The best way to learn about best practices in farming is to visit and work at Organic farms. It was a wonderful experience visiting Thulir Farms run by two couples, Kokila & Vicknesh and Anitha & Sathish. The farm is nestled on the edge of Sholayoor forest range in Kerala, very close to the Tamilnadu border.
I witnessed the love and efforts they had invested in the land. This firmed up my belief that a perfect land is what we make it to be. Here are some photos from the farm visit.
The farm is on a hill and hence it’s constantly windy. I saw mangoes strewed all over because of the wind.
The mountain soil was perfectly fit for fruit trees, especially papayas and jackfruit. These two never grows in our farm which has very clayey soil. So, it was a treat to watch them flourish here.
Beautiful view of the Nilgiri forest range from the farm.
Lots of herbs and greens grown. Koki said that nearly 70% of needs are grown within the farm itself. It makes sense for them because, they are so far from any city centre. Their closest town is Anaikatti which is 9 kms away. Watching them grow so much greens in two acres of land put me to shame. At our farm, we grow none of our local needs. The very concept of growing our own food is missing as the focus is solely on mono-culture cash crops. Need to change this slowly at our farm.
The beautiful residence of Anitha and Sathish.
The lovely garden beds created by Koki and her family.
