THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Don’t have the heart to throw away your favourite pair of jeans that have worn out? Then follow in the footsteps of Abhinav P S, a Class 8 student who turned his old jeans into planters to grow vegetables.
With his experiment yielding good results, the boy has earned praise from various quarters. Many curious visitors are arriving at his house at Manakkapady in Karumalloor village of North Paravoor to have a first-hand experience of the new cultivation technique.
This is not his first stint at farming. During Covid, Abhinav grew bananas and tapioca at his home. However, when he found his small savings were insufficient to buy mud pots to plant saplings a month ago, the ‘young farmer’ latched on to the new idea.
“My mother raises hens for eggs, but they destroy my vegetable plants more often than not. Also, our compound easily gets waterlogged. So, we were thinking of a way out and hit upon the idea to use old jeans for cultivation after seeing a video on social media,” says Abhinav, who is ably assisted in his endeavours by his friend Bhiri, a Class 7 student. Both study at the Karumalloor FMCT HSS.
“We planted seeds of tomato, brinjal, lady’s finger, and green chillies in nine jeans. All of them have sprouted. Another five planters have been readied for my brother’s birthday,” a beaming Abhinav says.
So how have they turned the jeans into planters? The boys cut plastic sheets and staple them inside the jeans as a lining. Then, they use two sticks to support the jeans and fill soil and gravel in the two legs of each jeans till they provide a strong base. They keep on adding the soil till they reach the top, before sowing the seeds.
The novel initiative soon caught the attention of their teachers, who gifted them with a memento last Friday.
“My mother shared the pics in WhatsApp groups, including in her Class 10 alumni group. The members called on us, delighted by our efforts. The panchayat ward members then visited. Now people from other places arrive to see the cultivation method,” says Abhinav, son of Sunil P S, a carpenter, and Renuka Sunil, a homemaker.
Jeesan P P, a farmer and the secretary of Karumalloor Service Cooperative Society who visited the latter’s house, is full of praise for the young farmer.
“First, it’s the interest he has shown that has blown me away. He used the jeans technique to solve many hurdles. This idea never hit me,” explains Jeesan, who cultivates rice, bananas and vegetables.
Jeesan and his friends gifted the young farmer with vegetable seeds, manure and a sprayer to encourage the farmer in him. “It was a great experience. Our village is traditionally a paddy-farming region. We’re thrilled by the interest shown by the next generation,” he adds.
The panchayat too is proud of its young farmer and has promised all help to him. “We’ve planned to bestow a special award on Farmer’s Day (Chingam 1), which falls on August 17.
Abhinav hails from a financially struggling family and is facing shortage of land. We’ll lease out land and hand it over, besides providing seeds, manures and other help as required,” said Laiju K M, Manakkapady North ward member.