Organic farming has generated considerable interest, and efforts are being made to pass on the baton of sustainable living to the next generation. A school in Kerala has cleverly incentivised organic farming, to keep students engaged and make it viable.
The Naipunnya Public School, Thrikkakara, auctioned its produce among teachers and the profits were ploughed back into farming. Francis K A, the principal of the school, told the Times of India that the teacher’s purchases motivated the students to carry on with the practice.
This is the fifth edition of this auction; an event both teachers and students look forward to eagerly. Monday’s auction saw the school raise ₹1,700 for its terrace farming initiative.
The students learnt several things about soil, farming techniques, and the use of fertilisers, according to Daisy Jacob, a schoolteacher, in the Times of India.
Students have practised and benefited from organic farming earlier. In 2016, a group of students of the Government High School, Meenangadi, Wayanad, had produced different varieties of organic vegetables, at affordable rates, for Vishu. The school put up a stall on its premises to sell the produce and sold everything by noon. This school rented a plot of land to carry out this project.
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The two initiatives by the two schools have a common denominator—students used paper grow bags, avoided plastic, and grew vegetables like okra, eggplant, tomatoes, bitter gourd, cauliflowers, cabbage, green chilly and cucumber.
The other common factor is the invaluable lesson of sustainable living, environmental respect, and interest in outdoor activities, for all the enthusiastic students involved.