farmer

Of all his techniques, it was bamboo staking that brought his work to the limelight.

Satara's Popat Lokhande also collects waste from 12 companies and 27 restaurants. And the best part? He distributes the manure made from this waste to farmers for free!

Today, spread on a 2.5-acre plot lies a five-layered model economically-viable and sustainable farm, the fruit of Akash's labour.

"The reasons why the farmers were resorting to suicide seemed like issues that could be addressed – some spoke of not having money to educate their children while for some it was the lack of money for their daughter's marriage."

“As consumers, we are not often aware of our purchase decisions and their impact on farmers and workers down the production chain. If we were aware of the ground realities, then we would not take a decision knowingly to support exploitative production methods.”

Bhavya grows palak (spinach), methi (fenugreek), coriander and amaranthus, month-on-month in rotation, and harvests close to 400 kgs every month. All these vegetables are grown using organic methods.

The couple started cutting the grafts from their trees for new saplings and started ‘Shekhawati Krishi farm and Nursery’ in 2013.

Fondly known as Ramettan, Cheruvayal Raman has spent almost all his life cultivating paddy through organic practices, like the generations before him.

To understand the existing agricultural practices in Israeli farms, he travelled the length and breadth of Israel, right from the north of the sea of Galilee crossing the Dead Sea to the South for 10 days with his friend, Abner Chin. Pindoria came across several farms and kibbutz.

Natura Farms, the brainchild of 30-year-old Navdeep Golecha, is an innovative farm with 12,500 Pomegranate, 7500 Papaya and 200 Lemon plants.