editorialteam
New Member
Urban couple turned organic farmers 30 years ago near Mysore, Bangalore
“My wife always wanted to farm so I followed her dream and came here. Besides, both of us never wanted to do 9-5 job. So in 1986 in our early twenties we bid adieu to city life and turned farmers by choice,” says Mr. Vivek Cariappa, Founder, Kracadawna Organic Farm. “We were not in favour of using chemicals in any form in our farm. We wanted to follow the nature as it was created hence consciously we adopted natural farming practices in our farm. In addition we wanted to rely less on the outside world therefore slowly and gradually we added as many as practically viable elements of integrated farming,” shares Ms. Julie Cariappa.
In the beginning Kracadawna Organic Farm was 13 acres but now acreage has increased to 40 acres. It is located at Heggadadevana Kote, 50 km from Mysore, Karnataka. The farm is managed by Cariappa couple along with their daughter-in-law Anjali and two sons, Kabir and Azad.
30 different varieties of crops are grown here such as vegetables, fruits, paddy, spices, cotton, pulses and dye plant indigo etc. Farm also has small units of dairy and poultry. “Waste of the livestock units is used for making compost. Dairy waste is also fed in the bio gas for producing the cooking fuel and the slurry again goes back into the land as manure,” informs Mr. Vivek. The poultry waste is used for making special compost for vegetables.
Poultry waste is excellent source of nutrients for vegetables. “The bedding we put in the poultry unit is paddy husk. When it is removed it has birds’ waste. We make compost out of it that is rich in silica and other nutrients. It is very good for the fast growing crop like vegetables,” he explains. Compost made from farm yard manure boosts the crop growth and enriches the soil.
Natural plant extracts are used for safeguarding the crops from pest and disease spreads such as mix of tobacco plus chili, ginger and garlic, turmeric, cow urine and so on. It varies from plant-plant. “Sometime we leave curd rice in the field overnight to allure the bird for removing the insects and pest from our fields.”
Growing diverse crops in the farm is promising only when few thumb rules are followed such as after harvesting a grain do not sow the grain again instead cultivate legume. Similarly post turmeric harvest oilseed or grain must be grown. “In mixed cropping pattern it is vital to grow crops of different traits and planting material. If one season root is grown then another season put seeds. Also after harvesting the desired produce the left behind plant must be crushed and biomass obtained should be put back into the soil,” highlights Mr. Vivek.
Ms. Julie elaborates with an example, “Paddy is four month crop. One month prior we cultivate jute. It grows about 5-6 feet high and then it is crushed and put back in the soil. Later to which we transplant the paddy. In the 5th month after paddy is harvested we grow some pulses and then next crop with a different grain other than paddy. It could be ragi or bajra.” Soil condition also should be considered simultaneously when planning the cropping pattern.
Other than planning the crop cultivation natural farming practices require detailed farmland management. “We deep plough our farm only once in year or sometimes once in three years. Our entire land is having bund to store every drop of rain proficiently. So we have to work in alliance with the nature so it is lot of work,” he asserts.
Farm produces were initially sold at many exhibitions, organic stores and direct sales. “Group of 10-15 families gives an order to us for our products, we pack and dispatch it at the given address,” she shares. Product details are shared with customers through email or WhatsApp and transaction is made without any middleman or trader. “Now we have also started selling our vegetables and other products to a nearby resort as their management wanted to go organic as far as possible. Besides we produce many value added products of our own produce like jams, jellies and pickles.” These products are sold mostly at the organic stores or to end consumers. Prices are fixed once in six months. “We keep it reasonable as there is no middleman involved and not much packing expenses. Consumers pay only for the items bought and not for any labels,” claims Mr. Vivek.
Indigo is grown in the farm to dye cotton yarn. The cotton is sold to Just Clean Cotton, UK-based producers of organic products. “Few years back we used to even make cotton fabric however at the moment it is outsourced. We have to reduce our value addition activities because of less working hands. People are not used to do manual work now and bias towards the nature of work,” he states.
With no-farming background husband-wife duo learnt everything about growing food from the nature while working on their field. They now share their expertise with others but their selection process is quite fierce. “We are selective because it is a long term association and the resources invested in helping the intern to gain knowledge must be applied on their respective field. That commitment should be visible,” Ms. Julie insists. The minimum period for internship at Kracadawna Organic Farm is 3 months. However one year is recommended.
In future Cariappa couple shall continue to live their life on their terms as they had been since 1986. They are experimenting on few new crops like Chia and red okra rest it remains the same sticking to the laid down rules and principals. They conclude giving a message, “Farmers – don’t do farming just for profits hence don’t risk your sustainability, corporate – share your profits with farmers and don’t suck them dry, organic business – be ethical, agricultural graduates – be with nature and government officials – recognize the farmers’ sustainability and don’t get them addicted to subsidies.”
(As told to Shweta Dhanuka)
Contact details-
Kracadawna Organic Farm
Halasnur Village, Birwal P.O., Mysore, H.D. Kote Taluka, – 571-121, Karnataka.
Phone: 08221 210101
Email: krac_a_dawna@yahoo.com
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Krac-A-Dawna-Organic-Farm-486078618070727/
“My wife always wanted to farm so I followed her dream and came here. Besides, both of us never wanted to do 9-5 job. So in 1986 in our early twenties we bid adieu to city life and turned farmers by choice,” says Mr. Vivek Cariappa, Founder, Kracadawna Organic Farm. “We were not in favour of using chemicals in any form in our farm. We wanted to follow the nature as it was created hence consciously we adopted natural farming practices in our farm. In addition we wanted to rely less on the outside world therefore slowly and gradually we added as many as practically viable elements of integrated farming,” shares Ms. Julie Cariappa.
In the beginning Kracadawna Organic Farm was 13 acres but now acreage has increased to 40 acres. It is located at Heggadadevana Kote, 50 km from Mysore, Karnataka. The farm is managed by Cariappa couple along with their daughter-in-law Anjali and two sons, Kabir and Azad.
30 different varieties of crops are grown here such as vegetables, fruits, paddy, spices, cotton, pulses and dye plant indigo etc. Farm also has small units of dairy and poultry. “Waste of the livestock units is used for making compost. Dairy waste is also fed in the bio gas for producing the cooking fuel and the slurry again goes back into the land as manure,” informs Mr. Vivek. The poultry waste is used for making special compost for vegetables.
Poultry waste is excellent source of nutrients for vegetables. “The bedding we put in the poultry unit is paddy husk. When it is removed it has birds’ waste. We make compost out of it that is rich in silica and other nutrients. It is very good for the fast growing crop like vegetables,” he explains. Compost made from farm yard manure boosts the crop growth and enriches the soil.
Natural plant extracts are used for safeguarding the crops from pest and disease spreads such as mix of tobacco plus chili, ginger and garlic, turmeric, cow urine and so on. It varies from plant-plant. “Sometime we leave curd rice in the field overnight to allure the bird for removing the insects and pest from our fields.”
Growing diverse crops in the farm is promising only when few thumb rules are followed such as after harvesting a grain do not sow the grain again instead cultivate legume. Similarly post turmeric harvest oilseed or grain must be grown. “In mixed cropping pattern it is vital to grow crops of different traits and planting material. If one season root is grown then another season put seeds. Also after harvesting the desired produce the left behind plant must be crushed and biomass obtained should be put back into the soil,” highlights Mr. Vivek.
Ms. Julie elaborates with an example, “Paddy is four month crop. One month prior we cultivate jute. It grows about 5-6 feet high and then it is crushed and put back in the soil. Later to which we transplant the paddy. In the 5th month after paddy is harvested we grow some pulses and then next crop with a different grain other than paddy. It could be ragi or bajra.” Soil condition also should be considered simultaneously when planning the cropping pattern.
Other than planning the crop cultivation natural farming practices require detailed farmland management. “We deep plough our farm only once in year or sometimes once in three years. Our entire land is having bund to store every drop of rain proficiently. So we have to work in alliance with the nature so it is lot of work,” he asserts.
Farm produces were initially sold at many exhibitions, organic stores and direct sales. “Group of 10-15 families gives an order to us for our products, we pack and dispatch it at the given address,” she shares. Product details are shared with customers through email or WhatsApp and transaction is made without any middleman or trader. “Now we have also started selling our vegetables and other products to a nearby resort as their management wanted to go organic as far as possible. Besides we produce many value added products of our own produce like jams, jellies and pickles.” These products are sold mostly at the organic stores or to end consumers. Prices are fixed once in six months. “We keep it reasonable as there is no middleman involved and not much packing expenses. Consumers pay only for the items bought and not for any labels,” claims Mr. Vivek.
Indigo is grown in the farm to dye cotton yarn. The cotton is sold to Just Clean Cotton, UK-based producers of organic products. “Few years back we used to even make cotton fabric however at the moment it is outsourced. We have to reduce our value addition activities because of less working hands. People are not used to do manual work now and bias towards the nature of work,” he states.
With no-farming background husband-wife duo learnt everything about growing food from the nature while working on their field. They now share their expertise with others but their selection process is quite fierce. “We are selective because it is a long term association and the resources invested in helping the intern to gain knowledge must be applied on their respective field. That commitment should be visible,” Ms. Julie insists. The minimum period for internship at Kracadawna Organic Farm is 3 months. However one year is recommended.
In future Cariappa couple shall continue to live their life on their terms as they had been since 1986. They are experimenting on few new crops like Chia and red okra rest it remains the same sticking to the laid down rules and principals. They conclude giving a message, “Farmers – don’t do farming just for profits hence don’t risk your sustainability, corporate – share your profits with farmers and don’t suck them dry, organic business – be ethical, agricultural graduates – be with nature and government officials – recognize the farmers’ sustainability and don’t get them addicted to subsidies.”
(As told to Shweta Dhanuka)
Contact details-
Kracadawna Organic Farm
Halasnur Village, Birwal P.O., Mysore, H.D. Kote Taluka, – 571-121, Karnataka.
Phone: 08221 210101
Email: krac_a_dawna@yahoo.com
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Krac-A-Dawna-Organic-Farm-486078618070727/