Towards Organic Agriculture and Healthier Lifestyles!

By 10 am on February 18th, the Profugo house was filled with people from nearby areas. Some of them came walking a long distance. Our first public program on agriculture, a farmer’s training in collaboration with Kerala state agriculture department was being held.

At 10.30 am we started the inaugural session with a prayer song and Program Manager Aneesh welcomed the gathering. Mr. Jose, a ward member, presided over the function. Mr. Alex Mathew, the deputy director of agriculture in Wayanad, did the inauguration.  In his inaugural speech, Mr. Jose appreciated Profugo’s interventions in Prasanthagiri, especially our services towards promoting sustainable agriculture practices. He extended all the support from the Agricultural Department in our future endeavors. He stressed the importance of the community-oriented programs in agriculture.  He explained some of the programs being undertaken by the department and encouraged people to avail the benefits of them.

At 11.30 the first session started. The topic was the importance of Kitchen gardens.  A kitchen garden is a small plot of land in one’s own yard used to grow vegetables and fruit for the families use.  The session was conducted by Mr. Mammootty, the agriculture officer in Vellamunda.  He explained Kerala’s dependency for fresh vegetables on other neighboring states like Tamil Nadu and stressed the importance of having a vegetable garden in the premises of every house.   “Vegetables we use are full of pesticides and we open ourselves up to various diseases. By making our own vegetable gardens in our house premises we are setting a model to the world and uphold the high ideal of self-sufficiency and sustainable living, “ he told.  It was an interactive session so that people could clarify their doubts.

After a delicious lunch served by the Profugo team, the second session on organic farming began. Mr. Johnson a leading organic farmer from the area led the session.  He stressed the necessity of having an eco- friendly life style. He shared his experiences as an organic farmer and taught the participants how to make some organic manures using kitchen waste. At the end of the session the Profugo team distributed seed kits to the participants.

Beyond our expectations, 120 people attended the program.  Taking a leave from their daily work they all came to Profugo to learn more about farming. “It was a very useful program, we learned a lot of things from it. I will attend the next program too,” was feedback we received from Mrs. Molly, one of the participants while leaving for her home.

It seems this program is a good beginning for many agriculture programs that Profugo plans for the future. Although the government is taking various steps and has different projects for the improvement of agriculture, they sometimes don’t reach the people at the grassroots level. Our intervention as an intermediary linking the people to various governmental programs will help the people to redefine their destiny….and have fresh organic vegetables and healthier lifestyles!