Mrs. Vimala
Mrs. Vimala, is a homemaker and a member of ‘Shreya’ Self Help Group at Maradiyur village (a small agrarian village in Mysore District of Karnataka State) used to help her husband in the farm. They have only one acre of land and used to grow vegetables and yam for them. Her perspective on farming totally changed after attending a training on Organic farming, and vermi compost preparation organised by CDEW Society, Bangalore.
She started cultivating vegetables using organic manure on a trial basis in their land. The harvest was good. She calculated the amount spent for the cultivation and found that is very less comparing to chemical farming they practiced before. Yet she realised the quality of the product and the benefit in the future with healthy food and better profit.
She shared her insights during the SHG meeting. As an outcome of this discussion with the encouraging support of the sisters they decided to lease out 4 acres of agricultural land. They started group farming and cultivated Tapioca, Ginger, Banana, Vegetables and Yams. The harvest was excellent and the net profit too. Thus, they became the ambassadors and educators of organic farming in the village. As a result, people in Maradiyur have become more health conscious, started cultivating needed vegetables for their food which reduced their market dependency and ensure food sufficiency during the pandemic period and increasing demand for organic products.
Interest and zeal can lead one to success in any field. Mrs. Vimala stands out as testimony to this statement. She has proved that immense interest coupled with the attitude to - accept new things and tendency to go for experimentation can do wonders!