venture earns him Rs 7 lakh a year, but Chintan says a lot more work has to be done before he starts churning more profits.
“I am in the process of getting certified as an organic farmer,” he says, adding, “The fertility of the soil also needs to improve, and the remaining land requires levelling. I yield 1 tonne of turmeric, as against the average of 3.5 tonnes. I need to achieve this level of production to make profits. For now, I have only been able to cover expenses and earn a decent livelihood. But I’m far from making the venture more profitable.”
Chintan adds that he’s also thinking of adding value to his wheat and selling it at a better price. “I have planted medicinal plants around the periphery of the farm to control pests and promote biodiversity. I hope the birds feed on pests and insects to protect my farm, and that in the coming years, the medicinal plants fetch me additional income,” he says.
He adds that around five farmers in the area have taken inspiration from him and started growing turmeric as well. “I advise them on how to go about it, in the same way I learned from other organic farmers. But I do not want to buy from them and market the produce under my name. I want them to be independent and create their own brands,” he says.
“It’s difficult for a farmer to grow his produce and market it while competing with established players in the market,” Chintan says, and adds, “But farmers need to learn how to do it.”
We are in the middle of winter — arguably the best season to grow the healthiest leafy vegetables and herbs. And according to a Delhi startup, coriander, fenugreek, and even garlic, are possible to grow in a small tray in your balcony, right under the winter sun.
Vinayak Garg, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, founded the Lazy Gardener to provide easy solutions for urban gardeners. Speaking with The Better India, he provides simple tips and tricks to grow healthy herbs at home. The startup lists five “must-have” herbs in your garden, so a variety of flavours for your food can be within hands reach.
Coriander
“Coriander seeds usually take about a month to germinate. To reduce this time period and increase the success rate, an easy method can be followed,” Vinayak says.
The first is to split the seeds in two parts. “Remember to not crush them. Soak the seeds in water overnight, and then plant them in a loose layer of soil. Keep the soil moist by spraying or sprinkling water,” he adds.
Vinayak says it will take 14 days for the seeds to germinate. “Do not give up if the seeds show a slight delay in germination. This could be mainly because of less moisture in the air due to winters. Keep watering the tray/pot, and soon, sprouts will start appearing,” he says.
The coriander plant can continue to be harvested till it starts flowering. “Once the plants start bearing flowers, the taste will change, and it is time to change the plant,” Vinayak adds.
Basil
Vinayak says the aforementioned method can be applied for basil seeds as well. “However, you do not need to split the seeds in this case. Make sure they’re covered, and the soil is moist. Germination starts within a week or ten days,” he adds.
He says the only thing to be careful about with the plant is its density. “Unlike coriander, which bears thin stems, basil grows one thick stock with leaves sprouting from it. Hence, the plants should have a couple of inches of distance between them. One way to ensure this is by removing the unhealthy seeds once the healthier ones start growing,” he explains.
Vinayak recommends that once the leaves start to grow, the plant should be moved to a brighter area, but not be exposed to direct sunlight. The holy basil and thai basil can both be grown using the same method. The plants will continue to regenerate under optimal conditions.
Garlic
Garlic
“The simplest way to grow the herb is by submerging the seeds in water kept in a flat-bottomed container,” Vinayak says.
He adds that once the shoot starts growing, the container should be placed in the soil. “However, it is difficult to ascertain when the plant has grown cloves, as they would be underground. The best way to know this is to observe when the growth of the plant saturates. It would take about five to six months for the plant to mature and be ready for harvest,” Vinayak says.
He also says that to use garlic leaves, the cloves need to be separated, and the flat bottom needs to go inside the soil again. “The clove is to be completely buried under the layered soil. Once the shoots start growing, they can be cut as required,” he says.
The gardener says the same method can be applied to plant spring onions and use it either way (the bulb, or the leaves).
Curry leaves
“Planting curry leaves is easy, but requires patience,” Vinayak says. He adds, “The seed is bigger, which means there are better chances of germination. To increase these chances, make sure the seed is mature and black. If the seed is green, it’s not ideal for plantation.”
He adds that curry leaves grow best when sown in different paper cups in loose soil. “It will take 10 to 15 days for the seeds to germinate, and once tiny shoots begin growing, the plant can be moved to a bigger pot. Once it grows a few inches, you must move it to a spot with good sunlight,” he tells The Better India.
The urban gardener cautions that it would not be advisable to use the curry leaves in the initial months. “The leaves are the powerhouse of plants to conduct photosynthesis. Hence, the plant should be allowed to grow and mature well before the leaves are used. The ideal way is to observe when the green stem thickens and changes its colour to brown,” he says.
The entire process would take about a year. “However, some portion of the stem could be used if it’s ensured that the majority of the plant is growing. Make sure the leaves are at least a centimetre thick.” he says.
Fenugreek or Methi
Vinayak says Fenugreek is probably one of the easiest plants to grow, and adds that this plant is extremely popular during kids’ workshops. “Fenugreek seeds provide instant results. They only take a day or two to germinate,” he says, adding that an interesting fact is fenugreek serves as both a greeny leafy vegetable as well as microgreens.
For fenugreek to be used as microgreens, the seeds need to be planted close together. “Once they grow a couple of inches, they can be harvested. However, once cut, the same plant will not grow again, and a different one needs to be planted,” Vinayak says.
He adds that fenugreek seeds bear yellow leaves. “Move the plant to expose it to better sunlight, but indirectly. The leaves will turn green in a couple of days, and the plant will be ready to harvest when it is mature,” he says.
The same method is applicable for mustard, he adds.
Bonus tips
Watch the video to grow mustard microgreens?
Vinayak says a common complaint from fellow urban gardening enthusiasts is the growth of fungus during the germination process. “As there is plenty of moisture and water, it becomes an ideal ground for fungus and bacteria to grow. However, if the seeds are well spaced out, and provided good ventilation, the issue will not arise,” he says.
Another advice he offers is to ensure the seeds remain in shade during the germination and initial growth process. “Germination and growth require a lot of water and moisture in the soil. The plants consume large amounts of water. Exposing them to the sun will accelerate the evaporation process and increase the need for water. Hence, exposure to direct sunlight would not help,” Vinayak says.
Growing plants in your own space not only improves air quality but also has a calming effect on the human mind. Sakshi Bharadwaj, a 25-year-old resident of Bhopal, took this advice to heart and created a ‘mini jungle’ behind her house that houses 4,000 plants of 450 species. What’s more? There are 150 species of these plants of exotic varieties and they are all grown in a vertical set up, using hollowed-out coconut shells, recycled bottles and cans.
“Gardening is in my genes,” says Sakshi, adding that she studied microbiology owing to her love for nature.
“In 2019, I started working as an assistant professor of Agriculture at Mansarovar Global University. I developed a special interest in growing plants because I was teaching students about concepts like propagation and understanding plant genetics, and I wanted to make sure I always spoke from experience. So, before teaching a concept, I would try out the concept at home,” she says.
She would graft branches from trees and raise saplings, or purchase flowering plants and propagate new saplings from them. Apart from that, she would also experiment with making bio-enzymes using citrus peels and making vermicompost by feeding worms only medicinal plants such as neem or papaya leaves.
Sakshi Bharadwaj’s garden.
Growing exotic varieties
Early in 2020, while looking through social media, Sakshi stumbled upon an urban gardening community where users were discussing exotic plants such as Monsteras and Philodendrons that they were growing at home.
“I was shocked at the variety of plants others were growing, and at that time, my garden seemed so small because I was growing simple plants like hibiscus and roses. So, I reached out to a few of them and placed orders for snake plants, some Monsteras, Philodendrons, and Begonias,” says Sakshi.
But she did not stop there. She planted them in cement pots purchased from nurseries, added organic potting mix and vermicompost. She would water them regularly and watch them flourish.
“I decided to plant them in cement pots even though I have a garden-space around my house. The ground has several red ants crawling, and they destroy plants. I tried several organic methods to get rid of them, it was always a failure,” says Sakshi.
Though the plants were growing well in cement pots, Sakshi had the nagging thought that stopped her from buying more pots to propagate her plants. That is when she decided to go eco-friendly.
“I drink coconut water every day. I thought — why not propagate new saplings into the coconut shell? The husk would be a great solution for water retention and the medium was sturdy enough to never break,” says Sakshi.
Several exotic plants growing in cement pots, coconut shells, water bottles and cans.
Creating a vertical garden
To put her plan to action, Sakshi picked out coconut shells, cleaned them thoroughly and let them dry. She created two holes at the top of the shell, fitted metal wires and ropes to hang them against the wall. To support the ropes, with the help of carpenters, Sakshi had nails drilled into the wall. Finally, she filled the shell with organic potting mix, vermicompost, and kitchen compost and placed the saplings within.
Coconut shells made into hanging planters.
“It took a few days to clean the shell, and propagate the saplings. But, till date, all the plants continue to grow and I keep propagating new ones. The plants have no pest issues, and the coconut shells are a natural source of nutrition for the plants. Now, my garden has more than 4000 plants. There are 450 different species of plants and 150 of them are exotic, including some from the family of Philodendrons, Monstera, Begonias, Calathea, Palms, Peperomia, Ficus, Epipremnum, Sansevieria, Chlorophytum, Aglaonema among others,” says Sakshi adding that she also planted exotic saplings into recycled plastic bottles and cans.
Sakshi’s favourite plants in her garden are the Monstera Adamsonai because that was the first rare plant she grew, and the Philodendron dragon, an exotic species that she got from Indonesia.
To make the recycled planters look attractive, Sakshi spent every Sunday during the lockdown painting them in different colours using water-resistant paint.
Apart from recycled plastic containers, she also used plastic covers including milk packets as polybags to propagate seedlings. In the future, Sakshi hopes to run a nursery that specialises in distributing exotic species of plants.
If you wish to know more about Sakshi’s garden or purchase exotic plant saplings from her, you can reach out to her via her Instagram page.
To set an example of how organic farming can be done easily from home, a retired couple from Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district has set up a mini forest on their rooftop. Madhubalan and his wife, R R Suseela, who both worked with the agriculture department, grow over a 100 plants in a 1,500 square foot area and have trained over 100 families in organic farming in their neighbourhood.
“While working as an agricultural officer, I had the opportunity to visit many houses and fields where farmers carry out cultivation. However, I noticed that only a few of them could take up cultivation near their homes, owing to a lack of space. This made me think of how cultivating on rooftops might be a better bet, because many houses have one, and it may help those who don’t have much land at their disposal,” Madhubalan tells The Better India.
In 2011, Madhubalan discussed this idea with his wife. Over the next few days, the couple came up with a plan, keeping in mind things to ensure before opting for a rooftop garden.
‘A one-time investment’
The 62-year-old says the first and most important step is to waterproof the garden to prevent water from seeping into homes below. For this, he and Suseela opted for a solution which accounts for expansion under physical or thermal movements of the building, without compromising on the durability and protection. Next, they installed a water storage tank in the garden, because carrying a bucket of water to the roof every day was not feasible in the long run. Then, they collected seeds, manure, and grow bags, which they bought from trustworthy organisations and other farmers in their village.
“A roof garden is a one-time investment. We invested Rs 10,000 almost 10 years ago and started with planting 20 crops of fenugreek, coriander, and a few other greens. Now, we have many fresh fruits and vegetables growing here, including tomato, chilli, brinjal, bitter gourd, pumpkin, lady’s finger, banana, guava, and pomegranate. We also grow shoe flowers and roses, and small trees such as drumsticks and neem,” 58- year-old Suseela tells The Better India.
In 2016, Madhubalan retired as Assistant Director of Agriculture, and Suseela retired in 2019 as Joint Director of Agriculture. Even before retirement, the couple spent time taking care of their garden both before they left for work and after they returned home. After they retired, they found even more time to do so and began experimenting with growing plants such as tea, various kinds of herbs, and aloe vera.
Madhubalan says he opted for organic farming because it has a host of benefits. “Not only does it ensure fresh produce, but also benefits the environment in numerous ways, and helps strengthen the health of the soil. I believe the more biodiversity there is on a farm, the more stable it is,” he says.
Suseela and Madhubalan use farmyard manure, vermicompost, neem cake and pungam cakes as manure. They also use coconut coir, which plays a key role in providing an ideal growing environment to the plants. It also helps fast-draining soils hold onto water a little bit longer.
Let’s learn agriculture!
As their mini jungle grew further, it caught the eye of villagers in the Vennampatti housing community in Dharmapuri. A few began visiting the couple’s garden to find out more — Madhubalan and Suseela were more than happy to invite them in. They now give free classes on how to start gardening and provide tips on where to buy grow bags from, and why drip irrigation is better, among other things. Till date, the couple has taught over 100 families in their village how to grow an organic garden on their rooftops.
Ashokan K, a villager from Dharmapuri, says, “I began noticing the plants on Madhubalan’s terrace garden two years ago, and contacted him to ask if I can visit. I was surprised to see hundreds of plants on the rooftop. Inspired, I collected some flower seeds and now, I grow shoe flowers and roses myself. But I had many doubts about how to go around cultivation, and Madhubalan helped me out. He told me about things I should keep in mind, and shared a few tips on how to grow plants at home.”
Madhubalan says some of the produce grown in his garden is kept for himself, and the rest he distributes to neighbours. “While we can earn money by selling the products in the market, we wish to share them with our neighbours and make new friends instead,” he says.
Mohan Das, another villager of the area, says, “I’d received some vegetables from Madhubalan back in 2015. I was impressed by their freshness and taste and visited his garden to know more. He, and his wife, helped me understand how easy it is to cultivate crops on rooftops, and taught me more about organic farming. They gave me tips on how to set up planting containers, prepare the soil, and plant vegetables, as well as how to keep the crops healthy with organic pest control.”
On Madhubalan’s Facebook page, Vivasayam karkalam – விவசாயம் கற்கலாம், (Let’s Learn Agriculture) he posts pictures of his produce and shares their various benefits and tips on how to care for the plants. This led to his followers requesting he start online classes to educate more people on the methods of terrace gardening.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Madhubalan and his wife gave free classes to over 1,000 people. “We feel happy when our students send us pictures and videos of their own rooftop gardens. Some homemakers also make a decent income from selling their produce, and hearing that makes us very proud,” Madhubalan says.
The couple also has a website, which aims to help farmers and newbies learn about more terrace gardening.
Today, most of the food we consume is grown using chemical fertilisers, and has been sprayed with toxic pesticides, which can adversely impact health. While the effects might not be immediate, they will definitely show up at some point in time. In 1985, Jayant Barve, then 42 years old, began manufacturing and selling this poison. He even won accolades and awards for high sales.
A graduate of physics, Jayant came with the experience of having served in CSIR-NCL (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Chemical Laboratory), and taught students at the University of Pune. Having been in the field of science for years, the man knew exactly what went into these pesticides and fertilizers, and their potential hazards to human life.
The entrepreneur was happy with high sales. “I went on well for a year, and advised farmers on what kind of chemical fertilisers and pesticides they should use for their crops,” he says.
Pricking the conscience
Jayant in his organic Chikoo farm.
One day, when a farmer came to his store with a harsh demand, Jayant’s perspective changed. “The farmer had been growing grapes, and complained that crows had damaged the crop. They ate the fruit, and the juice spilled onto other ones, ruining the remaining crop. He asked for a solution that would kill the crow when he consumed the grapes,” Jayant tells The Better India.
Once a crow dies of food poisoning, the other crows sense the food is unsafe and avoid consuming it. “I was shocked to hear the strange demand. I realised a strong chemical with the potential to kill a bird would have equally harmful effects on humans. Moreover, he told me the grapes were due for harvest in a week. So the effect of the pesticides would still be strong,” he says.
The entrepreneur denied this request. But the incident changed his approach altogether. Over the next few years, Jayant, now 77 years old, diverted his knowledge to creating organic manure to replace chemical fertilisers used in farms. Now, along with different states in India, the organic fertiliser is a hit in even Kenya and Namibia, and earns him Rs 10 crore a year. Though Jayant’s conscience changed overnight, it took almost three decades to bring a positive transformation in the mindsets of farmers.
To begin with, Jayant decided to experiment with organic farming on his barren ancestral land. “I had never grown a crop in my life, but knew about organic growing methods through experts in Pune. I could only be convinced my product would work after I had experimented and was sure the method was efficient,” he says.
Jayant decided to grow grapes organically. He read books, met experts in Pune, attended seminars and workshops, and started practising vermicompost methods. The technique started yielding results, and the quality of soil improved. “I conducted a soil analysis every six months to check the bacterial content, changes in microbes, and other elements like the proportion of potassium and carbon, which are responsible for giving better characteristics to the soil. I learned that raw waste was the best solution to add fertility to the soil,” he says.
Experiments in the backyard
Organic fertiliser prepared in the factory.
Jayant says the method allowed for the waste to decompose within the soil and, in the process, added nutrition. The strength of the land improved. Along with grapes, he started growing pomegranate, chikoo, mango and banana, among others. He also shut the pesticide business in 1991.
He wondered if he could make further additions to the composting method to increase soil fertility. “I wanted to create a product that could potentially replace chemical fertilisers. I started introducing other agriculture waste for the purpose,” he says. He added residue from fodder, oil cakes, turmeric peels, tobacco, peanuts, flowers, holy basil and animal waste, along with the vegetable waste.
Jayant says he set up an in-house lab for research and to ensure a scientific approach to the purpose. He shortlisted about 15 organic ingredients that could be added to make the manure. “After nine years of trials, research, and successful results from the 30-acre farm, I achieved the desired product. The organic manure was rich in nutrients, improved the texture of the soil, increased its water-holding capacity, had good moisture content, and allowed microbes to do their job,” he adds.
Citing an example, he says, “Introducing the chemical-based product urea allows microbes to attract 43 per cent nitrogen from the air. But with my product, 73 per cent of the nitrogen could be absorbed. The microbes were able to conduct carbon sequestration and increase oxygen levels in the soil efficiently.”
Ahead of its time
Jayant then started Nature Care Fertilizers in 1997 to offer organic manure. However, the entrepreneur realised his work put him way ahead of his time. “We were offering a product for which the market was not ready. Farmers trusted chemicals. The company ran in losses until 2006. But I believed in my product, and conducted meetings, sessions and awareness programmes to convince them,” he adds.
The product was successfully tried and used by farmers from the drought-prone regions of Latur, Osmanabad and Jalna. Gradually, awareness increased, and more farmers began buying the product. The organic manure became popular, as it also reduced crop production cost by 20-25 per cent. The resultant soil, which is of better quality, reduced the amount of water and electricity required to irrigate the land by 60 per cent.
At present, the company produces 60 tonnes of organic manure every day, as well as bio-pesticides made from neem, karanj, and other natural products. These products are bought by farmers across Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and the fertilisers are also in demand in South African countries and Taiwan.
Jayant continues to spread awareness about chemical-free products. He sells organic vegetables and fruits to markets under the brand ‘21 Organic’. “I am also experimenting with organic sugarcane crops to process jaggery, and have received a certification of organic sugarcane. My plan is to produce jaggery for the market,” he adds.
In recent times, Jayant has taken a backseat and handed over the business to his son. “I want to farm and grow vegetables. I continue to be involved in R&D, but my son takes care of the sales and marketing aspect,” he adds.
Kirti Bhave Khashu, an urban gardener from Pune, has been growing vegetables on raised beds since 2012. Raised beds are enclosed structures constructed with wooden stone, concrete, or bricks, with a pile of soil or compost inside. They have multiple advantages, such as maintaining the soil’s pH-value, better draining of the water, assisting aeration, and reducing risk of weeds and infections in plants. And, of course, they look beautiful.
Making raised beds is easy, and one only needs to use simple items within their vicinity. In a conversation with The Better India, Kirti shares three easy steps on how to make one.
Find the perfect location
Before beginning, ascertaining the location of the beds is important, as unlike pots, they are not movable. Kirti suggests setting up the bed in a place that receives at least 5-6 hours of sunlight is ideal.
After identifying the spot, it is important to ensure the roof does not leak because of the soil and moisture spread in the area. “You don’t want the water to seep through the gaps. There is no need to worry if the roof has been applied with waterproofing agents,” she says. But if not, she suggests the simplest way to take care of it is by spreading a 50-micron plastic sheet in the area.
Source the material locally
“Now, place the bricks along the sides, with dimensions of about 4×2 feet. This size makes it easy to manage the space without the need to bend or struggle to attend to the plants,” Kirti explains, adding, “Bricks are easy to find at a construction site nearby. I bought some from the locality.”
Once the bricks are set up, place broken sticks, twigs and bagasse (sugarcane waste) to make the bottom layer for the bed. “Bagasse can be accessed from a farmer or at a traditional dairy farm. The dry decomposable biomass allows the bottom area to remain aerated and allow excess water to drain out easily,” she says. Kirti recommends topping the bottom layer with dry leaves or organic waste.
Soilless mixture
She says the third layer involves adding a mixture of cow dung, kitchen waste, compost and other organic material from the vicinity. “It is okay to use soil, but I do not prefer it in the mixture as it makes the structure heavy. The soilless medium increases the capacity of the bed to carry organic waste. Adding jeevamrut (a mixture of cow dung, cow urine, water, gram flour and jaggery fermented for 2-3 days) at this step is a good practice, and can further enhance the fertility of the compost mixture,” she says.
Kirti suggests forming a 4-inch layer of compost at the top. The compost layer helps plants germinate and maintain a firm grip. She advises to let the mixture settle inside the structure for the next 48 hours. “Ideally, the compost would be ready for use after three weeks. But using it in a couple of days for sowing the seeds also works fine,” she adds. Over the next few weeks, the mixture will reduce by 1/3rd, as the leaves and other organic matters decompose. Kirti suggests refilling the mix by adding dry leaves and flowers.
Aftercare
Raised beds work best to grow leafy vegetables, herbs and flowers. “It can also be used as a composter. I have multiple beds, and I use them alternatively to make compost and grow food on it,” Kirti says.
On how to care for the beds, she says, “Using a plastic sheet for the raised bed can attract snails. It is best to surround the bed with a sour-based solution (like lime or salty liquids) to protect it,” she says. Another important step is to avoid putting cooked food inside the compost. “The cooked food will attract unwanted pests, insects and even rats,” she warns.
“It is likely that many insects and worms become visible on the raised bed. But they are all good, and there is nothing to worry about with the plants or compost. It is because of the microbial activity, and they all indicate a healthy ecosystem,” Kirti adds.
For any queries, Kirti can be contacted on kirtianay@gmail.com.
In 2013, Shamshad Zakir Hussain Mulla (44) and her husband Zakir (45) were facing a crisis. The traditional farmers, from Navsari in Gujarat, were being asked to leave their home by Shamshad’s in-laws due to a family misunderstanding. This meant the couple and their children had to move into the half-acre ancestral land that Zakir owned. The family built a house on a patch of the land, and used the remaining portion to begin farming.
Over the next few years, they came to realise that conventional farming methods were not fetching adequate income for the six-member family to survive. Shamshad and Zakir began thinking of other ways. “We were traditional farmers who grew vegetables and sold them in the market. But at times, we ended up buying vegetables because the produce was so little. We needed a way out,” Zakir says.
Shamshad had been producing and selling gulkand, made from rose petals. “We had two plants of the desi variety of rose, and I’d been making edible items for my children since 2014. I asked Zakir if we could turn it into a business,” she says.
The couple turned to horticulture and began processing the rose into edible items. They make gulkand, rose water, and face packs from the rose, which is grown using organic methods. Their income has since increased, and they earn over Rs 25,000 a month.
A step into the unknown
Rose petals are solar dried
Shamshad says she was unsure if the homemade product held much commercial value. “We didn’t know the actual method, nor its scientific health benefits. Zakir approached a family doctor, who said gulkand helps treat stomach inflammation, soreness, ulcers and digestion problems, and is good for pregnant women,” she says, adding that Shamshad thought if the product was successful, it could benefit the health of the masses.
Zakir approached the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and sought advice from the agriculture department. “I took a sample of the gulkand to the officer-in-charge and asked if it had the potential to be accepted in the market. The officer felt positively about it, and suggested we undergo training with the farmer’s department in growing rose plants organically, making compost ,and producing gulkand using natural methods. He also agreed to market the product through the government department on our behalf,” he adds.
The couple also learned that no other farmer was producing gulkand in the region, which would make it a unique prospect and thus increase the possibility of success. They underwent a month-long training programme to learn the techniques and sought the necessary certifications.
Through sincere efforts
Zakir and Shamshad bought 1,000 rose plants of desi varieties and started growing them. “Rose plants demand less water, but regular pruning and care. It took more efforts to maintain these plants, as compared to vegetables. There was no produce in the first year as we focussed on growing the plants until they matured,” he adds.
Zakir says that desi varieties have smaller leaves, but produce a larger quantity of roses. The couple solar dried the rose petals and used khadi shakkar or misri (sugar candy) to make the gulkand. “It is much healthier than normal sugar. We also make it in steel vessels and avoid aluminium for health reasons. It takes about three months to prepare a 1 kilo batch organically – including the harvesting, solar drying, mixing with sugar candy, and leaving it to form gulkand naturally. We packaged it by name Organic Shama Gulkand and gave it to the Krishi Vigyan Kendra to sell at Rs 400 a kilo, and it became a hit,” he adds.
Gaurang Bhagat from Mumbai, associated with NGOs, says he tried the product and liked it. “We are also trying to collaborate with NGOs and market the organic product,” he says.
Zakir says, “We have also started growing aloe vera and other medicinal plants in the gaps between these rose plants. The plan is to make hair oil out of them,” he adds.
Shamshad says she is glad to have taken the risk. “I was confident we would be successful, provided we put in all the hard work. The business has become profitable, but true happiness comes when customers call and praise us,” she adds.
To order gulkand, Zakir can be contacted on 9904232588.
In 1992, Sanjeev Singh was arguably one of the only farmers growing mushrooms in Punjab. At 25, the Tanda village farmer began his journey from his backyard. He says his inspiration came from Mera Pind Mera Kisan, a programme on farmers telecast on Doordarshan, a government news channel. He was in college at the time.
Determined to try his hands at growing this lucrative crop, he dedicated a year to research and exploring the potential market, as well as the methods used to grow the crop. “I enrolled in a year-long course on mushroom farming at Punjab Agricultural University. I learned it was possible to grow mushrooms indoor vertically, and in bags. The crop does not require any soil, but organic compost, which is an easy solution,” he says.
Sanjeev, now 54, was not aware of any person practicing mushroom farming at the time, which added to the challenge of having to experiment and learn all by himself. At the time, there was also a general lack of awareness about mushrooms. The spawns (seeds) were unavailable locally, and needed to be procured from Delhi.
A scientific approach
The farmer began growing mushrooms seasonally, which helped him earn additional income alongside conventional farming. For eight years, he struggled with growing good quality mushrooms and establishing a stable market.
“In 2001, I started growing them methodically. I built a concrete room and installed metal racks over six layers. Bags filled with compost were then stacked on top. It was in a controlled environment. The organic compost contains the same amount of nitrogen as Urea,” he tells The Better India, adding that he set up his compost unit to reduce the cost of purchases.
Sanjeev also set up a laboratory in 2008 to grow spawns for mushrooms and sell them. Over the years, his facility expanded to a 1,500-sq ft area, equivalent to 2-acre land.
Earning more from less
Sanjeev says his seeds and products began reaching places like Jammu, Jalandhar, Haryana, Himachal, and other neighbouring states. Over the years, his production has increased to harvesting about seven quintals of mushroom a day, and he now earns Rs 1.25 crore a year.
He says the reason behind his success has been the lucrative market for mushrooms. “Mushrooms have a high market potential. The pressure of having limited space on land to grow food is increasing. Vertical farming, used for growing mushrooms, can help save that space. I also earn more — Rs 1 crore from two acres of land. It would have taken about 200 acres of land to earn the same amount of money through conventional farming,” he adds.
He says that in 2015, he was awarded by the state government for his progressive farming practices. He earned the title of the ‘Mushroom King of Punjab’ by locals.
Sanjeev says mushrooms can be grown through the year and are not vulnerable to harsh weather conditions. “Such innovative solutions will help to reduce stress on soil and help farmers earn a better living,” he adds.
Like many others, Varanasi-based Ramesh Mishra was faced with the possibility of losing his job as a resource manager at a private school, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As cases grew exponentially and a lockdown was imposed, he found himself grappling with uncertainty surrounding his job. He began looking for other opportunities, but with India’s plunging economy, found nothing substantial.
So Ramesh quit his job and turned to something entirely different from what he had been doing earlier — strawberry farming. He joined hands with Madan Mohan Tiwari, a friend who was also going through financial problems.
Together, the duo began cultivating on a 2-acre land in August last year. Interestingly, neither had any prior experience in the field, and learned from scratch by experimenting multiple times before they could get a decent yield. Now, their average yield is about 500 grams per plant, and they have a total of 15,000 trees on their farm. One kilo of strawberry is sold at an average of Rs 200. Currently, Ramesh and Madan are in the final leg of their first cropping cycle, and by the end of it, they hope to earn a revenue of more than Rs 5,00,000. In other words, their monthly income stands at over a lakh.
On-ground experience
Speaking to The Better India about how he began his journey, Ramesh says that after none of his efforts to find a job took shape, he began looking at the internet for answers. He searched for professions that needed less investment, experience and knowledge.
“Farming popped up multiple times, but I did not know anything about it. So I narrowed my search down, and found that strawberries are easy to grow. They thrive in cool climates and the best time to harvest is between October and February. Varanasi’s weather was suitable for it,” Ramesh says.
Armed with all the information required to cultivate strawberries, Ramesh also underwent a one-week workshop in Pune. Internet search results told him that there are many farmers in Pune who grow the fruit. He contacted one of them on social media to learn the technical aspects of the process.
Shedding light on the workshop, Ramesh says, “Learning on-ground was much better than through YouTube videos. I learned about water conservation methods such as drip irrigation, and about soil conditions, types of seeds, and sunlight requirements, among other things. If you are a beginner, I’d highly recommend visiting a farm to see how the process works. Farming is complicated, but you can learn it offline quicker.”
Using their savings, Ramesh and Madan invested a capital of around Rs 9,00,000, which they hope to recover in one year. Expenses included procuring saplings, installing a drip irrigation system and tank, procuring mulching paper, and covering labour cost.
Dos and don’ts
They leased a 2-acre plot, and ordered 15,000 strawberry saplings (each priced at Rs 15) from various farmers in Pune. The two friends cleaned, ploughed and levelled the land to attain the appropriate soil structure. They raised the soil bed and covered it with mulching bags. Finally, a drip irrigation system was installed, which reduced water consumption by 40 per cent. The duo strictly adheres to organic methods of growing produce, and uses jeevamrutham as manure for the plants.
They have planted the fruit in a zig-zag format, with each plant at a distance of 1×1 feet, which saves space and allows maximum plantation in minimal space.
Explaining the ‘dos and don’ts’ of the process, Madan says, “Raised beds ensure there is no water stagnation. Keep the soil free of weed roots, and ensure they have enough drainage holes at the bottom. Set plants into the soil, ensuring that each crown (where the leaves emerge) sits just above the surface. Give water directly to roots and their surrounding area. Mulch after planting to avoid water evaporation. Do not cut, and instead, pick strawberries when they are bright red, ideally during the warmest part of the day, which is when they are at their tastiest.”
As for maintenance, watering the crop regularly is essential when the fruit is forming, and the plants require 6-8 hours of sunlight. Avoid using excessive fertiliser, or else there will be more leaf growth and less flowering, says Ramesh.
Post this cycle, they will plant muskmelon, which will give a yield by June. Between July and August, they will clear the field, rejuvenate the soil, and then plant strawberries again.
Like in Ramesh’s case, farming is now a growing phenomenon among several urban dwellers, who are using smart technologies and organic methods, proving that this profession can be viable if done right.
In the state of Uttar Pradesh, lies the ancient city of Meerut, lined with buildings that date back to the Indus Valley era. Amidst the bustling city you will find Sana Khan, the owner of SJ Organics, practising vermicomposting, a method that may be as old as the buildings themselves. Sana, an engineer by education, was fascinated by earthworms after taking part in a college project on vermicomposting, which led her to set up her own business.
Sana had always dreamed of becoming a doctor but when she couldn’t clear the medical entrance exams she joined IMS Engineering College in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to pursue her BTech. During her fourth year at college she had to work on a vermicomposting project prior to which she had no knowledge of the practice.
As Sana began to see the multiple benefits of this method and realised its limited practical application by farmers, she decided to implement her ongoing project on the field. “During the project I became fascinated with and attached to the worms and thought — why not implement this project on a large scale. I started breeding these worms and began commercialising this product,” says Sana.
Vermicomposting is a process of preparing enriched compost with the use of earthworms. Earthworms consume biomass and excrete it in digested form called worm casts, which has been termed as ‘black gold’ due to its nutrient rich properties. Earthworms live upto three years and rapidly reproduce making the process sustainable and cheap. Apart from its growing importance as an integral component of the organic farming system, vermicomposting is also regarded as clean, sustainable and a zero-waste approach as microbes assist earthworms in waste degradation on a large scale.
She adds, “We have interfered in the natural system by adding chemical fertilizers and pesticides that have an adverse effect on our health. However using organic products compliments the natural way of things rather than altering it which is healthy for both the soil and for us.”
A Very Dairy Compost
Initially, when Sana decided to start vermicomposting she was faced with a multitude of challenges. When Sana informed her family of her plans they tried to persuade her against it, as they had no background in agriculture and she had no formal training. Her mother tried to persuade her to take up a corporate job at an MNC, however she eventually found support from her father, a tailor by profession, and her brother.
“My father told me if I wanted to start my own venture I should do it and see where it goes in a year or two. My father always wanted me to pursue whatever I was passionate about, no matter what,” says Sana.
Vermicompost made at SJ Organics
In 2014, at the age of 23, Sana started SJ Organics with the help of her brother, Junaid Khan who helped finance the business. When she started the business, Sana had tied up with dairy owners directly to source the waste generated at their units for a unique method of vermicomposting. However, that business model didn’t work out.
Sana then began employing contractors to bring in the dairy and biodegradable household waste—that they source from the Ghaziabad and Meerut area—to the Government Inter College where she is running a vermicomposting site. This waste is then immediately fed to the red earthworms, a particular type of worm that is highly efficient, that Sana uses for her vermicomposting. The entire process of converting the organic matter into vermicompost takes about a month and a half.
After this, the compost is sieved and enriched with cow urine which acts as a natural pesticide and fertiliser. Each batch of vermicompost is lab tested to meet certification standards and then packaged and marketed. The vermicompost is bought by farmers, retail shops and nurseries. Sometimes farmers bring a soil report and the vermicompost is enriched with additional nutrients as per the soil requirements.
By 2015, Sana started earning profits and began scaling up operations. By 2020, the company received 500 tonnes of waste and produced 150 tonnes of vermicompost per month with an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore. Today, Sana handles production while the marketing side of the business is handled by her brother, Junaid and her husband, Syed Akram Raza.
Taking Vermicompost To The Rest of India
“I had to travel to villages to train farmers in organic farming methods. But the people there would often wonder who I was and not take me seriously,” says Sana about the initial challenges she faced.
Then in 2018, she was featured on the popular show Mann ki Baat hosted by the Prime Minister, for her work as a woman entrepreneur and sustainable initiative that helps farmers in the region. Sana says, “On the 41st episode the PM played a video of me and how vermicompost is made at SJ Organics. Now the farmers take me seriously and are interested in taking up organic farming methods.”
SJ Organics also provides training and consultancy services in setting up low cost infrastructure for vermicomposting. This has set off a chain of employment opportunities. Sana has 10 permanent employees and hires other daily wage workers, providing employment to about 30 people. “We directly help create employment as we hire the thekedaars (contractors) who in turn employ labourers to help load and transport the waste.
At the same time, our training programmes for entrepreneurs help them start their own ventures which further creates employment opportunities for people across the country,” says Sana.
Sana conducting a training programme
Apart from creating employment opportunities SJ Organics has also helped popularise vermicomposting. Across Meerut 104 schools have set up vermicomposting sites under the consultancy of SJ Organics. Sana hopes that by sharing her knowledge of vermicomposting she can help other entrepreneurs popularise organic farming methods not just in Uttar Pradesh but all over India.
Talking about her business plans for the future, Sana says she has recently bought a one acre land in Abdullapur on the outskirts of Meerut where she plans to expand production and also produce new products like vermi wash.
Signing off with a message for women entrepreneurs, Sana says, “There’s a myth that women can only do household work. Women shouldn’t shy away from entering the agriculture industry, there is immense scope and plenty of opportunities. Women can reach any heights they want. It would be a boon for our economy if more women actively enter the agriculture sector.”
In 2017, after a discussion with his friends on the health benefits of vitamin D, farmer and Padma Shri awardee Chintala Venkat Reddy was left with a question that followed him around for some time. If humans could synthesise vitamin D from the sun, why couldn’t plants? Could they in turn be used as a source of vitamin D as well?
“It was reasonable to wonder that if plants can process photosynthesis for survival, why couldn’t they produce vitamin D?” the 70-year-old from Secunderabad, Telangana, tells The Better India.
Vitamin D plays a significant role in the regulation and absorption of phosphorus and calcium in the body. It helps boost immunity and fight depression. Deficiency can cause tiredness, aches, bone and muscle pain and in severe cases, bone fractures. Apart from mushrooms, vitamin D is not found in plants.
Chintala’s answers were in a rice and wheat variety, infused with vitamin D through natural processes. His work has since been published in an international patent publication.
The root of the problem
Chintala’s wheat also has vitamin D in it.
To begin with, Chintala went back to his diary, where he documents all his farming experiments. “I referred to some notes about plants that synthesise vitamin A and C in high proportions. I decided to start by trying with these varieties, because they had the ability to process vitamins,” he says.
The farmer then created three sample beds or rice and wheat to try out different techniques on them. “On the first bed, I put a mixture of ghee, cheese, eggs, milk and other animal-based sources of vitamin D. I hoped the plants would absorb said nutrients. The other bed had a solution made from vitamin D tablets. And the third contained a paste of carrot, sweet potato and maize floor,” he says.
Apart from these, Chintala also experimented with different combinations of plants for two years before he saw tangible results. “I realised the boiled and mashed mixture of sweet potato, maize flour and carrot had helped the plant to convert vitamin A into vitamin D. The beds with animal-based nutrition and tablets did not yield any results,” he says.
Will share the formula
Chintala has frequent visitors taking lessons of his unique farming techniques.
“In 2018-2019, I tested the sample of wheat to find 1,606 international units (IU) of vitamin D. The second year, it had increased to 1,803 IU. The basmati rice showed 136 IU in 2019 and 287 IU in 2021,” he says.
Chintala took the samples to Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University and government officials, who tested them in different soil conditions. “The results tallied with slight variations. But they all showed a presence of vitamin D,” Chintala says, adding that he immediately rushed to file an international patent with WIPO in 2019, and received approval in August 2020.
Chintala says this new variety of rice can help address malnutrition issues in India and other countries such as Africa. “I am ready to sign an MoU to share the technique and formulation so a farmer will be able to grow it. Selling a unique variety of rice and wheat will also help to increase their income,” he adds.
Apart from these recent achievements, Chintala is also known for his organic ‘muddy solution’ to control locusts and other pests from attacking crops. To read his story, click here.
