Chilla the children’s home at Karakulam will soon be surrounded by lush green landscape with various types of veggies vying for attention curtsey the NSS volunteers of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram. The engineering students will don the farmer’s cap as part of their winter camp which began on Monday and will conclude on Saturday. Through the camp, the students want to promote healthy living and lifestyle while helping acquire funds for the children’s home through the sale of the organic veggies that will be grown on the plot.
“The suggestion for organic farming came from Chilla and we decided to chip in with the labour part. We will also play a part in the marketing since we have gained experience in cultivation and sales of vegetables back at our the college. The faculty at the college buys our produce. After the camp, we plan to rope in Kudumbashree workers to monitor the maintenance of the farm,” says Deepa P Gopinath, NSS programme officer of CET.
Around 50 CETians are in the ‘Farmers’ Club’. Before beginning the cultivation, a soil sample was tested at the college. Since it was found that the soil is slightly acidic, farming is being done over a lime mixed coir pith to neutralise the effect and to retain moisture content of the soil. The entire home is spread across 50 cents of land in two-plots and one of these have been selected for farming. Organic farming is one of the three sustainable projects being implemented by Chilla in the 2015-16 financial year.
“We have selected organic farming, aqua-culture, generation and marketing of eco-friendly products as part of our projects for sustainability. The profit will be utilised for the welfare of the inmates along with providing income for the financially backward mothers of the children,” said Anil Arjunan, director of Chilla.