Kalpetta: Pure vegetables from jungle villages

Kalpetta(Wayanad): The natives of jungle village Chekkadi near Pulpally, predominantly Adivasis, believe they have a solution for the endless struggle of urban populace to have "unpoisoned" vegetables.

The 22 families here are on a cultivation initiative namely Harithakudumbam targeting customers living in housing complexes and flats in urban and semi-urban areas. Jungles surround the village nestled on the banks of River Kabini bordering Karnataka.

Started with fifty grow bags for each of ten families with seeds of ladies’ finger, tomato, chilly and brinjal, the collective now aims at increasing the number of items as well as to expand the project to other jungle villages.

Ajayakumar Chekkadi who is leading the initiative said the idea struck when the villagers came across news reports on the struggle of people in urban areas for vegetables not overexposed to pesticides.

“We have been practising safe farming methods without using pesticides and weedicides for generations, and we also ensure maximum use of organic manure,” he told DC.

"So we decided to start it on a commercial basis with the help of Service Co-operative Bank, Pulppalli. This year, being the first stage, we will sell in resorts and housing complexes in Wayanad and after fine-tuning the marketing network, we will explore the market in Kozhikode and other cities.”

The bank provided Rs 10,000 per acre interest-free loans to all farmers. The distribution would begin on October 2, the Gandhi Jayanthi day.

“We prefer only jungle villages for the project as the air, water and soil would be comparatively better here than other zones,” he said.