Go mango picking this summer, after a game of lagori

On May 6, you can visit a farm in Ramanagaram and learn about organic food.
Murthy’s farm in Ramangaram; V K Murthy (inset)
Murthy’s farm in Ramangaram; V K Murthy (inset)

BENGALURU: Spend your Saturday reliving your childhood — picking mangoes, learning about organic farming and enjoying fun, forgotten games. Organised by Samvada’s Baduku Community College, Summer Sambrama will be on May 6 between 2 pm and 8 pm at Murthy’s Farm, Ramangaram.

Baduku Community College offers classes in farming, to make it a sustainable livelihood option, and Summer Sambrama is part of one the courses. The event is to bridge the gap between farmers and consumers, by offering more reasonably priced summer fruits to the consumers and by helping the farmers sell their produce for better profits.

Ramesh Cheemachamalli, one of the organisers, says participants can pick and taste organically grown mangoes besides having a go at traditional games such as Lagori and cyle-tyre racing, and learning about organic farming. The farm has a variety of mangoes including Alphonso, Badami, Raspuri and Totapuri.

Participants will be given special bags and will be allowed to take around 2 kg of mangoes back with them. There will be welcome drinks and dinner, all prepared from organic produce. There will be various stalls selling eco-friendly products and recipe books on the many ways you can cook with mangoes. “The idea is to give people a break from their busy and stressful city lives and help them experience small everyday pleasures,” says Ramesh.

47-year-old farmer VK Murthi  says,“Summer Sambrama helps farmers like me to create an alternative sustainable market and will inspire and attract young farmers of my village towards organic farming... before Baduku, I had used chemical methods for farming without realizing how it affects the environment.”

32-year-old M Nayarana says that he was inspired to try his hand at farming after classes with Baduku. “Their training showed that anyone can be a farmer,” he says.

Tickets for the Summer Sambrama are priced at Rs 500 for adults and Rs 250 for children.

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