When he is not busy in the cool comforts of his office, Sunilraj goes out on a date with Nature. And that takes just a walk behind his house at Kachani, to the one-and-a-half acres of land on which he has done wonders.
A Technical Officer at Information Kerala Mission, this computer personnel has taken to farming on his plot, cultivating everything from grains, fruits and vegetables, inspiring many to follow in his steps.
This Chingam 1, Karakulam panchayat and the Krishi Bhavan there honoured Sunil for his farming experiments. But four years back, when he started off, Sunilraj had his reservations. He had gone the traditional way, employing more hands on the paddy field and burning his fingers. Later, he took to mechanised farming, bought a garden-tiller and sought outside help only at the time of planting saplings and harvest.
Apart from the 25 cents he has reserved for paddy cultivation, his plot has plantain and vegetable cultivation on 25 cents, cattle and honey bees, vermicompost and biogas plants and is a complete treat to watch. Sunil supplies cucumber to five shops in the area. His family, consisting of his parents and wife, have not had to buy rice from outside for two years now. Above all is the pure bliss that he gets from all the toil on the land.
‘’My grandfather and, later, my father did farming, but then the land remained unused for years. My childhood had the smell of grains and dried straw and I really missed it after a point,’’ Sunil says.
He used to reach the farm early in the morning, before going to office, and after returning from work. Later, he bought a garden-tiller from the Agro-Industries Corporation with a subsidy from Krishi Bhavan and ventured into it more confidently.
Right now, Sunil has 60 kilos of black gram stored in the attic and more than 100 kilos of rice, enough to last a year. ‘’I only have weekends, public holidays and my non-working hours to spare for farming. Still, if I can do it, many others can. It just needs a taste for Nature, for its goodness, for fresh food and willingness to put in hard labour,’’ he says.
Sunil’s wife Sreepriya is an office staff in a school and whole-heartedly supports her husband. Their happiness doubles when children from nearby houses drop in to see paddy, the cows or the bees. And flood them with questions. For them, it is a life worth living.
Comments
0 comment