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Award-Winning Terrace Farmer Makes His Own Fertiliser Using Waste, Sells 1000...
Five years ago, Payyannur, Kerala, native Dananjayan A V, left his cable operator job to look after his family. With his wife employed and two kids starting school, he found a lot of free time each...
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Architects Use Mud, Straw & Jaggery to Build Eco-Friendly Home That Stays Cool
“If we can create magic by using things that people least value these days, wouldn’t that be wonderful?,” says Architect Manasi, co-founder of Bhoomija creations, in a voice filled with contentment....
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German Teacher Visits Kerala For Yoga, Helps Renovate 22 Govt Schools on Return
The Anganwadi centres operated by the state government aimed to provide adequate food and quality education for children under six years of age but often they lack toilets, have no drinking water...
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‘How I Built an Orchid Collection’: Retd DRDO Scientist With 1500+ Plants...
Gardening was an easy choice as a post-retirement hobby for Viswambharan N K, whose ancestors had been into large scale farming. Even before he retired as a scientist from the Naval Physical and...
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Mom-Daughter Entrepreneur Duo Revive Kerala’s Traditional Coconut Oil Mix
At the age of 18, when I saw my baby niece for the first time I would curiously look at how she would smile with her eyes, cry her heart out when hungry and cackle when the first drop of water fell on...
View ArticleWatch: Once Abandoned, How Kerala’s First Trans Body Builder Overcame All Odds
Praveen Nath from Palakkad, Kerala had to hide his identity as a transman for over 15 years. And even then, he was thrown out of his college and forced to leave his own house when he revealed his...
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How I Recycled my Old House to Build Flood-Proof Eco-Friendly Home That Stays...
Eloor, a suburb on the banks of the Periyar river in Kerala, has been facing the threat of flooding for a very long time. Though there were several incidents of flooding in the past, the one that hit...
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Elderly Couple Quit Farming to Carve Toys & Plates from 200 kg of Coconut Shells
Kerala is known for its lush green cover of coconut trees, and it is said that each and every part of the fruit is used for some purpose or the other. Kottayi natives K Kunchankutty and C Lakshmi use...
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How I Grow All Exotic Veggies From Bok Choy to Kale on My Terrace, Without...
While growing up in Kolkata, Roopa Jos would visit her hometown in Kerala with her parents only during vacations. During those visits, she recalls that her father, who was a farming enthusiast, would...
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Couple Revive Vintage House from 1950s Into Off-The-Grid Homestay With...
Tucked in the natural beauty of Wayanad, Kerala, surrounded by lush greenery, pristine valleys and tea plantations is the Annapara homestay, where one could experience wilderness at its best. Nestled...
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Kerala Duo Create India’s First Amphibious Building That Floats on Flood Waters
In the devastating floods of 2018 in Kerala, over 400 people lost their lives, and thousands of houses were severely damaged across the state. The calamity led to several hot discussions on bringing in...
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Teacher Starts Organic Farming Post Retirement, Earns Lakhs Growing Coconut,...
“Retirement is not the end of life. In fact, it is a chance to open doors to the things we love,” says Kozhikode native K T Francis, who retired as a physical education teacher in 2015 to start his...
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Kerala Man’s ‘Intelligent’ Gardening Stands Water & Fertilise Your Plants for...
A passion for farming and the wish to pursue something he loved inspired Pathanamthitta resident P A Sanjay Kumar to leave his high-paying job and take up agri-entrepreneurship. In 2014, he started his...
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Made by Recycling 100-YO Wood, My Breezy Eco-Friendly Home Produces Biogas
Manoj Mathew, who runs an offset printing press and publishing unit in Kottayam district of Kerala, spent over a decade moving from one rented house to another. But last year, he was finally able to...
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Bedridden for 7 Years, Woman Grows Organic Arrowroot to Build Successful...
Ten years ago, Jumaila Banu never thought she would be able to lead a normal life and support her family. The then-29-year-old was paralysed after an accident, which resulted in spending seven long...
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Built in 3 Months, This Low-Cost, Eco-Friendly Home is Fire & Earthquake...
Building a home requires a lot of time and effort. For Mobish Thomas, a government employee and social worker from Wayanad, things were no different. He recalls that finding enough time amid busy...
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Kerala’s 1st Tribal Heritage Village Stay Left Anand Mahindra in Awe of its...
A recent tweet by Anand Mahindra, entrepreneur and chairman of Mahindra Group, will transport you to the lush green tea plantations of Vythiri in Wayanad, Kerala. The visuals are stunning — clear...
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Kerala Woman Turns Jackfruit & Tapioca Into Organic Mixes, Sells Across India...
It came as a shock for the family, says Francy Joshimon, when her father was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. “He was a very active person and always particular about eating healthy food. We couldn’t...
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Kerala Man Turns Plantation into Organic Farm, Reaps 11000 Kg of Tapioca In...
A farming enthusiast from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Vinod Venugopal was not ready to compromise his love for agriculture by owning just a rubber plantation. Despite receiving a good yield and...
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Ex Marine Engineer Creates Bonsai Paradise At Home With Over 700 Mini Trees
Since he can remember, Lenus Xavier, a retired marine engineer, has dedicated much of his free time to caring for plants. He credits his Kochi house and its lush garden for this. “Gardening was not a...
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8 Best Destinations in Kerala for a Magical Monsoon Experience
With serene backwaters, lush hill ranges, spectacular waterfalls, and beaches, Kerala is blessed with the best bounty of nature. Famed as ‘God’s own country’, the southern Indian state is undoubtedly...
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Kerala Mechanic Launches ‘Buzzing’ Business, Harvests 1500 Kg of Organic Honey
Three decades ago, while Bensislas was working as an electronic mechanic, he would have never imagined that some day, he would take up beekeeping and find success in it. Though he was skilled at...
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Engineer Spent 14 Years Growing 500 Rare Medicinal Plants Around His Kerala...
For Chottanikkara-native Ezekiel Paulose, his favourite thing to do is the collection and protection of rare medicinal plants. But farming is not just a hobby for him. He hails from a farming family...
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Behind The Scenes: How This 102-YO Farm Became Kerala’s 1st Carbon Neutral Farm
On December 10, Kerala’s State Seed Farm in Aluva will be declared carbon neutral by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. As per officials, this is the first seed farm in the country to achieve a carbon...
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Mother-Daughter Share How To Start a Business With Virgin Coconut Oil
Have you heard of ventha velichenna or virgin coconut oil that is rubbed on infants? Did you know, unlike regular coconut oil, this involves a long process to make even a small amount of it? A Kerala...
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Beyond Kovalam & Alappuzha: 8 Lesser-Known Kerala Beaches for a Perfect...
More often than not, tourists are so bent on ticking off a visit to a “famous” beach that they forget that a beach is often a small part of a long shoreline — the lesser-known beaches along which...
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After Lay-Off & Losses, NRI Found New Blend for Success in Mushroom Coffee...
While working as a chef in the United Arab Emirates, launching a startup was never on Lalu Thomas’ mind. But creating a value-added food product was. By the time he completed 15 years in the UAE, the...
View ArticleWith ‘Dancing Walls’, Kerala Eco-Friendly Home Remains Naturally Cool Even in...
Located in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, the Pirouette House has dancing walls. Made out of mud, bricks, and waste, the Pirouette House, spread over 196 square metres, is a masterpiece in...
View Article‘Family Was Against It but We’re Happy’: MSc Grad Quits MNC Job To Sell 50...
When Serena, an MSc graduate, opened a tea shop, her family opposed the decision. She used to work at a multinational company but later decided to run a tea shop in Kochi. “My husband was an...
View Article‘I Was Offered Rs 5 Lakh for a Tree’: Ex-Marine Engineer Grows 200 Bonsai...
Lenus Xavier (59), a retired marine engineer from Kochi, has been nurturing his passion for gardening since childhood. When Lenus was 15, he discovered bonsais and was immediately fascinated. Later,...
View ArticleEngineer Turns His Home into a Hub of Over 500 Rare Medicinal Plants
A systems architect by profession, Kerala’s Ezekiel picked up collecting herbs as a hobby nearly 15 years ago. He calls himself a “collector of herbs”. His 4-acre farm in Chottanikkara has both...
View ArticleKerala Man Uses Innovative Idea to Remove 650 Kg Plastic Waste in 4 Months
Kerala’s Binu Punchakkari is single-handedly fighting to save Vellayani Lake from plastic waste. The lake is the primary source of drinking water for at least five panchayats, yet no one showed...
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Homemaker Turns Barren Land Into Award-Winning Lush Organic Farm, Earns Rs 18...
Maruti Gardens, located at Elappully village in Palakkad, Kerala, is a paradise sprawling over 24 acres of land, filled with golden paddy fields, fruit orchards, vegetable farms, and more. No less than...
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Kerala Man Quits as CEO to Make Edible, Biodegradable Cutlery Using Wheat...
Hard work is the greatest thrill in Ernakulam-native Vinayakumar Balakrishnan’s life. In the past 55 years, Vinayakumar has tried his luck in many fields such as geology, human resource management,...
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Daily Wager’s Teenage Daughters Farm on Donated Land to Help Parents Fight...
Every morning, Haripriya and Sivapriya get ready for school in Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram. But apart from their bags loaded with books and a lunchbox, there is a bag full of freshly harvested...
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Kerala Gardener Grows 135 Fruit Trees In Plastic Drums On Terrace, Shares Tips
When Abdurazak, a resident of Tirur, Kerala, returned from Dubai in 2018, he wanted to plant fruit trees at home. But these trees usually grow better on land, and he realised his terrace might not be...
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Visually-Impaired Teacher Builds Homes for Her Students Using Crowdfunding
Partially losing her eyesight never dimmed Lincy George’s spark within. A teacher at the Government Tribal Higher Secondary School in Murikkattukudy, Idukki, she has been working selflessly for the...
View ArticleIn Kerala, A 63-YO Librarian Walks 6 Km Daily To Deliver Books In Remote...
While the Pratibha Public Library has been up and running for the last 60 years, it seldom saw visits from women, children and the elderly. But in the last 10 years, many have been able to access the...
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‘People are Surprised’: Crematorium Keeper on Performing Last Rites &...
“People often ask me how I handle dead bodies on a daily basis, and if I ever feel scared,” says Selina Michael, a resident of Kakkanad, Kochi. “But I’ve never felt scared, not once in my life. In...
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After Husband’s Business Falters, Homemaker Finds Success With Healthy Bamboo...
Doing something of her own brings immense joy and satisfaction for Alappuzha native Viji Sreekumar, who started her journey as an entrepreneur almost 10 years ago. While she had to take up the role of...
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Pasta to Chocolate: Kerala Homemaker Turns all Parts of Jackfruits into 400...
Years ago when Rajasree used to visit her hometown in Kerala during vacations, her mother always kept a packet of dried jackfruit and seeds for her to take back to Qatar where it wasn’t available. But...
View ArticleWatch: 71-YO Grandma Drives Heavy Vehicles & Holds Licenses for 11 Vehicles
Fondly called Mani Amma, Radhamani from Kerala is the only woman in India to hold a license for 11 vehicles at the age of 71. She was encouraged by her husband TV Lal who started a driving school in...
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MBA Grad Quits Job To Make Kerala’s Banana Chips Global, Clocks Multi-Crore...
Even as he toiled in the corporate field, Alappuzha native Manas Madhu was constantly thinking about a business plan that he could start from his homeland. “I always knew it should be something related...
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Started From One Packet, Mother-Son Duo’s Mushroom Farming Now Earns Rs...
Ernakulam native Jithu Thomas was only 19 years old when he first sowed some mushroom seeds in a packet. It was his favourite pastime with his mother those days and by the passage of time, his interest...
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Teacher Shares How She Grew 100 Varieties of Organic Fruits & Veggies On Her...
The day starts early for Bindu CK — a teacher from Ayamanam in Kerala’s Kottayam district — who has been farming for the past year. Unlike many who experimented with farming as a past-time during the...
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Entrepreneur Grows 600 Flower Varieties at Home, Turns Hobby Into Thriving...
Kayamkulam resident Anju Karthika’s front yard and terrace are dotted with beautiful Table Roses and ever-so-elegant Adeniums, in a variety of colours. Her love for the former, also known as Portulaca,...
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‘I Failed But Didn’t Stop’: Kerala Teacher Helps Aspirants with Disabilities...
In 2020, when Sherin Sahana began preparing for the UPSC CSE, she found that the health issues due to her disability posed a major challenge. A few years prior, the 27-year-old had suffered a fall...
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Meet the Kerala Doctor Who Helped Detect Nipah Outbreak Early, This Time & In...
On 10 September 2023, four people were admitted to Aster MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala. This included three children and one adult, all of whom were related to each other. They all presented with...
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Meet the Couple Making Chicago Fall in Love With Onam Sadhya, Appam & the...
In early 2005, California’s Margaret Pak travelled to India for the first time. But, it wasn’t for a simple planned trip. Margaret made her way to Kerala to marry the love of her life, Vinod Kalathil,...
View ArticleWhy I Grow My Own Veggies? It Isn’t a Hobby; It’s A Way of Life
Feature image courtesy: Sooraj Purushothaman Have you ever nurtured a plant from scratch? Have you planted a tiny seed and watched it grow into a beautiful flower, fruit or vegetable? Have you...
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