An initiative spearheaded jointly by the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), Krishi Bhavan, and a city-based NGO to supply fresh vegetables cultivated in Cherthala to apartments in Kochi has become a grand success, thanks Covid lockdown.
The VFPCK’s Cherthala unit began the initiative three months ago at a smaller scale. The lockdown resulted in vegetables piling up at Cherthala. Simultaneously, there was a shortage of fresh produce in Kochi. Officials of the agencies contacted the Pelican Foundation which, as part of its zero-carbon greening project of medians below Kochi Metro viaduct, was engaged in the management of biodegradable waste generated from apartments complexes and other residential areas.
Initially, most residents were purchasing small quantities of vegetables. They began placing orders for large quantities on coming to know that the vegetables remained fresh for a couple of days even if they were not refrigerated, VFPCK sources said.
The increase in demand has resulted in the NGO transporting over 600 kg of vegetables twice a week to five apartments complexes in Kochi.
“The demand is rising so much so that we have also begun supplying chopped and value-added vegetables. It is a win-win situation for both the farmer who gets a fair price for his produce and the customer who gets fresh and reasonably-priced vegetables on his doorstep,” said Rosmy George, agricultural officer, Krishi Bhavan, Cherthala.
New style of life
The team work has helped farmers and also created a novel farm-to-user market sans middlemen, said C.N. Manoj of Pelican Foundation, which arranged transportation and manpower.
“We were waiting for this trigger and this has enabled package free, safe-to-eat food. We arranged for transport and manpower, and also did something very unusual. We unloaded the vegetables in each apartment and left. Volunteers from among apartment residents weigh the vegetables, distribute them to households, collect money and pay VFPCK,” he said.
“The idea came from a discussion with an office-bearer of Link Valley Residents Association, which along with our NGO pioneered a package-free grocery store a few years ago. That fetched Link Valley the first green protocol certificate from the Suchitwa Mission. The new avatar was called Honext Store, a blend of honest and generation-next store,” he said.
“The joint initiative has already seen sales crossing over ₹60,000 in a month. We are now planning to add package-free turmeric, coriander, chilly, rice, wheat powder etc., so that multi-layer packaging, a menace created by the packaging industry, can be reduced. There is no other solution to waste management, other than reduction. The lifestyle of convenience is over. Living with responsibility is the new style of life,” he added.