Sikar

In a village where water is scarce and the land is unforgiving, Sundaram Verma found a way to grow trees using only one litre of water per plant. His simple method has helped over 60,000 trees survive drought — and inspired farmers across India to rethink how change takes root.

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

Innovation is a term which is rarely associated with vegetables, fruits or spices. Interestingly, there are scores of unlettered farmers who have been ingenious enough to develop crop varieties, which besides being high-yielding, are pest-resistant and can be grown in a non-traditional environment.

This small village in Sikar district of Rajasthan is known as the village of martyrs. And it has found the perfect way of honouring them!