How a School Campus was Turned Into an Organic Farm, Yielding 40kg Of Fruits & Veggies

When individuals had been confined to their homes through the lockdown, many turned to farming or organising their kitchen or terrace backyard, to kill their boredom or ‘be productive’. It was the identical for Suseela Santhosh, director of Vishwa Vidyapeeth college in Bengaluru.

She noticed a chance within the vacant campus that when bustled with youngsters and turned it inexperienced by organising an natural farm with the assistance of the educating and the non-teaching employees.

“The pandemic modified a number of issues. The courses had been moved on-line and with out youngsters, lots of our non-teaching employees like canteen staff, bus drivers, ayahs (helpers) and cleaners had been left with no work and as they didn’t have their routine jobs,” Suseela tells The Higher India.

She provides, “We had a small setup of an natural farm within the college, which we determined to increase. That method the employees can be occupied and we’d have developed a bountiful farm. A few of them had been accustomed to farming and others put within the effort to study.”

Aside from the non-teaching employees, Suseela says that the academics had been additionally excited to be part of the initiative. “We’re all collectively on this. So, we determined to proceed this initiative even after the lockdown was lifted. Now we develop a number of greens in rotation, as per the seasons. We develop fruits like papayas, bananas, and we additionally preserve a backyard with over 40 herbs,” she provides.

The natural farm spreads throughout the campus. It occupies the massive kitchen terrace of the college, the yard and the empty areas between the buildings. In addition they arrange compost pits turning the useless leaves into manure. “We additionally used the harvested rainwater and the greywater from the kitchen for farming. Moreover, a water channel contained in the campus was used to develop over 200 banana crops,” says Suseela.

The varsity has over 1,400 college students from nursery to increased secondary courses. As part of their meals programme, they distribute free meals to their college students and all employees members.

Commercial

Suseela says, “The farm now produces roughly round 35-40 kg produce per 30 days. That is used within the college kitchen itself. We make meals for the kids and the employees and supply them with breakfast and lunch on the campus. The remainder of the meals is being distributed to the close by residences and amongst a few of our employees,” she explains.

“Earlier than reopening the college, we used our produce to cook dinner meals and distribute it among the many working employees. However finally, the phrase unfold and we began getting requests to provide meals for COVID sufferers in isolation. So we began distributing it to them at nominal costs. We additionally provided free meals to a number of NGOs and frontline staff,” she provides.

The youngsters who got here again to high school after the lockdown had been launched to this inexperienced initiative and are very a lot a part of it. “That is now a part of our curriculum. We’re involving all our college students within the farming actions in order that they can even develop a form of accountability and can aspire to be self-sufficient,” she says.

“Colleges shouldn’t be a spot the place we ship data solely by means of textbooks. We should always put together them to face any form of adversities and mold them in such a method that they are going to adapt to any scenario. I really feel this initiative will inculcate such values in them,” concludes Suseela with. a smile.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)