KALABURAGI: Lush vegetation, the chirping of birds, snakes and insects in every shape and colour --- that’s what you will find when you visit Kavita Sandal Farm. Located in Manvi taluk of Raichur district, there is a sense of calm that prevails at this farm, but life here is anything but slow.
Kavita Mishra, sandalwood cultivator and progressive farmer, who owns this farm, has turned the patch into a lucrative business. After doing her MA in Psychology and getting a Diploma in Computer Science, she dreamt of joining the IT sector. However, her husband Umashankar refused to let her move out of the village to work as the family would look down on it. Though Kavita got an offer from Infosys, Umashankar told her to develop eight acres of the 45 acres he owned.
Instead of getting disheartened, Kavita decided to take this up as a challenge. She sold the jewellery her parents gave her to convert the eight acres into an organic farm. She learnt the lay of the land, and spoke to experts on how to make a business out of cultivation. Initially, she grew fruits and horticulture crops. However, the turning point financially was when she started growing sandalwood and fruit-bearing trees, bringing her lakhs of rupees each month.
One thing Kavita was sure of was that she didn’t want to depend on chemical fertilizers. With the help of the workers on her farm, Kavita made organic fertilizer with cow urine and sheep dung. A total of 10 women and two men work at the farm, while several others have been provided with employment. Kavita has been lauded for her environmental-friendly ways, as well as for empowering the poor farmers of the region. Hundreds of birds call this farm home, resting on the numerous trees there.
The birds, along with snakes, help keep insects and rats away instead of pesticides. Kavita has given instructions to workers and visitors that the birds and snakes not be disturbed. “The snakes do not harm us as long as we do not disturb them,” Kavita says. After years of efforts, Kavita has become one of the most successful sandalwood cultivators in the country, and provides saplings all over India.
She has also entered into an agreement with KSDL (Karnataka Soaps and Detergent Limited) to supply sandalwood and red sander. Currently, there are 2,100 sandalwood trees, 1,500 pomegranate trees, 90 mango trees, 300 lemon trees, 800 guava trees, 150 gooseberry trees, 150 drumstick plants, 100 curry leaf plants, 100 jasmine plants, 100 coconut trees and 100 custard apple trees at the farm.
Other plants grown there include sweet lime, sapota, banana, coffee, pepper and turmeric. To learn about her ways, visitors come to the farm on Sundays, and Kavita interacts with them. Visitors even come from other districts and states.
Keeping thieves out
One of the biggest challenges in sandalwood cultivation is theft. Smugglers are constantly looking for ways to break into plantations. Recently, the Institute of Wood Science and Technology developed a microchip that can be inserted into these trees. “We can monitor the trees from anywhere in the world with this chip. I have also adopted eight guard dogs to keep miscreants out,” Kavitha says.
Reaping the awards
For implementing the integrated farming system, Kavita has won several awards. These include, ‘Best Farmer Award’ from UAS Raichur (2013); ‘Gold Award’ from ICRISAT (2014); ‘Kisan Jyoti Award’ from Shivashakti Peetha Ilkal (2015); ‘National Innovative Farmer’ (2016); ‘Best Horticulture Farmer Award’. She has also been recently nominated syndicate member at the Veterinary University, Bidar.