BENGALURU: Mandya has seen many deaths of debt-ridden farmers. Last year, in a month alone, 16 farmers killed themselves. One set his sugarcane field on fire, and hid himself in the field, waiting for his crop and self to go up in flames.
Neighbouring districts, Bengaluru and Mysuru, occupy a whole different world but its people are lending a hand and their hours to help farmers in Mandya. Through what is called a Sweat Donation Campaign, organised by Organic Mandya, 3,000 Bengalureans and Mysureans have been making trips to farmers’ steads and working in their fields.
“We started this initiative last November,” says Guruprasad Bala from Organic Mandya collective. “The primary intent of this programme is to help our marginal farmers in and around Mandya with free labour from urban people for one day in a month.”
It gives something to the city volunteers too. “It helps them understand what it takes to grow food so that they waste less,” he says. Guruprasad also suggests they can see this as a substitute for their gymming routine.
“Most urban people go to gyms for the weekends to burn extra calories, which is of no use to anyone else,” he says. “But with Sweat Donation, they can achieve the same end and help a needy farmer.”
The programme also aims to bridge the two realities – of a farming community and the urban consumer – by providing a platform to interact. There is a participation fee of `300 per head and entire proceeds are given to the farming community in Mandya and the farmers provide breakfast and lunch to the visitors.
Deepak Begur was in Sydney for the past ten years, working as a team lead in DHL. “I always wanted to do farming,” he says, “and I had heard of the deaths in Mandya. I wanted to understand what was happening.” He and his wife Shilpa went on a weekend and worked for nearly four hours on the fields. “The whole experience was good. Instead of wasting time in malls, we interacted with the farmers and came to know that farming is not an impossible occupation,” says Deepak laughing.
“We have this perception that it is very difficult, but seeing them do all of it without chemicals was encouraging,” he says. A more confident Deepak is finalising on a 4-acre plot near Mysuru and plans to start multi-crop farming. “That is what they do through Organic Farming. The losses on one crop will be compensated by another.”
Veena Manjesh, who is an assistant manager with the accounts department of a private firm, wanted to know how much effort goes into growing the food we consume everyday. “There were many reasons for going on the trip,” she says. “It was meant to be relaxing and educative.” She wanted her 12-year-old son to know, the effort of growing vegetables that children so easily waste.
“We deweeded the fields, sowed ladies finger seeds and put manure for few plants... we started work at 8.30 am and finished at around 2.30,” she says.
Mahadeva, who has been farming in Mandya for the past ten years, says that the volunteers he had over were “very helpful”. “Twenty to twenty-five people, from software engineers to bankers, came and helped out in the farm. A farm hand costs Rs 500 a day, any help the group extended was much appreciated,” he says. His bunch of volunteers learnt of his zero-budget natural farming and helped with deweeding and sowing plants.