For this #worldenvironmentday
We bring to you the story of a local paddy farm - where our single origin, organically grown, freshly boiled and small-batch milled Uma, Jyoti, Ponmani red rice all come from.
VithuEriyarathu
On Vishu morning, April 14th the team at Sadasivan's paddy farm, led by Kannan, started dry sowing for the season. While all of us made our VishuSadyas, the farmers were sowing the seeds for harvesting a future sadya. Normally in paddy farming transplanting is the preferred mode of planting. This involves preparing a nursery bed to sow the seeds and once they are sprouted these are transplanted (nadeel) into the fields between 20- 30 days of age. This helps to have even spacing between seedlings (allowing for easier weeding) and also prevents mixing up due to seeds from the previous season appearing uninvited in the fields. Transplanting is a highly skilled job and physically demanding. In summer when the advent of rain is unpredictable, many farmers prefer to do dry sowing, called "Varavithueriyarathu" in Malayalam rather than create a nursery and then transplant the seedlings. The seeds are scattered by expert farmers and then incorporated into the soil with the tractor.
Sadasivan, a good friend and whose family owns the farms, mentions that the farmers broadcast so evenly that the plants sprout at regular intervals... The seeds lie dormant in the soil till the moisture of the first summer showers touch them, sprouting and growing. The amount of wisdom, planning, skill and science that goes into paddy farming is a true wonder to behold!
#biobasics #organicfood #paddy #rice #paddyfarming #ricefarming #farmersofindia #grainoflife #riceislife #passionforpaddy #organic
IrunjuTharakkarathu
Which colloquially means "to pluck and plant". This is a process where the seedlings from the fields that have excess plants are plucked and planted in the fields that have low germination.
The lockdown had not come into effect when the Vishu sowing happened... but by 'irinjutharaikarathu' time they were right in the middle of the lockdown. During the lockdown when all other avenues of income generation were closed this organic farm was able to support about 90-100 workers! Providing income to that many families in the village and keeping paddy cultivation alive in the face of odds. The effort that goes into paddy farming is already herculean but our farmers have now the additional responsibility of being safe in a pandemic!
Sadasivan (whose family owns the farm) informed the local health dept. (local bodies are efficient in the Kerala context) who visited & check the farm...The farm workers were all educated about masking, working safely.
This #worldenvironmentday, here is a reminder to consistently support these organic farms - Farms that contribute to countless livelihoods. To sustenance of eco-friendly agriculture. And to conserving the precious water sinks of the region!
While we wait for the virus to become less aggressive, locked down in our homes - these beautiful, verdant fields in fertile palakkad carry on...with the help of the bountiful south west monsoons and the indefatigable effort of our farmers
If you are looking to try our fabled Uma red rice from these farms, click here !
All these beautiful photos are clicked by the son of Kannan, the lead farmer. He left the city during the first lockdown and has started working in the farm full time!
#biobasics #organicfood #ricepaddy
#paddy #passionforpaddy #grainoflife #ricefarming #farmersofindia #rice #redrice
