A Green Venture at “Chiguru”

Recently a social media notification about an event in “Chiguru Farms” grabbed my attention. This was a farm visit with lots of knowledge sharing talks and activities, it seemed to be unique for me. I and my husband had grown up in agriculture-based families of coastal Karnataka and we are quite interested in organic farming and home gardening. So, since it was an opportunity to learn more about it, without a second thought we decided to be there.

On the Sunday of mid – January, which was also the previous day of Makara Sankranti/Pongal(harvest festival), early morning when Bangalore was warmly set inside the blankets, we drove towards the Chiguru farm. The roads were filled with slight fog and the wind was cool, which made the drive so refreshing.

Set in Doddur village of Kanakpur tehsil, which is close to Tamilnadu-Karnataka border and around 65 km away from Bangalore, “Chiguru Farms” is a lush green 25 acres land where only organic crops(mainly fruits) are grown, which is run by Mr. Raghavendra Bhat(Raghu).

After the drive of around one and half hours from Bangalore city, we reached green crowned Chiguru farms. Hordes of silver oak and teak trees welcome you on both sides of the pathway with the breeze.          

The farmhouse visit was organized by Mr. Raghu and Ms. Kavya of “A Green Venture” eco-enterprise startup who were already geared up for the day with all enthusiasm and a warm welcome for the visitors. They offered hot coffee and a fresh breakfast tasted just yummy! The wholesome breakfast included the lentils and the veggies freshly harvested from their farm itself! Yeah! And that was the secret behind those healthy and fresh flavors of organic nature in the food.

Along with the co-visitors, we started the farm tour, which was escorted by Raghu and Kavya. They are so passionate about their work and they make you enjoy each bit of the visit. As Kavya started explaining the life of honeybees on the farm, we got to know that those honeybees are grown for the purpose of pollination, rather than any commercial reasons. The life of the green farm lies upon these bees, ants, earthworms, and resident animals like cows, goats, sheeps etc.

Kavya

Raghu

We visited a section of the farm where coconut trees and lemon plants are grown alternatively in lines. This practice, called intercropping can especially be beneficial when the two plants interact in a way that increases one or both of the plant’s fitness explained Kavya. She explained further that the plants themselves protect the goodness of soil.

The hard work behind the conversion of a chemical farm which was there in prior to the establishment of Chiguru farm was much appreciable. Raghu had planned and worked to bring back the souls of the soil back to it, like how agriculturists would have done centuries ago. As they informed about that lengthy process of three to four years, it made us admire their commitment and love towards nature. The results of that work were obvious! They succeeded in making that land organically productive. The land is now cocooned with mango, jackfruit, coconut, areca nut, lemon, lentils, Chikoo, papaya, guavas, litchi, orange,  figs, pomegranate, rose apples and many more fruits which you have likely never heard/seen before!

We had an excellent event of picking lemons from the farm. The lemons smelled so fresh flavored, which I had never seen before in any lemons previously I got from the market. Hands smelled lemon for so long, after picking those lovely large fresh lemons.

We were taken into the banana plantations, introduced a lot of things about it. Next to that were Mango fields. It was really nice to see tiniest mangoes of this season which looked like just born babies. Next to that was another section of land with included trees of Litchi, Pomegranate, Sapota, Orange, Bread-fruit, guava and even figs. I was really surprised to see purple guavas along with the other varieties! It was also pleasing to see figs grown in the trees and we picked the ripe ones.

Meanwhile, the resident animals like sheep, goats cows also accompanied us during the visit, which indeed entertained a lot. Kids in the group had real fun with a one-month-old lamb which was running here and there.

Next was the much awaited and interesting event! We were taken for a thoroughgoing visit to the farm in a tractor. That was pure fun!

They also introduced a lot of rural games to us and it was a very unique experience playing them. I could recall a lot of games which I used to play during my childhood. Literally, it took me to my childhood.

There was a juice break, where we were given fresh lime juice and farm grown organic bananas. Must say, that was the best lemon juice that I have ever tasted.  Lemonade costing hundreds of bucks in star hotels will never be able to replace the fresh, refreshing drink that we had there. The well ripe varieties of bananas grown with love and care in the healthy soil were just delicious!

After the juice break, we were taken into the fields of areca nut and also Bangalore’s staple food Avarekayi, Thogarikai, moong dal etc. There were also rose apple trees which were brimming with hundreds of tender rose apples and more flowers ready to produce more and more rose apples. Introducing every crop there, Kavya and Raghu explained the techniques to test the level of goodness of veggies, that we never knew before.

Apart from plantations visit and games, the program included details about organic pest control. They showed various ways of pest-traps done without any sprays on the crops. The pest control ideas included some techniques using solar energy.

We got to see that the animals contribute a lot towards keeping the soil wholesome and make the best harvest possible. They used natural manure from cows and goats and “Panchagavya” solution for a healthy soil. Panchagavya is the combination of cow urine, dung, curd, ghee, and milk. As the obvious results of it, we could see that soil produced the tastiest Avarekayis.

Earthworm based composting was shown and explained. The fragrance of the soil from there was so natural and pleasant. I just loved holding that soil and smelling it.

After these learning and fun time, we had a great traditional Pongal Lunch which included the various dishes made using grains and vegetables grown in Chiguru. The traditional plantain leaf meal with sweet and Khara Pongal, Ragi Ball, Thogarikayi curry, rice, farm-grown lemon pickle, dill leaves fritters, bhindi raita, the curd was all Yummilicious! That was a filling and healthy lunch containing different portions of essential nutrients.

After spending the Sunday well in “Chiguru“, we returned back with a great level of satisfaction by spending farmers’ festival Pongal in a meaningful way 🙂