THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was in the early 1990s that the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra (KESNIK), the pioneer in the propagation of cost-effective and environment-friendly construction techniques, kicked off its training programme in horticulture. Nearly a decade down the lane, the KESNIK campus at PTP Nagar is all set to devote a major portion of its 3.65 acre-property to vegetable farming and gardening. On a larger canvas, this initiative is not just an attempt at having a vegetable or flower garden. It has a historical significance as well. “We’ve heard that during the period of the royal family’s rule, this land was leased out to a few families who cultivated vegetables and provided the same to the royal family. It was referred to as ‘Kottaramvaka malakkari thottam’ (vegetable garden belonging to the palace’), according to our gardener. When this land was later taken over by the Revenue Department, these families were given some land here to settle. Even now you find descendants of these families living here in PTP Nagar, but many of them have moved away from this vocation. We feel proud to be recreating the past,” said an official with KESNIK. Nevertheless, there are two opinions on this. While a few maintain that there was a farm house of the royal family at PTP Nagar and there was no vegetable cultivation, according to KESNIK officials, vegetable cultivation was indeed done by the lessee, the descendants of whom still live in and around PTP Nagar. It is to be noted that a portion of the land which belonged to the royal family was given away to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), which later gave a portion of it to KESNIK.Every year, nearly 80 people take training in horticulture alone from KESNIK and the vocational training has helped many who’ve obtained the certificate. “It was during the training of the last two batches that we thought about having a cultivation on our campus. We planted plantain saplings and had a good yield. Even long beans were planted and we had a splendid harvest,” said an official. This was done against the backdrop of the 100-day programme of the UDF government. Twenty people were given 30-day training as part of the programme. Meanwhile, KESNIK has also geared up to make a debut in the forthcoming edition of the annual flower show. “We would like to exhibit roses and have already stocked the varieties which would be taken care of on our campus,” the official said.
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