Petrichoragri

“Tend the soil as your child,” says young natural farmer

By: R S Ranjeetha Urs — Mon, 15 May 2023 11:58:22 +0000

“Tend the soil as your child,” says young natural farmer

By: R S Ranjeetha Urs

After having worked in the construction field in a career spanning almost two decades with GoodEarth, Jobish Joseph found an exciting new assignment in GoodEarth’s farming initiatives.

Tasked with organizing and setting up the farms in various locations, Jobish has taken to the task quite naturally given his experience as a construction manager.

“Tending to the soil is like caring for an infant. It’s a lot of hard work but at the end of the day, the smile of the earth as she blossoms is worth all the effort,” says Jobish.

Natural farming that started out with a three-acre dry coconut farm at Doddabele in Kengeri, today has grown into several natural farms in Maddur, Sulivara near Doddaladamara, Bangalore and Wayanad.

Jobish not only manages the Doddabele farm but also the 43-acre farm in Maddur where vegetables are grown the natural way about 20 to 25 acres.

Guided by naturalist H Manjunath, Jobish and his small team of youngsters are engaged in transforming degraded land into natural farms.

Two native paddy varieties come alive in Sulivara farm

admin — Mon, 15 May 2023 10:37:29 +0000

Two native paddy varieties come alive in Sulivara farm

**On Aug 6, a team from Petrichor together with interested youths transplanted indigenous Kakisala and Mallikuruva in two acres.**

By: R S Ranjeetha Urs, Published on: Oct 2,2021

Men and women in multi-coloured sarees, with a shirt atop, bent over in rows and planting paddy seedlings with their feet submerged in ankle-deep, slush-filled plots is a sight to behold.

Paddy is transplanted in the months of July and August across the state of Karnataka and several other states in India. After China, India is the largest producer of rice in the world. India, which has been historically known for growing more than a lakh varieties of rice, is today left with nearly 50 varieties, with many on the verge of extinction. To this day rice continues to be the staple food for more than 50 percent of the population in India.

In its pursuit of growing food the natural way and thereby rejuvenating the soil in the process, GoodEarth’s Petrichor Agri Ventures decides to grow paddy in two acres at Sulivara near Doddaladamara, Bangalore.

Thus in a bid to revive rice varieties that have been long forgotten, Petrichor chooses to grow two varieties of rice, Kakisala (Black rice) and Mallikuruva (both indigenous to Wayanad in Kerala) here at the Sulivara farm, one of the four Petrichor’s natural farms. These two indigenous varieties of paddy are long-duration, and take anywhere between 140 to 150 days from the date of sowing.

Kakisala, the Black rice, turns light purple when cooked and is rich in Vitamins. It’s especially good for women suffering from neck and back pain and preferred as soup with pulses and fresh mushroom for children.

While Mallikuruva, the White rice, is native to Wayanad district in Kerala. It is rich in Vitamin B6, Magnesium, trace of Iron and filling especially for the aged and the adults compared to hybrid rice varieties.

On August 6, a team from Petrichor and other interested youth from Gandhian School of Natural farming transplanted paddy under the guidance of naturalist H Manjunath.

Petrichor closely works with Manjunath whose work is guided by holistic design approaches to various aspects of agriculture and the environment.

Transplanting paddy started at around 9.20 am. The 20 days-old paddy seedlings were transplanted with a 20 cm gap between each other in the main field. It took two days to complete the task of transplanting.

In the twenty-member team, except two professional workers the rest were volunteers from the city. The motley group from GoodEarth comprised civil engineers, graduates of Agriculture Science, Geology, Botany and Physics.

While for Balaji, an agriculture science graduate from College of Agriculture, Mandya, and now a part of the Petrichor team, growing paddy has always been a dream. Whereas for his colleague Anushree, a Botany graduate and a native of Kannur district in Kerala, paddy transplantation has been an indispensable part of her childhood memories. Having grown up seeing paddy fields in front of her home, she relived memories of transplanting paddy seedlings during her NSS days in the college.

Yet what fascinated Aastha, a BA Political Science student from Surat in Gujarat, now a volunteer at Gandhian School of Natural Farming, Tumkur, is the intense labour that goes behind growing rice, our staple food.

“A day spent transplanting paddy made me realise the effort that goes into growing rice. If only I was exposed to agriculture as a kid, I would have developed a more grateful attitude towards food and our farmers,” says Aastha.

Bunches of paddy seedlings are dipped in buttermilk and Trichoderma solution to control diseases.

Paddy seedlings with their tips clipped and treated in buttermilk and Trichoderma solution are ready to be transplanted. Team from Petrichor together with volunteers from Gandhian School of Natural Farming transplant paddy. For many it was the first experience of getting muddied in the field and thus a memory they would cherish.

Petrichor, thus, by growing native varieties of paddy is not only reviving traditional paddy cultivation but also bringing large tracts of land under the ambit of natural farming, healing the soil, strengthening the livelihood of farmers and benefitting the health of the consumers.

Farmer’s resolve turns arid land into model orchards

admin — Mon, 15 May 2023 08:33:19 +0000

Farmer’s resolve turns arid land into model orchards

By: R S Ranjeetha Urs, Published on: Oct 2,2021

Years of labour, advice of agriculture scientists and water experts too failed to revive Raveesh’s areca nut and coconut orchards at Doddahosur in Tumakuru district, Karnataka.

As many as 23 dried up borewells in the orchards stand as a testimony to Raveesh’s innumerable attempts at reviving his orchards.

Determined to find a path to turn his land alive, Raveesh continued his search. A chance encounter with naturalist H Manjunath appeared to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Under his guidance, Raveesh ensured the overall soil was moistened than merely water specific plants, through critical drip irrigation. To cut evaporation loss he covered the orchard with areca husk that was widely available as dry mulch.

Not stopping at that Raveesh planted a variety of saplings such as banana, cocoa, sweet potato as cover crop, fruit-bearing saplings such as avocado, guava, custard apple, star fruit, fig, nutmeg, cotton and wild flowering trees at the border. Multi-cropping, a key component of natural farming, not only prevented soil erosion but also boosted soil fertility and crop diversity.

Use of Kunapajala and Panchagavya to enhance soil fertility, and a variety of liquid concoctions prepared from leaves extracted as per Vrikshayurveda for pest management strengthened the soil at Raveesh’s orchards.

Great care in tending the soil resulted in good yield. Today Raveesh’s orchards are model orchards and an inspiration to farmers.

Petrichor buys cocoa, mustard and many more produce from Raveesh, for it is grown the natural way. Hence it is safe. Natural farming does not use chemicals or pollute the environment, it is sustainable.

Petrichor through selling natural produce is being responsible towards both the farmers and the consumers.