When you think of an organic farmer, you would generally picture an old person or someone in their middle age pursuing it. But, this 18-year-old city boy, Arya Pudota has gone against the odds and started naturally grown vegetables and fruits in his own backyard since he was 12-years-old. “My inspiration for this cause is my mother. She was practicing organic farming on a piece of land next to our house. I initially used to help her out in the garden by weeding the garden, watering the plants and harvesting. My interest grew slowly as time went by and I began to take more interest in the garden,” says the 12th grader.
He not only grows veggies in his backyard but also shares his knowledge with the world through Youtube, where Arya uploads videos demonstrating organic farming and waste management. The channel has been very successful in its outreach, having more than 470,000 views and has 30,000 subscribers and been viewed in more than 180 countries. He has also received recognition from the United Nations Environment Program for the activity that he conducted in Cubbon Park. And has been recognized by the Bhuvanagiri Welfare Association for his initiatives in association with them. Last but not the least have also been awarded the first place in Bangalore for Green Apple Day of Service - India Award 2015 by the United States Green Building Council for the contributions he made towards the environment.
But, apart from all this Arya briefs us more about the latest projects that he is working on that helps the grandpa’s and grandma’s to farm effectively. He says, “I have started working on a solution that caters to the old generation. This solution will prioritise ergonomics, ease of use and affordability. We are developing a special raised bed product that senior citizens can use effectively to grow a few vegetables for their home. We expect this product to be completed by the end of summer 2018.”
Apart from farming, he is also passionate about technology. Being a computer science student, Arya is very interested in the latest technological trends and actively follow multiple tech blogs. Though it might be tough to be a Youtube sensation and manage time between work, school and his personal life, he perfectly manages everything well and says, “I wake up early in the morning and study, followed by school. Once I come back from school, I work on the farm for about an hour or so, before returning home to continue studying. It hasn’t been all that difficult. However, I have had to take a sabbatical of sorts from gardening thanks to my upcoming board exams in March. All in all, it hasn’t been too difficult to balance my time between the activities.” In the future, he aspires to combine my efforts on spreading sustainable agriculture with his love of computer science to make a difference in the upcoming field of Computational Sustainability, and he hopes that he can make a positive impact in sustainable food production.
