Fruitful endeavours

KOCHI: Though inevitable and necessary, the technology revolution came with a catch — it moved us farther away from nature and earth. But the pandemic and floods taught Malayalis that this consumer culture we are in won’t last in the phase of disasters, that our children need to, once again, learn where their food comes from.

Many have been moving from corporate jobs to farms in the last year. But, a commendable example comes from St Joseph’s boys’ hostel in Koonammavu, a small town at Kottuvally panchayat near Kochi. The children there worked with the soil to make enough produce that they could even share with the needy. 

The young boys of the hostel, aged between nine and 21, cultivated many fruits and vegetables on the four-acre land near their church. But that wasn’t enough. As the second wave of the pandemic was leaving many of their villagers starving, the kids chose to share their fortune with them.

They set up a kiosk in front of their hostel gate named ‘Ishtapetti’, without a seller or a cashier so anyone who passes by can take a share of the produce for free. If they can afford to drop a small amount or pay the fixed price, they can do so too. The noble cause is being headed by the hostel director Father Sangeeth Joseph of the Varappuzha archdiocese of the Catholic Church.

“Covid had a serious impact on many lives. During this time of distress, I took up this initiative with the boys to be of help to the community. Even before the pandemic, we used to farm, but it was only during the last lockdown that all the 20 boys at our hostel came forward and actively participated in the cultivation,” says Fr Sangeeth. He claims that the idea was inspired by the initiative ‘Capuchin Mess’ set up by Father Bobby Jose in Tripunithura, Kochi, where anyone can get food for free, or by paying any amount they can afford. 

A farm good start!
The initiative was led by 18-year-old Arun Sathyanadhan and 17-year-old Godwin PG. “Around two months back, we started displaying our fruits of labour — ladies finger, brinjal, green beans, banana, pumpkin, spinach and more.

At first, we didn’t put a price on them, but later, we put a jar next to them so people can drop an amount they can afford to,” says Arun. The boys spend one hour in the morning and around three hours in the evening monitoring the farm and maintaining it. “Tasks are divided among all of us. The smaller kids join the older ones to remove weeds, and fertilising the land,” he saysAfter many months they spent working in the soil, these children are now confident they can earn a living by farming. “Not many youngsters are into farming these days. When we did, we were able to develop a sincere connection with the land and that motivated us to do more,” says Arun

The youngsters offer delivery of veggies to people’s doorstep. They also contact people to let them know a certain vegetable or fruit is in stock. S K Shinu, Agriculture assistant at Krishi Bhavan Kottuvally has also been of great help. “When I heard about the activities of the hostel, I joined them and taught them how to develop organic fertilisers,” says Shinu, who is also involved in the Pokkali farming undertaken by the church-run hostel. Fr Sangeeth and his children don’t want to stop farming. The hostel has around 15 to 20 cows, and the boys deliver milk to around 50 houses.