Muraleedharan Thazhakkara, a retired programme executive at All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram, has been serving the farming community for 28 years.

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Retirement of government employees hardly makes news. The fact that Thazhakkara’s retirement was widely covered by leading newspapers such as Malayala Manorama, Mangalam, and Samayam stands testament to his popularity.

He is credited for having popularised the radio programme Vayalum Veedum (Farm and Home). It is a daily programme that airs for 25 minutes, which appeals to farmers and laypersons alike.

During his time at the AIR, he recorded countless interviews with scientists such as Dr M S Swaminathan, bureaucrats, and everyday food-growers. He has interviewed at least two guests per episode for every single day for the past 28 years. This means that the number of interviews could be more than 10,000—most likely, unparalleled in any language.

He was also instrumental in organising the year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Malayalam broadcast of Vayalum Veedum, whose valedictory function was attended by the Governor, Chief Minister, other Ministers of Kerala.

The programme took agriculture to where it belonged—from the four-walled recording studios of AIR to the fields. What was initially a bulletin of market prices or monologues of experts, transformed under Thazhakkara’s supervision. No longer was Vayalum Veedum scripted by AIR executives—it evolved into interactive sessions and panel discussions.

“The emphasis was on featuring the vibrant experiences of the farming community along with showcasing the depth of their knowledge. This was possible through a docu-feature format,” says Thazhakkara.

The programme was also enriched by live broadcasts from fields and farm festivals. “Every week, an hour was dedicated exclusively for outside broadcasting.” Live phone-in sessions to clarify listeners’ doubts were also made a part of the programme’s routine.

It offered necessary suggestions at every stage, right from the sowing of seeds to the selling of harvested crops. Its popularity also translated into more revenue through advertisements.

According to Thazhakkara, “The revenue has consistently been increasing to amass Rs 50-60 lakh annually in recent years—making it one of the highest income-generating programmes at AIR Thiruvananthapuram. The advertisements were for organisations or institutes related to agriculture such as the Coconut Development Board, Horticorp, Dairy Development Departments and so on.”

Usually, at AIR, an executive works on a particular programme for three years after which they are allotted a different assignment. Owing to Thazhakkara’s popularity, none of the 16 station directors he worked with ever considered replacing him.

Sandeep Suresh, Transmission Executive at AIR Thiruvananthapuram shares, “He [Thazhakkara] was a programmer with a farmer’s mind. He spoke in a manner that connected with common farmers; they gathered valuable information from him, thereby taking Akashvani closer to their hearts.”

Speaking of the programme’s origins, Thazhakkara mentions the responsibility AIR was entrusted with on the face of acute famine in post-independent India. A dedicated series for the proliferation of farming and cost-effective farming techniques was the need of the hour, and in June 1965, Vayalam Veedum went on air for the first time. All radio stations across the country were instructed to include this particular segment as part of the ‘Grow-More-Food’ campaign; it provided farming lessons in the respective regional languages.

Vayalum Veedum was unique in its social auditing process where it was evaluated by representatives of agricultural offices, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, rural development institutes and farmers’ cooperatives, who offered suggestions for each quarter. This has enabled the programme to become a guiding light for thousands of farmers, bringing them news of scientific innovations along with lessons in practical wisdom. Award-winning dairy farmer Shaji Vachoor, as well as common farmers, acknowledge it for its inputs.

“I have been a regular listener. Ever since I began listening to it, I have loved agriculture and cherished the dream of making it a part of my life. Now that I am a successful farmer, I would like to thank Akashvani with all my heart, for making me what I am. Vayalum Veedum has helped many like me to take up farming.”

R Raveendran from Pongumoodu in Thiruvananthapuram was awarded the Genome Saviour title instituted by the Central Ministry for Agriculture. He has been a regular listener and has also participated in several episodes. “I have started a school, ‘Aathma’, to conduct lessons in agriculture. Many people heard about it on Vayalam Veedum and registered to join it. Any new venture undertaken by farmers are lauded and circulated well among the public by Akashvani.”

Following a childhood on his grandfather’s fields, Thazhakkara went on to graduate in agriculture and worked for ten years in the research farm of the Kerala Agricultural University. This experience informed his role at AIR when he joined in 1991.

He also structured and created another programme, Radio Gramarangam, which incorporates personal stories of listeners on rural life and farm lore. He began this programme fifteen years back in an attempt to chronicle the practices, and with it, the sagacity of a bygone era. Through this, listeners were introduced to pre-modern utensils and farming equipment, the etymology of places, adages, and other stories of yore.

Acknowledging his services to the farming community, various governmental and non-governmental organisations have showered him with accolades such as the National Award for Best Extension Work, which was instituted by the Coconut Development Board; the Haritha Mudra Award at the South Indian Agricultural Fest; Dr B R Ambedkar Radio Media Award and the Best Media Person Award in the Media for Development category.

Thazhakkara, however, finds greater joy in meeting listeners who consider him a close associate or even a family member. In his words, “None of these prizes measure up to the honour of being a part of many lives to whom I am known only by my voice.”

He feels that radio is relevant and important, even in the internet age, saying, “Radio has always been the farmer’s close associate across geographical divides. A variety of rice was named ‘Radio Rice’ during the Green Revolution. This spells out the influence radio exercises over the population, especially among farmers.”

An ardent admirer of Gandhi’s principles of self-reliance, Thazhakkara feels strongly about the necessity of local seed-banks for the use of small-time farmers to reduce dependency on conglomerates. He also insists on the importance of growing vegetables for personal use that are free from pesticides. His own small plot of land is lush with several varieties of bananas, yam, colocasia and sapota trees.

He believes that government institutions such as hospitals and schools should allot a part of the land to grow Miyawaki forests, especially in urban areas. The competition for sunlight in small areas would ensure thick forests in a much shorter period. “Given the urban conditions, it would be difficult to grow vast forests anymore. Here is where the Miyawaki method comes handy.”

Also Read: By the People, For the People: 5 Awesome Community Radios That Are Giving Voice to the Voiceless

A treasure trove of farm lore and rural life and an expert on agriculture, he has authored ten books for children and adults in addition to his columns in local newspapers. Excerpts from two of his books, Pathaayam and Naattupookkal, published by Kerala State Institute for Children’s Literature have been incorporated into textbooks of Kerala’s state syllabus as well as CBSE.

Having retired recently, he is presently working on another book about the history of Vayalum Veedum. “This book will help research scholars, aspiring journalists, and hobbyists in understanding the history of Vayalum Veedum along with its future possibilities,” concludes Thazhakkara.

(With inputs from Sandeep Suresh and Thejaswini Nair. The comments of the listeners were provided by Thazhakkara’s script ‘The School in The Skies’.)

(Written by Shwetha Rachel and Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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People have long looked at snakes with a mixture of fear and awe. Snakes are symbols of divinity, rebirth, guardianship, and even carry the weight of the dichotomy of good and evil.

But ironically, our instincts scream, “Kill it!” every time we chance upon a snake.

For 60-year-old Vidya Raju, the same instincts shout, “Save it!”

The snake rescuer and rehabilitator has always held the opinion, quite correctly, that snakes are seriously misunderstood creatures.

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“People who kill them have no idea about the importance of snakes in our ecosystem. Snakes tend to get defensive and react aggressively. Perhaps the seeds of wanting to do something for snakes were sown when, as a young girl, I saw people kill snakes. It left a profound impact on my mind.”

The Bihar-native has been rescuing snakes and other smaller birds and animals for two decades. The energetic grandmother currently lives with her retired husband, Commodore NVS Raju, in Kochi.

Recalling the first time she rescued a snake, Vidya says, “It was in 2002, I think,” she goes on, “My husband was posted in Goa, and I was a volunteer with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). One of the volunteers often spoke about rescuing reptiles, and that piqued my interest. I requested to be called for the next reptile rescue operation. I remember holding a viper snake in my hand and feeling no fear,” she smiles.

With her husband in a transferable job, the couple called many cities their home and through it all, Vidya’s work of animal rescue did not abate. “I worked closely with the locals and the forest department wherever I went. I also researched and read up a lot about the various kinds of snakes – venomous and non-venomous ones,” she says.

The self-trained rescuer started with saving the snakes that came to her locality from time to time and so far, she has rescued almost 1000 snakes, most of which were non-venomous.

It is a constant learning process, whether to take the head first or the tail. The trick is to stay calm, sensing aggression or fear in you will instantly alert the snake as well.

The wildlife rescuer is currently volunteering with the Cochin Natural History Society (CNHS).

Furthermore, her skills and dedication for rescuing snakes and the recognition she was getting was of great help during the 2018 Kerala floods. Whenever people in the city sighted snakes in their homes, they would call her, and there were times when she would get two to three calls daily.

Vidya is indebted to her husband, daughter, and son for their support in her pursuit to save animals. “I have been able to respond to the calls because there is always someone willing to come along; no matter what time of the day or night it is, one of them ferries me while someone else helps pack my bag,” she says.

Like all doting grandmothers, she speaks with utter delight of her grandson, who is equally passionate about dogs and cats.

He is the happiest when dogs surround him, she says.

Upon being asked if age or gender ever came in the way of her work, she laughs, “Absolutely not, and I see no reason why it should either. One does not have to be a male to be a rescuer; all one needs is the presence of mind and a love for animals. As for age – it’s merely a number.”

Vidya leaves us with some valuable pointers on how to inculcate the love for animals in our children.

1. Importance of nature clubs

Remember that you cannot teach children about nature by sitting inside a classroom – so step out and explore. It is vital to get our children acquainted with the environment they live in. Let the children learn to explore their surroundings.

2. Understand how food grows

Let your children learn how their food grows; they will appreciate it more if they know. Encourage them to help you with gardening. This has to be a hands-on experience and cannot be learnt by reading or watching a presentation.

3. Spend time outdoors

One does not have to go all the way to a bird sanctuary to learn and appreciate winged creatures. Step out of your own homes, and you will find a treasure trove of birds around. Start by identifying and learning about them. Get them to listen to the different sounds that these birds make.

“If you start teaching your children to love nature from an early age, chances are that in a class of 30 students, at least 1 or 2 might develop an interest and pursue this field. Your life is important so is the life of another creature – that is the only way to maintain ecological balance,” says Vidya.

Also Read: Shooter Dadi: The Story of an Octogenarian Who’s Breaking All Barriers With Her Awesome Aim

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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The 2018 deluge and the devastation it left in its wake took a lot away from the people of Kerala. With more than 400 deaths, 140 missing and lakhs displaced, it wreaked havoc all across the state. Since the 1924 Great Flood of 99, so called as it happened in the year 1099 according to the Malayalam Calendar, this is said to be the worst in the state.

With the state still rebuilding itself, especially the rural communities, you can do your bit by extending support to them. You can find a few products sourced from local artists and communities, here. 

The floods affected everyone, including the fisherfolk community, scarred but selfless and self-sacrificing. Putting their lives on the line, they rowed, dived and swam to pull hundreds out of the water and brought them to safety. These heroes, almost 4,000 in number, were the fisherfolk who left their homes with kindness, unbridled courage and their boats and rescued more than 65,000 people.

But, as the floodwaters finally receded, and the state slowly rebuilt itself, the memory of the unparalleled contribution of the fisherfolk also took a backseat.

As the state got back on its feet after the floods, the fisherfolk went back to their hardships. They had risked their lives for us, and I wanted to do something to show gratitude but didn’t know-how. Most of us are so ignorant of their needs. They even refused to take money from the government, and instead collected as much as they could and contributed to the CM’s fund. So instead of money, we decided to extend our support to help the community be self-sufficient, says Lakshmi Menon, artist, designer and social entrepreneur.

Hence, Lakshmi started a social campaign called FriendShip, along with Neenu Rathin, to show gratitude to Kerala’s saviours. From symbolic gestures of appreciation to insurance schemes for accidents at sea and land and entrepreneurship opportunities, this campaign has been working to improve the lives of the fishing communities holistically.

It all began with paper, with students from 137 schools making 65,000 paper boats as a symbolic tribute to the fisherfolk’s sacrifice. Exceeding Lakshmi’s expectation, students created and sent more than 2 lakh boats in just two months. These will now adorn the campus of CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Ernakulam, reminding the tale of bravery of the fisherfolk.

“This art installation will be unveiled in December,” informs Lakshmi.

But this was just the beginning of the journey of change.

“Kerala has more than 2.3 lakh fishermen, and 95 per cent of the state’s population consumes fish. And still, we are not aware of the abject poverty the community struggles with. Our crowdsourced insurance campaign is helping these heroes. Those interested pay a premium of Rs 24 for a policy cover of Rs 1 lakh, and almost 2,000 families have already been insured!” she says.

More than 20,000 individuals have already expressed their interest in contributing to the scheme implemented in partnership with New India Life Insurance Company.

“Gratitude is the attitude of the campaign, so it does not stop at paper boats or life insurance. We are building a community network that can enable all kinds of support for the fisherfolk. So, if anyone is interested, they can get in touch with a fisherman’s family through us and do their bit to help, in any way possible,” she adds.

Talking about the impact, Robin Francis Puthiyathura, a member of the fishing community from a coastal village in Thiruvananthapuram, tells TBI, “In my locality alone more than 1,400 fishermen are covered by insurance under the Make Friendship initiative. That was in the first phase. More people will be covered in the second phase. This insurance will cover accidents at sea or on land. Two weeks ago, a fisherman died in an accident. His family will get the insurance benefits.”

Additionally, another venture which will kickstart in the next few months is an entrepreneurial opportunity for the community.

Besides the insurance scheme, several projects are being discussed as part of the Make Friendship initiative. These include a project to sell fresh catch directly to homes and a project for better education for our children. We already have a direct selling system in place, and it is doing good. By teaming up with Make Friendship, we hope we can widen the network and earn well for the local fishers.

According to Lakshmi, the idea to start the project stems from many reasons, one being the fading interest in the trade. “It is sad to see how the younger generation is moving away from the trade. One major factor is poverty and the lack of opportunity there. But, just like the farmers, fishing is an essential profession that ensures food to a majority of the state population.”

The team decided to start motivating the youth to pursue their family trade by increasing the scope of opportunity there. One way of doing so was by giving them the reigns to run their business.

“It means that instead of having to travel great distances to sell the day’s catch, which compromises the quality, fishermen can now sell from a centre located at each panchayat,” says Lakshmi.

An example of self-reliance, this initiative aims to empower every single member of the family. Explaining the process, she says, “It starts with the fishermen who get the fresh catch to the centre. After a thorough quality check, the women of the family will clean, cut and pack the fish, which will then be delivered to various housing societies and localities on a two-wheeler. It’s a fine earning even for the delivery person who might be a college-going boy or girl who can drop the packages during their free time. This business model has received much appreciation and can be replicated all across the state.”

She adds that the process will be further bolstered by an app-based order system, to ensure delivery of fresh fish within hours!

Weaves and Waves

The tragedy of 2018 had also inspired the fashion designer within Lakshmi to launch her new collection — ‘Weaves & Waves of Friendship’ — as a tribute to the two communities. According to her, it is the coming together of weaving and fishing communities that are essential parts of Kerala’s social fabric.

And her previous campaign with Chekutty dolls was to help the former.

“In the face of the fiery floods, she emerged, soiled, scarred but smiling. A simple rag doll grew to be a symbol of their courage and resilience. A reflection of every Malayali who fought against the waves of destruction,” says Lakshmi who created the doll, Chekutty to save a textile village, Chendamangalam.

“The floods had impacted all, but weavers communities had especially incurred great losses. Fabric material worth Rs 21 lakhs was going to waste. I realised that I could not call myself a designer if I can’t find a way to save them. And, that was when I had the idea to make dolls out of the soiled fabric from a textile village called Chendamangalam. At the time, everyone suggested burning the waste sarees, but I brought a few homes, washed them and created the dolls called Chekutty.”

She explains that in Malayalam, the name could mean, cherinna athujeevacha kutty, i.e. a little child that survived the mud, or even Chendamangalam’s kutty or child.

In a few days, with the help of Gopinath Parayil, co-founder of a travel company Blue Yonder, she was able to transform the doll into a mass emotion shared by Malayalees all across the country, and beyond.

Out of a single saree, almost 360 dolls could be made, and more than 50,000 volunteers and 260 schools contributed by making Chekutty dolls worth Rs 70 lakhs, all of which when to restore regular life in the weaving communities.
Her efforts to help the weavers has yielded outstanding results, taking the awareness to various corners of the globe.

We hope that MakeFriendship, similarly, touches many more lives, bringing the much-deserved respite to the adversity-ridden region.

Also Read: Kerala Floods: This Duo’s Cloth Dolls Are Rescuing an Entire Community!

(Edited By Saiqua Sultan)

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Turning hard work into smart work, Vijaya Kala, a part-time farmer and a full-time tax-auditor is increasing her food output without toiling under the sun for hours or hopelessly waiting for the rains.

Vijaya is a resident of Kerala’s Karunagappally town, who six years ago, opted for farming techniques which were less-labour intensive and more efficient, including polyhouse and Precision Agriculture (PA) and started growing plants and vegetables.

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Speaking to The Better India about the benefits of her farming techniques, the 39-year-old says,

“PA is site-specific farming, which means that crops and veggies are grown based on weather patterns, humidity and soil temperature. Instead of using one single approach for all the vegetables, each plant is treated differently. As for the polyhouse, veggies are grown under controlled climatic conditions, and thus, there are fewer chances of crop damage. Plus, food can be grown in a polytunnel around the year. It also keeps the insects and pests at bay.”

Vijaya’s motivation to grow organic vegetables in her backyard was neither a life-changing experience nor a childhood passion that was reignited.

It was in fact, a discussion among friends about growing food at home that pushed her to go online and research about the topic. In no time, the research turned to a full-fledged plan that she presented to the state’s Agriculture Department to avail farming subsidies.

With no farming land of her own, she installed two polytunnels comprising 100 square metres, one on her terrace and the other one in the house’s backyard at an investment cost of 1.20 lakh (50,000 of which was from the government subsidy.) Additionally,she also has an acre of land (taken on lease) to extend vegetable farming through PA .

From veggies like tomatoes, capsicum, radish, onion, spinach, bitter gourd, cabbage, beans to flowers like orchid and marigold, all the food is grown organically. She prepares her own agri inputs like fertiliser which is a mixture of cow dung, urine and water.

As for the polyhouse process, Kala makes a bed comprising cow dung and neem cake (residue obtained from neem seed kernels). The bed is covered with mulching sheet drilled with holes where the seeds are planted.

Water is supplied through a drip irrigation system through pipes. “In drip irrigation, water is directly provided to the roots. It minimises evaporation, thus retaining the moisture and reducing the volume of water given to each plant,” says Kala.

In the beginning, she faced crop losses and damages, but with time, the plants got used to her home-made fertiliser.

“The rapid growth of weeds and fungus would damage many of my plants initially. But not once was I tempted to use pesticides to avoid the losses. Instead, I focused on improving the fertiliser, and even now, I have not found the perfect recipe. But the results get better by the day,” she explains.

On average, Kala’s farm produces veggies, every two months. She sells the produce in the market earns a monthly profit of around Rs 20,000.

“I sell them on a rotational basis. For example, if half of the vegetables are sold in June, the other half are sold in July. I also grow and sell vegetable saplings⁠—in fact, recently I sold 500 red papaya saplings in my neighbourhood,” she exclaims!

With an aim to spread her knowledge and expertise with citizens who are keen on growing or developing a farm in their backyard, Kala holds interactions on her social media platform.

Though she attends to the farm after 5 pm on weekdays and gets a chance to dedicate more time only on weekends, she takes it very seriously.

“It is tough dividing my time between job, family and farm, but farming is something I have become passionate about. It is not an extracurricular activity, but a part of my daily routine now. I wish to continue it for as long as I can,” says Kala.

All the images are sourced from Vijaya Kala.

You can reach out to Vijaya Kala here.

Also Read: 28 Years, 10,000 Episodes & One Voice: Meet AIR Kerala’s ‘Radio Agriculturalist’!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Sridhar Radhakrishnan (51), an engineer by profession and environmentalist by passion, was sure that he did not want to live in the house that he had inherited from his parents. “The building was located in one of Trivandrum’s busiest areas, and I wanted some peace of mind and devoid of air and noise pollution. So I started looking for a place that would give my lungs fresh air and less noise,” he informs The Better India.

Interestingly, he did not want to build a new home considering the emissions from all the construction work. He looked for several options but to no avail.

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Finally, he found an empty 21 cent plot on the outskirts of the city in Valiyavila nestled among the rubber estates.

“I loved the plot so much that I decided to construct a house, but without compromising on my environmental ideals. I was deeply inspired by Laurie Baker and his principles of sustainable architecture, and wondered if my home could also be built keeping those in mind,” he quips.

He roped in PB Sajan, an architect at the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development to translate his dream into reality. His brief to the architect was clear⁠—to make a house from recycled materials and if destroyed, can be recycled.

Luckily for Sridhar, Sajan complied, and after ten months of construction, Sridhar, his wife, Sobha and son Ambareesh, moved into their new home, a two-story mud home christened ‘Vasantham,’ in July 2017.
⁠⁠
How Recycled Materials Built A Recyclable Home

Sridhar believes that constructing an eco-friendly home is very feasible and comes with innumerable benefits. “Today, there are so many architects, agencies, experts available to shape your home without harming the environment. All you need is a will and some trips to places where you can find recycled materials,” he explains.

Here are some of the techniques that Sajan and his team followed, while building Vasantham.

1) The home was built using the mud-lime mortar technique from the soil or mud of the land. Lime was added to the construction process to make soil durable like cement.

2) “Mani Bhavan, a stately home was being demolished to pave the way for a high-rise. So, I purchased 30,000 waste bricks and roof tiles from the builder. The bathroom tiles were also produced from a sanitary ware shop that was shutting down,” explains Sridhar.

3) Instead of using the chemical paints, the walls in the home were plastered with a concoction of mud and rice husk. This gives an old-charm feel of Kerala-style traditional homes.

4) The wood used to make steps and lampshades are second-hand. The two roofs (on the ground floor and first floor), have also been constructed from second-hand tiles.

5) The parapet and the first-floor roofs were made from bamboo, and bamboo poles were used as pillars to support the ceilings. The bamboo used was purchased from a tribal community.

6) Open verandahs, large windows and rooms and a huge balcony for the first floor, allows natural air and light inside the home.

7) All the electrical appliances like geyser, induction cooker, fans and lights in the home are energy-efficient.

Due to its peculiar design, Sridhar claims that even during the hottest months of the year, the temperature inside the home is almost 10 degrees lower. “It the same during winters as well. It is such a blessing to have the desired temperature without having to use heaters or ACs,” says Sobha.

Sridhar has also created bunds inside the premises to ensure that rainwater collected on ground and rooftop is not wasted. For their water uses, the family has a borewell, and the rainwater collected, seeps into the ground, thus recharging the groundwater tables as well.

The couple also grow their vegetables using organic methods. “These are for our consumption. We  use organic compost and pest repellants and even compost from wet garbage generated in the house,” says Sridhar. Excess vegetables is sold to the Organic Bazaar that runs in the city.

In a world where cement is the go to material for every construction that takes place, Sridhar and Sobha’s house sets an example of how we can go back to our green traditional methods while having a modern touch.

All the images are sourced from Sridhar Radhakrishnan. You can reach him at sridharthanal@gmail.com

Also Read: Chennai Architect Reuses Waste, Uses Mud & Timber to Build Green Homes!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Pradeep Mukhathala is a cashier at the Electricity Board office in a small town in Kollam, Kerala. But he’s much more than a government officer to many.

He landed the job by clearing the Kerala State Public Service Commission (PSC) exam, a highly sought-after competitive exam in Kerala, which consists of written, practical, and physical tests to recruit candidates for civil service jobs in the state. The top scorers are ranked in various lists for different job categories, from which they are further selected after interviews.

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Pradeep had to prepare for the PSC all by himself due to financial and social constraints. Despite the lack of guidance or coaching, he appeared in twelve rank lists in 2009 at the age of 25 and was offered several government posts. Today, he runs one of the most popular PSC coaching centres in Kerala in Mukhathala, his hometown, from which he gets his surname.

While many turn their coaching classes into lucrative businesses, Pradeep does it for free. He juggles it with his regular work at the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for the sake of those who can’t afford any other formal preparations. Thousands from all over Kerala come to this small town and live in hostels and PGs here just for his classes.

Stepping Stones

“Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined a life like this. I was just a boy from an obscure place in Kollam. My parents were clueless about education and career options,” says the 35-year-old to The Better India.

Pradeep took up Humanities in high school as he enjoyed Geography and History, and went on to study Economics in college. He wanted to give the Union Civil Services Exams (UPSC) a shot but couldn’t afford any coaching. He cleared the preliminary tests twice but didn’t make it through the mains. That’s when he decided to attempt the PSC. He was doing his MA in Economics at the time in Fatima Matha College, Kollam.

Pradeep was overjoyed when he made it in the rank lists. Some of his options were the police force, the fire force, university assistant, and corporation assistant.

After considering all his choices, he chose the KSEB position in Mukhathala as it seemed to be best suited to his abilities, had a good career trajectory, and he could be close to his family.

Autodidact Turns Teacher

Pradeep’s coaching stint began in 2012 when he became the Joint Secretary at the local public library.

“I met a few youngsters preparing for the PSC exam, and upon hearing about their struggles, I decided to help them out with their studies, sharing with them tricks, short-cuts, and exam strategies. Word got around, and soon the number grew to fifteen,” he recalls.

In 2013, one of them made it to the PSC rank list. When more and more people joined his sessions, he moved his classes from the library hall to the porch of his house and later to the terrace.

Today, he teaches Mathematics, English, General Knowledge, and Current Affairs required for the PSC exams. The students are split into two batches, with classes on alternate days. He conducts classes from 4.30-7.30 AM and later from 7:00-10.30 PM. Between these sessions, he’s at work at the KSEB office.

Over 700 of his students have made it to the PSC list, and nearly 400 have found government jobs so far.

So, what keeps him going?

“The happiness of my students and their families when they pass the exam,”asserts Pradeep.

Besides PSC preparation, Pradeep and his group of students do a lot of charity and volunteer work. When they hear of anyone in need in the community, they all chip in and help out in whatever way possible. At the beginning of the school year, they distribute books and bags for children in orphanages. During the floods that hit Kerala last year, groups of his students volunteered in Alleppey, Chengannoor, Vaikom, and other affected areas for a week.

“I tell my students that you have to supplement hard work with goodness for wholesome growth,” says this inspiring teacher, who wishes to continue his free coaching classes for as long as he can.

Also Read: AIR 1048 to AIR 63, UPSC Topper Shares How to Maximise Your Score in Optional Paper

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Some of India’s contributions to the fashion scenes remain evergreen, like the ever evolving Madras checks. Our country’s fashion trends take root in its history, culture and traditions. Where lehenga choli resonate with crop tops and skirts, I am sure anarkalis and gowns must have met somewhere in the pages of the bygone era. While such contributions prepare our fashion designers for the global platform, they also pave the way for the revival of fabric, designs and styles that have lost to the dominance of what’s ‘in’. Kara Weaves, an organisation based in Ernakulam, Kerala, has made the iconic and humble “Thorthu” (which means towel in Malayalam) design international for this very reason.

Started in 2007, this social venture is reimagining the “Thorthu” in stylish multi-purpose garments.

Kara’s journey began after Indu Menon, a researcher in IIM-Ahmedabad, retired from her job and returned to her home state, Kerala. During her time at IIM-A, she had co-authored a book called “Women Weavers” for which she had spoken to the local weavers in Ernakulam.

“Once I retired and came to settle in Kerala I revisited the weaving unit whose women I had interviewed and I discovered that they had dwindled to a very bad condition. This led me to think on the lines as to how I can do something to revive this unit which made the wonderful traditional towel called thorthu,” Indu shares with The Better India.

With the financial condition of the weavers of this traditional cloth and design worsening day by day, Indu realised that persuading people to buy more towels would be a futile effort. So, she approached her daughter Chitra Gopalakrishnan to come up with more stylish designs.

Click here to buy the versatile and neat Thortu cloth.

Chitra, a graphic designer, decided to take up the aesthetics department of Kara Weaves, and started devising ways to revamp the Thortu and bring it back into demand. Indu, on the other hand, was working relentlessly to bring together weaving co-operatives.

Incidentally, Kara is the border that the Thortu towel is famous for and the name of the brand suggests how the towel is an integral part of their collective.

Explains Indu, “Thorthu is a very durable, versatile and integral part of every Malayalee household. When we looked at its multiple uses in our day to day lives, we felt that it can be reimagined into contemporary products. We took this simple timeless fabric to the global customers as small cocktail napkins to large beach towels and various other value additions such as aprons, bathrobes, resort wear, beach cover-ups, scarves and baby blankets. This is a first-of-its-kind attempt in Kerala to convert conventional bath towel fabric into contemporary products.”

The dream team today has helped over 80 tailors, 400 trim manufacturers and 500 weavers get back on their feet and earn a decent and consistent livelihood.

“A Thorthu weaver has always been at the bottom of the weaving hierarchy in terms of skill and utility thus our endeavour helped them earn a premium price by the high-end products that they made for us,” she adds. Their inspiration might be indigenous but Kara Weaves is anything but limited to Kerala. They have made a mark across India, the USA and Europe.

In fact, the Thortu also made an appearance on the Berlin Fashion Week ramp in 2016! The minimalist design is back in vogue and Kara is ensuring they are there to cater to that demand.

Click here to buy the handwoven garment and flaunt your Thortu right now!

Also Read: Knee Pain? Backache? Ditch Chemical Gels and Grab These Herbal Hot & Cold Packs

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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They say that an act of kindness never lives in isolation. A ripple of change always follows it. And, that’s exactly what happened with Sifiya Haneef.

A native of Palakkad, Sifiya had just lost her husband, and in her sorrow, she was trying to gather the strength to support her two sons. Her parents urged her to live with them or maybe consider remarriage.

“I was a widow, but I didn’t have to depend on my parents or someone else. I wanted to study and support my sons on my own,” begins Sifiya who decided to move back to Bengaluru in 2011, this time with her youngest son, to find a job.

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“My friends had assured me that they would have my back in the city, but on reaching, I realised it wasn’t true. None of them came forward to help. We were miles away from home, and I was scared and helpless. My son who was just a year old at the time was burning up with fever, but I knew nothing of the city and had to spend almost two nights, sleeping at Majestic bus station,” she recalls.

Today, Sifiya is one of India’s most prominent social workers. Thanks to her efforts through which she has empowered over 100 widows and more than 600 families, she was conferred with the prestigious Neerja Bhanot Award last month.

But, she would not have been here as a beacon of inspiration, if not for a stranger.

“Sitting on the bench of the bus station and crying helplessly with my child on the lap was one of the lowest points in my life, and I might never have recovered if patti (grandmother in Tamil) had not come to my rescue,” she quips.

This old woman, whom she had just met at a bus station, took her to her house, gave her food and shelter and helped her out in every possible way for the next eight months.

“Patti said I reminded her of her daughter, who was also widowed young. She urged me to live with her. I got a job in a call centre, continued my Class 11 and 12 education from Kerala in correspondence, and all this while she looked after my son now and then. She would not even take a penny from me in all this time,” remarks Sifiya.

After managing this way for almost a year, Sifiya could no longer stay away from her elder son, who was a 3-year-old at the time. She returned home, but this time with patti’s blessings and a valuable lesson that stayed with her forever.

“Patti gave me a lot of things, but the most important one was a lesson⁠—to never abandon those in need. Back home, that got me thinking about other widows who had neither the means nor the education to fight all odds,” she says.

By that time Sifiya had completed Class 12 and was pursuing a degree in BA Literature, while also working as a receptionist at a local hospital.

“I decided to help these women by giving them a part of my salary, and have been sponsoring the full expenses of 60 families since 2013,” informs Sifiya.

But by the end of that year, during a visit to a few of those widows, she made another sad realisation.

“A few of those women had children living with mental disabilities. But they had to survive, so the mothers would lock their children at home and go to work. I decided that I needed to help, and with whatever little money I could muster, I began to give them food, clothes and a monthly pension ranging from Rs 1,000 to 2,000,” she says.

It was this conviction to truly help, that pushed Sifiya to start a Facebook crowdfunding page, Chithal in 2013. She shares stories of these widows seeking help of any kind whatsoever through social media while continuing to do her bit through the Chithal Charitable Trust, which she started in 2015.

Talking about Chithal and the work, she shares, “In Malayalam, Chithal means termites. To many it might seem funny or even something with a negative connotation but its truly not. A termite shows up when you least expect it, I’m trying to do the same, for these women and eat all their worries away.”

With BA, B.Ed, Diploma in public administration, a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, and an ongoing MA in Literature degree, Sifiya is a strong example for not just these women, but all of us.

Also Read: Life Insurance For 2000+ Fisherfolk: Show Your Gratitude To Kerala’s Flood Heroes

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

Pictures courtesy: Sifiya Haneef

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With the concept of sustainability pervading our lifestyle at every step, more and more artists in India are showing a proclivity towards eco-friendly art forms and mediums. From homemade, organic colours to art installations made from upcycled waste⁠—they are now open to experimenting with anything and everything that can save the planet. 

Rajendran Vadakkepadath is one among the above. The painter and art teacher from Chittur town in Palakkad, Kerala, has been etching bold brush strokes on an uncommon canvas⁠—dried banana leaf. 

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Harnessing the overabundance of banana leaves in his state, Rajendran has succeeded in turning the flaky and frail dried banana leaf into the perfect medium for intricate paintings. 

“Historically, banana leaves have rarely served as a medium of painting or calligraphy, unlike its sturdier counterparts like palm leaves or peepal leaves⁠—which finds use in traditional folk arts of Odisha. The only close example I have found is that of the dried bark of the banana stem being used as a canvas by the Masai tribe of Kenya, Africa,” shares Rajendran.

So, he believes he is one of the very few artists in the world who have attempted to paint on banana leaves. He has been practising this art form since 2013 and has brilliantly mastered the craft by now. 

One of his most exquisite works⁠—Sree Padmanabhaswamy⁠—painted on an 8 ft X 4.5 ft canvas, speaks volumes of his expertise and finesse. 

Though fresh banana leaves feature heavily in the everyday lifestyle in Kerala, there has never been much use for the dried ones, except perhaps as an ingredient for green manure. Rajendran, who has always had a penchant for eco-friendly mediums for painting, opted to paint on a banana leaf, on a whim. 

After several rounds of trials and errors, he achieved the impossible by turning the humble banana leaf into exquisite works of art. 

“There is a meticulous process involved in turning the fragile banana leaves suitable for painting. The method is a result of my experimentation,” mentions Rajendran, though he prefers not to disclose the ingenious procedure he follows to render his leaf canvas ready. 

He claims that if preserved within glass frames, a banana leaf painting can last up to a century.

Rajendran chooses to stick to monochrome colours in his paintings to bring out the natural, burnt-ochre tint of dry banana leaves. Water and oil colours do not work out on banana leaves, so the ace painter has taken up acrylic. 

To make the best of his unusual canvas, he has adopted a unique technique of reverse colouring, which often takes months to complete. For instance, his painting ‘Sree Padmanabhaswamy’, which features only the colour black, took nearly five months to attain completion. 

Alongside banana leaves, Rajendran also paints on palm leaves, though his preferred medium has been the former for the past six years. 

Rajendran is a devout admirer of legendary painters like Da Vinci and Artist Namboodiri, an Indian painter and sculptor, and aims to convey his love for the environment through banana leaf artworks. 

“I have been experimenting with eco-friendly art for quite a long time. I wish to inspire more people to adopt unique and sustainable art forms,” he concludes.

Also Read: Crafting a Green World: Manipur Artist Uses Waste Husk to Make Gorgeous Dolls!

All images are courtesy of Rajendran Vadakkepadath

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Environmental crisis is looming higher on the horizon with unpredictable natural disasters, extinction of species and increased global warming. It’s time to accept that climate change is real you guys and if we don’t work toward conserving the planet, we’ll slowly see the world disintegrating right in front of our eyes! Thankfully, there are enlightened and proactive souls who relentlessly work toward mitigating this crisis in full force! A case in point is Murukesan TP, a 53-year-old fisherman  who has helped in the plantation of over 75,000+ mangrove trees across coastlines, brackish water areas and forests.

The fisherman from Vypin, Kerala, works with the Social Forestry Department in the Ernakulam district in plantation drives. He has also created a small nursery at his home where he grows over 15,000 saplings in a year, which he sells to the Forest Department for Rs. 14 per sapling.

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“I started doing this because of environmental concerns. Cyclones are becoming more frequent and pollution is increasing rapidly. Mangroves, which are common here, were drastically reducing in number,” says the concerned fisherman.

Murukesan’s concerns are something we need to pay attention to. The Ocean Conference conducted by the United Nations, provided some severe numbers. It said that 80 per cent of pollution in all seas and oceans comes from land-based activities, with 51 trillion microplastic particles littering the oceans.

Additionally, the rising sea levels will lead to coastal erosion, inundation, storm floods, loss of nesting beaches, displacement of coastal lowlands and wetlands among several other detrimental effects.

They also found that 20 per cent of global mangroves have been lost since 1980. However, Murukesan realises their importance. Mangroves protect coastlines by acting like a fence, providing protection from hurricanes, storms, strong tidal waves and floods.

How it all began

Murukesan was born in a fisherman’s family and has been fishing since he was 20 years old. He would venture out to the sea with country boats and gradually shifted to fishing in motor boats. As he got older, he decided to move on to freshwater and backwater fishing.

Working as a fisherman, he knows the importance of mangrove forests. These diverse ecosystems supply rich food to aquatic life. Marine life is attracted to these forests as they are high on food availability, the water is cooler and there is a high oxygen content in the water in which they are submerged.

“Mangroves help in reproduction and breeding of fish. Trawlers that we see so very often are detrimental to marine life and inhibit natural breeding of fish. With mangrove plantations, the local fisherman will also benefit greatly in addition to the positive environmental impacts,” says Murukesan.

Murukesan has now already worked on plantation drives in Cherai, Njarackal, North Mulavakkad, Vallarpadam and Chellanam in collaboration with the forest department.

Renjit MK, 37, Forest Range Officer, says that alongwith Murukesan, they are going to plant 15,000 more saplings by the end of October in the Wellington Island area.

“The Forest Department started this with Murukesan because this would protect us from sea surges, is good for the aquatic life, would benefit the fishing community and would protect against cyclones. Once these have been planted, he is the one who looks after them and ensures they are growing healthily,” he says.

These days, Murukesan works until 11 PM every night in preparation for the next plantation. In his home nursery, he is carefully growing little saplings in bamboo sleeves which replaced plastic grow bags. At home, Murukesan is helped by his wife Geetha, his daughters Nimitha and Ninitha, and his seven year old grandson.

“I hope that people understand the importance of growing trees and conserving them. If every person plants even one single tree in their life, it will greatly benefit the planet,” says the protector of mangroves, signing off.

Also Read: 4.5 Million Trees, 4 Years: How People From Across India are Greening the Planet

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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India has only about 4 per cent of the world’s renewable water resources but is home to nearly 18 per cent of the world’s population. And as the country continues to urbanise, its water bodies are getting toxic. Around 70 per cent of surface water in India is unfit for consumption, and almost 40 million litres of wastewater enters rivers and other water bodies daily.

The cost of environmental degradation in India is estimated to be Rs 3.75 trillion a year, and the health costs are alone approximately Rs 470-610 billion.

Keeping in mind these facts, conscious citizens across India are making attempts at the local and national level to prevent water pollution, revive the polluted water bodies and thereby eradicate water-related diseases.

Here’s a look at five of them:

1) Turning Sewage Water Into Drinkable Water

This organic water filter developed by Anto P Biju and Thomas Cyriac, is the size of an index finger, costs just Rs 10, and can convert up to 30 litres of impure water into freshwater within a few hours using activated carbon.

On putting the purifier in any water container, pores from contaminated water that act as micro-reservoirs are fixed over a disc inside the cartridge. It eliminates foul smell, harmful metals and colours from the water. Moreover, the technology adds minerals that improve the immune system. The best part? The cartridge in the purifier that costs around Rs 60 has to be replaced every five years, which means there is no maintenance or recurring cost.

A from Palai town, who developed the device, had used 200 such purifiers during the 2018 Kerala floods in the relief camps that provided safe drinking water to thousands of displaced victims.

Read more about the device here. 

2) Using Floating Wetlands to Make Water Bodies Pollutant-Free 

Tarun Sebastian Nanda, an ecological engineer, is using a natural way to clean water bodies in Delhi through his ‘Adopt an Island’ initiative.

He is constructing floating wetlands by using aquatic plants. These plants are placed on buoyant mats made from drainage pipes and discarded soda bottles.

When the island is placed on the surface water, they absorb manganese, iron, aluminium and other contaminants through their roots and foliage, thus purifying the polluted water. These wetlands also discourage the growth of algae and help improve the overall ecosystem.

Read more about Tarun’s initiatives here. 

3) Purification of Groundwater Within 30 Minutes 

Most farmers are heavily dependent on groundwater to fulfil their water needs to grow food. However, using polluted groundwater can lead to water-borne diseases.

To address this issue, Anjan Mukherjee, a former marine chief engineer, has developed the Taraltec Disinfection Reactor.

It is a device that can be installed inside a hand pump or motorised borewell, and it will purify the contaminated water in 30 minutes by killing 99% of the microbes present in it.

The device does not require electricity or fuel to function and hence, there are no maintenance costs.

“The device converts the kinetic energy of the fluid into millions of targeted microbubbles each acting as localised reactors. This generates extreme heat, pressure and turbulence that releases intense energy packets during the collapse of bubbles. The resultant shockwave, marked by a bang sound, lacerates and kills the microbes. The water, which is 99% safer than it was earlier, then emerges from the borewell or pump into the hands of those drawing it,” explains Mukherjee.

Read more about the invention here. 

4) Treating Water With Human Hair

At just 13, Nikhilesh Das from Assam came up with an indigenous way to use human hair to clean oil spills in water.  He mixed motor oil and lubricant with water in a beaker. As the oil formed a layer on top, he deposited human hair and saw how it absorbed 90 per cent of the oil from water within 30 seconds.

His innovation even won an award from former President, Pratibha Patil, in 2009.

Read more here. 

5) Using AI and Robotics to Solve Water Woes 

Using artificial intelligence and robotics, Asim Bhalerao and Nidhi Jain have been instrumental in diverting 600 MLD (Million Liters a Day) of raw sewage from entering water bodies and prevented over 5,600 hours of manual scavenging.

The couple has developed a robot that can map and inspect underground pipelines. The collected data identifies structural defects, operations and maintenance failure modes that makes it easier for the authorities to fix them.

“Solutions are expected to be cost effective, relevant , while being highly scalable and intrinsically safe to operate, in extremely hazardous conditions. Robotics and AI based solutions, that are developed with a deep understanding of problems on the ground, will be key in improving water treatment and water reuse,” explains Asim.

They have also come up with a drone that identifies similar problems in buildings, slums, pipelines, roads and villages.

“We use AI and robotics to automate pipeline mapping and health assessment. We also use drones and AI for crop pattern analysis, identifying different crops and water sources for effective farm management,” shares Nidhi.

Read more here.

Featured Image Source: Flickr

Also Read: Making Every Drop Count: 7 Simple Ways You Can Save Water at Home

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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It was 2002, and Asmabi Kareem had just gone into labour. She and her husband, Abdul Kareem, a businessman in Kerala’s Kunnamangalam town , were ecstatic about the arrival of the newborn who would soon join their family of three.

This Diwali, gift some joy to the little folks at Snehalaya, an NGO that fosters children of sex workers, minors rescued from the sex trade and children orphaned by and/or living with HIV. 

But when the doctor left the labour room, he had a troubled expression on his face. “Congratulations! You’ve been blessed with a girl. But, she is missing forearms and a foot.”

While it was a painful reality to process, Abdul and Asmabi only counted their blessings. They named the baby Noor, after the Arabic word for light, and promised to do whatever it took to ensure that she grew up to be a happy and healthy child.

Today, at 17, Noor Jaleela is a budding artist who not only paints but also sings, plays the violin, and has shared the stage with stalwarts such as KS Chithra and Stephen Devassy.

In December 2017, ‘Dream of Us,’ an NGO working with children with disabilities, featured two of her paintings at their exhibition ‘Swapnachithra,’ at Kozhikode Lalitha Kala Akademi Art Gallery.

The Better India (TBI) got in touch with her to document her journey.

Growing up Different

Noor grew up in a very sheltered environment. When she would get upset after seeing her able-bodied classmates in school, her sister, Aysha, would calm her by saying that her arms and feet would grow soon. “It was a white lie. But it made me happy,” says Noor.

Her father, on the other hand, maintained a scrapbook which had newspaper cuttings and pictures of people who suffered disabilities that were more severe when compared to Noor.

“When I saw the stories of some of these personalities, including Nick Vujicic and Marc Elliot, I was motivated. They overcame their disabilities to carve a niche for themselves. I wanted to do exactly that.”

While her family never treated her differently, the world could be a cruel place at times. “Strangers would stare at my underdeveloped arms, or pass comments on the way I walked. Many schools rejected me due to my disability. Some even went to the extent of saying that studying with me would affect the progress and development of other kids,” she remembers.

Hope entered her life when she got accepted into the Navajyothi School in Kunnamangalam. The conducive and supportive atmosphere at the school helped her family discover her many talents.

“Once, when Aysha left her record book home, I mistook it for a colouring book and got to work. Though the record book was damaged, my parents realised that I could paint really well!” mentions Noor.

In Class 7, when her school dedicated two slots of the day for extra-curricular activities, Noor’s best friend Shreya opted for the violin class, and she followed suit. While Abdul and Asmabi wondered how their daughter would pull it off without forearms, they bought her a small violin.

But Noor had it figured out. “I’d seen videos of people playing the cello, and asked myself, why don’t I try playing the violin just like the cello?”

She soon tied a hairband to her arm and fixed the bow of the violin on it and started playing the instrument in the reverse direction, It took some time to master, but she managed it successfully.

Accepting, Going Beyond Disability

Today, Noor is a student of St Joseph’s College, Devagiri, and wants to attempt the coveted civil service exams and become an IAS officer. She was fitted with artificial limbs at Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, and can walk without much difficulty.

“Acceptance was the first step for me. I knew nothing could alter my condition, but that did not stop me from finding newer ways to make the best of my life, to explore my potential, undertake new skills and motivate others around me.”

She adds how her family and Dr Anwar Husain, the Director of the Institute of Palliative Medicine in Calicut are her role models.

Noor and her mother joined Dr Husain’s NGO as volunteers and have been impacting several lives over the last eight months.

“With my mother, I tend to patients at the institute who are bedridden and have lost all hope. We provide them with maximum care and support during their numbered days. I try to keep them smiling by spending time with them, speaking, reading, painting and singing for them.”

Dr Husain and Noor have clearly formed a mutual admiration society. “Even though she says I am her role model, it is Noor that inspired me. She is such a strong young woman, and her optimism is infectious. She is an exceptional motivational speaker too. We are very proud of her,” he quips.

Noor ends the conversation, with an important message for our readers.

“People with disabilities don’t need your sympathy. Instead, give them your care, support and motivation. Help them become independent. The first step towards doing that is inclusivity in all spheres of life⁠—education, job opportunities, accessible public space, transport facilities or rights. You can help create a barrier-free society to help them move ahead in life.”

Also Read: 2 Trains Ran Over Him, Amputating His Legs. Today, He Moonwalks on National TV!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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In Vadookara, Thrissur district, Kerala, every day from noon until 2 PM, a defunct bus shelter sees a steady stream of the homeless, sitting and eating food being served by a group of friends.

Jaison and his wife Binu Mariya, Sreejith—an auto driver, Shine James—an ex-bus driver, V A Ismail—a workshop worker and two Remyas, one a housewife and the other a teacher have been providing hygienic food to street dwellers for two years.

“I am inspired by Mother Theresa’s work,” says 37-year-old Jaison Paul, the man behind this initiative.

On an average between 175 to 200 people come to have food at the bus shelter daily. The team of volunteers come together near Paul’s residence and prepares the food every day barring Sunday. The team’s main focus is on delivering hygienic, quality meals to the underprivileged.

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Getting organised

“I started an organisation—Mother Janaseva Charitable Trust in January 2018. Until then we were involved in various social activities but were not formally part of any group or organisation. Up until then, a few like-minded friends and I were discussing the possibility of doing something for those in need,” he adds.

Paul is a fruit seller and manages to keep aside some of the money for this initiative, showing us that if you truly want to bring a change, you will always find a way. “We started by collecting and donating old clothes, organising and being part of blood donation camps, providing financial assistance to deserving and meritorious students etc,” informs Paul.

The idea of providing home-cooked meals to to the needy struck the group during one of the discussions and they started off with ‘puzhukku’, rice porridge.

From the moment they saw more people lining up for food, they scaled up their operations. “Now, we have two meal options – vegetarian and non-vegetarian. We serve rice, sambar, a fish curry, vegetables, pickle, and salad.”

The Operation in Kerala

Paul informs that if the vegetarian meal costs Rs 5,000 and a non-vegetarian costs Rs 6,000 per month.

The organisation receives contributions but they vary month to month. Many donors sponsor a complete meal for the day either vegetarian or non vegetarian. The Trust also accepts donations in kind, like vegetables, cereals, rice – one can donate anything that they chose to.

“There are many people who want to make a difference but simply do not have the time to do anything. For all of them we act as a medium by doing the work,” smiles Paul.

The team has also set up two tables and six chairs at the bus shelter.

What’s amazing is how neat this entire process is – even after the meal is served, the team ensures that no food is wasted. Food is usually served on banana leaves and then the team collects everything and deposits it into the garbage pits near Paul’s home.

Paul also shares that they are now collecting leftover food from big functions and weddings.

We often lament about the problems around us. But, very few of us actually do something about it. Jaison Paul and his team are the few proactive people bringing a difference in people’s lives.

In case you live in the vicinity and have leftover food that you would like to donate, you can contact Jaison Paul and his team at +91-7025907269.

Also Read: 76-YO Runs Delhi’s Only Free ‘Auto Ambulance’, Has Saved Hundreds Since 1978!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Armed with axes, a few men in Veloor Panchayat in Thrissur district, Kerala marched toward ‘Ayurjack Farm’—a flourishing rubber plantation along with earth excavators in the wee hours of the morning.

The chopping began. The destruction of healthy trees was inevitable.

Alarmed villagers and farmers gathered around the gory scene. Some concerned villagers ran to Varghese Tharakan, the owner of the Farm, to notify him only to realise that the owner himself led the execution.

Questions like, ‘Have you gone insane?’ ‘Are you sure you know what are you doing?’ ‘Do not destroy your life’ fell on deaf ears, as Tharakan continued the felling.

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Agitated, some villagers even offered to help him financially assuming he was cutting the trees for money. Concerns soon turned to mockery and insults when Tharakan revealed the real reason behind the ‘insane stunt’.

People refused to take him seriously when Tharakan told everyone about his unique water conservation method that would prevent floods and solve water problems in the region.

Eight years later, the same people, who once hurled taunts at him, now visit Ayurjack Farm to replicate his farming model to grow jackfruit. Several experts and farmers from different parts of the country and the world visit the farm round the year for research purposes.

“It did not feel right that my five-acre farm would absorb all the groundwater and also the rainwater as rubber plantations consume a lot of water. The land is highly fertile and so I decided to utilise it more judiciously. Jackfruit, being the traditional fruit in my region, was my obvious choice,” Tharakan tells The Better India.

The uneven climatic conditions in the region was another motivation for the Kerala farmer to implement a water-saving method.

Tharakan’s model has eliminated not only his water problems but also of the neighbouring farms. Close to 35 wells, that were once dried up, are now full of water. He saves approximately six crore litres of rainwater every year that is enough to water 1,000 odd jackfruit trees in his farm round the year.

What’s more?

The panchayat dodged the destructive Kerala floods in 2018 by capturing each drop of rainwater into trenches dug in the fields of Tharakan and the other local farmers.

Tharakan’s plantation, which has 32 varieties of jackfruits, has been included on the preliminary list for WAFA (Water, Air, Food Awards), which recognises and promotes sustainable solutions that ensure safe drinking water, clean air and food for all.

His model has received the Shony Mitra award by the state for soil and water conservation and was even presented at the London School of Economics.

It was not an easy decision to let go of 12-year-old rubber plantations that yielded high profits and start planting jackfruits from scratch when he was in his 30s.

“With all the wells dried up, the farmers would either be left without sufficient water in case of a scanty rainfall or the farms would be destroyed due to torrential rains. We needed a strategy to take advantage of heavy rains and solve water problems,” says the 45-year-old.

How A Simple Water-Saving Method Solve Environmental Problems

After multiple trials to conserve rainwater and advice from the village elders, Tharakan finally came up with a rainwater harvesting model called ‘Underground Water Balancing System’ in 2013.

“The method is not rocket science,” says Tharakan, “All I did was dig shallow trenches in my farm by excavating the soil across the hill slope to let every drop of water percolate underground. I divided my farmland into elevated layers to ensure even distribution of rainwater. Excess water from walking paths is transported to the trenches every time it rains heavily.”

Trenches break the sloppy ground and therefore reduce the velocity of water runoff. As the speed of runoff is decreased, infiltration in the ground increases, thus preventing soil erosion. The result was apparent 2-3 monsoons later with recharged groundwater tables and filled to the brim wells.

Tharakan also reformed his farming technique by going organic, “The whole purpose of working for the environment would be defeated if I used chemicals and pesticides to grow jackfruits. So, I started preparing natural fertilisers.”

He dug pits in his farm and filled them with cow and goat dung, neem and cocopeat to make compost, “For every tree, I use around 3-4 kilos of dried compost as a natural fertiliser. It keeps the nutrient levels of plants intact.”

By switching to organic methods, the farm’s output became high.

Every year, Tharakan gets 100 kilos worth of jackfruit from each tree. To sum it up, Tharakan sells one lakh kilos of jackfruits annually.

To help others switch to organic farming, Tharakan sells eight varieties of saplings to people and farmers. At present, there are one lakh saplings thriving in his luscious farm.

“We do not export or sell saplings in the market or online. We only provide saplings to those who visit our farm,” he informs.

The best part about his varieties is the height of the trees which is anything between 7-8 feet where an average jackfruit tree is around 70 to 80 feet, “Due to the small height, my varieties can be grown in plots as small as 2 cents and also in houses.”

Tharakan now plans to collaborate with the state government’s agriculture and education department to spread awareness about his eco-friendly model and solve the water crisis. He also hopes to introduce his farming techniques in school textbooks.

If you wish to purchase saplings or jackfruits, click here to contact Varghese Tharakan.

Also Read: Here’s How This Kerala Woman Used the Magic Of Rubber To Uplift Meghalaya’s Garos

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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After buying the products on his list in the busy market in Kozhikode, Kerala, Sankaran Moosad meticulously empties the contents of plastic packets full of spices, condiments, fruits and sugar into paper ones. While doing so, he garners a few stares and also gets clicked by curious, nosy smartphones.

Once, when he was doing so, the manager of the store intervened. 

“I was just transferring the products from plastic packets to paper ones and steel containers. Usually, people do that at home. The manager did not say anything after learning about my mission to keep plastic items out of my home. I have made several trips to the same supermarket since that day and now people have stopped raising eyebrows,” Moosad, who presently lives in Kozhikode town tells The Better India.  

56-year-old Moosad, a retired senior clerk at Kerala’s Vazhakkad panchayat, Kerala, has taken India’s commitment to eliminate single-use plastic items by 2022 seriously. 

Opt for a plastic-free cutlery and help end plastic pollution. Check out this amazing low-price and eco-friendly range here. 

“I am not doing this to gain fame. Being a responsible citizen, giving up plastic items is the most natural thing for me to do,” he says.

Practising What I Preach

Moosad’s plastic-free mission began while he was still in office. 

In early 2017, when the panchayat started a campaign against plastic, urging the citizens to adopt eco-friendly alternatives, Moosad was the first to sign up.

He not only spoke to others about it, Moosad also implemented the same principles at home by replacing plastic carry bags with cloth ones. 

At his office, he made the same appeal to give up non-biodegradable plastic cups and bottles to his seniors. Soon, the panchayat took a collective effort and switched to stainless steel glasses to serve tea and coffee. 

Drawing inspiration from him, Moosad’s colleagues started getting their food in steel tiffin boxes.

Easy Plastic-Free Steps By Kerala-based Moosad That You Too Can Follow: 

Moosad soon realised that merely giving up plastic carry bags was not enough as other kinds of plastic still remained in the house. 

“When my wife and I started counting plastic items in the house we were overwhelmed by its presence in our lives. We had a tough time chalking out a plan to discard the toxic material but the implementation was comparatively easy,” shares Moosad. 

Plastic Bags: 

Every once or twice in a month, Moosad travels to the city area to purchase cloth bags in wholesale. 

“It is true when people say that plastic carry bags are cheaper than cloth ones. But it was critical to make a shift as polythene bags are heavily used in our households. We store them thinking it will be reused for our next grocery shopping. But we often forget to take the bag while stepping out and end up getting a new one,” says Moosad. 

Going out of the house with at least one cloth bag has now become a habit in the Moosad household. 

Plastic Containers: 

Plastic Tupperware has made way for stainless steel containers in Moosad’s home to store food items. 

Each steel container has a number tag on it for easy identification. Each food item is allotted a specific number and a list is maintained to keep a track. 

Plastic Packaging: 

With the problem of storage addressed, Moosad came up with ways to avoid plastic packaging altogether. 

“There are two ways to do that, one is to empty the packets at source (like a supermarket) or go back to traditional ways. For example, my grandparents used to go to the dairy and collect milk in a container,” shares Moosad. 

He followed suit and now he purchases coffee from local grounding centre and procures items like wheat flour, ghee and oil in containers from local groceries that have this option.

Seed Pens: 

Moosad’s wife Preethadevi has been a great support in his mission. After helping him in choosing sustainable alternatives of plastic, she has now extended it to her work as well. 

Preethadevi is a teacher in a local private school. 

Recently, the school had organised several competitions as part of extracurricular and Preethadevi pitched the idea of making plastic-free pens. 

“The students made a pen from craft paper and filled them with vegetable seeds. The result was a biodegradable pen which will germinate into a plant after being discarded,” she shares.

95 per cent Plastic Free Home

Moosad is not afraid to confess that his house is not completely plastic-free as items like shampoo bottles and photo frames still prevail, “I can say that 95 per cent of my house is plastic-free.” 

His efforts were recently recognised by Haritha Kerala Mission, a government-led initiative for a sustainable environment and were even shared on their official social media handles, “This family is a good example of how families can follow plastic-free mission,” it reads. 

Moosad truly embodies the adage: Practice what you preach. He has been able to effortlessly prove that switching to sustainable options is not a daunting task. 

Also Read: Want Plastic-Free Mats, Pads, Soaps Etc.? 5 Wonder Grasses That Are the Answer

Featured Image Source: Haritha Keralam Mission/Facebook 

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Is your child getting enough water? Especially when they are away at school?

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has guidelines about how much fluid children need – as a general rule of thumb, children aged between 4 to 13 should aim to drink approximately 6-8 glasses of fluid a day, with younger children needing relatively smaller servings (e.g. 150 ml for a 4-year-old and 250 ml for an older child).

To address this concern and inculcate the habit of consuming an adequate amount of water, Kerala schools started a rather unique practice. During school hours, a bell is rung thrice to remind students to pick up their bottles and drink some water.

Here’s your chance to set an alarm and consume enough water through the day. Get yourself a glass bottle right here!

Taking a cue from this, Karnataka’s Primary Education Minister Suresh Kumar announced that all private and aided schools in the state will also have a water bell that will ring three times during school hours to remind students to consume water.

The origins of the ‘water-bell’

Almost two years ago it was Jenil John, a Physical Education teacher at St. Joseph’s Upper Primary School, located in Irinjalakuda who came up with the idea of introducing the water bell. According to an interview he gave The Print, he speaks about why he felt the need to introduce the water bell.

John says, “The video was of a boy who faints after not drinking water despite feeling thirsty. He develops a severe stomach-ache and a water bottle provided by the teacher and a school announcement makes the child realise the importance of drinking water. That is when we thought why not introduce a water bell just before the interval.”

What’s heartening is how several other states have taken to this concept. Following Kerala, other states, like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Odisha, have also started to implement the water bell concept in their schools.

In Karnataka:

Indraprastha Vidyalaya in Uppinangady, in the Dakshina Kannada district, was the first school to implement this concept in Karnataka. The Better India caught up with Principal M J Jose to understand how this is being implemented.

Jose says, “We were getting a lot of feedback from parents that their children would return home with water bottles completely untouched and that was what prompted us to take this decision.” He goes on, “We implemented this at school almost three months ago and this rule is applicable for all classes; from our nursery children to the senior classes. In fact, not just the students, even the teachers and staff at school have been diligently following this rule.”

Speaking about how they go about this, he says, “Just like there is a bell for everything else, we have three bells rung during the day for water consumption as well.”

The first bell is rung at 10.35 a.m. followed by one at noon and then at 2.00 p.m. every day.

He says, “The complaints that we used to get from students and parents about frequent headaches, and pain in the stomach have reduced considerably after the implementation of this rule.”

Of course, it is not compulsory to drink the water each time the bell rings. But it is felt that such reminders would encourage students to have a sip, and perhaps begin a popular trend.

In Odisha:

Taking a cue from the southern states, as of November 25, all the schools of Ganjam district, which includes government, private and anganwadis will follow the water bell.

Speaking to The Better India, Vijay Amruta Kulange, Collector, Ganjam Odisha says, “The habit of drinking water on time is very important for children. Many times during their study time and also while playing students forget to have sufficient water, which creates kidney stone problems, stomach problems and also skin diseases. In keeping all this in mind, we thought it would be beneficial to start a water bell in anganwadis and schools, thrice a day.”

Ways to encourage consumption of water for your kids:

• Try and get children to start their day with a glass of water
• Make a concerted effort to get them to consume water before they leave the house for their playtime
• Even in between their playtime ensure that they sip on water from time to time
• Include fruits and vegetables with a higher fluid content into their diet
• When you step out of the house always ensure that you carry a bottle of water with you

Here’s hoping all states across the country introduce these timely reminders. On that note, do get yourself a glass of water right away!

Also Read: Kerala School Breaks Stereotypes, Introduces Gender-Neutral Uniforms For Students!

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

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Torrential rains, floods and landslides batter certain parts of Kerala every monsoon, while residents, who have spent hefty sums building their homes, helplessly witness the severe damages.

In anticipation of these extreme weather conditions, many have resorted to innovative design structures or construction methods to minimise the damage. P Gopalakrishnan Achari, a  resident of Vazhappilly, is one such person.

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When the water level rises during floods, his design allows the house to literally float atop the floodwaters. Interestingly, it was not originally meant to be a flood-resistant house.

Speaking to The Better India, Achari explains, “For the past few years, the construction sector in Kerala has been facing a tough time in procuring rock, baby metal and sand. So, there was a need to look for other materials that are cost-effective and eco-friendly. First, I constructed a model house using steel pipe and multi-wood sheets. Taking me nearly five years to build the house, I built it in 2017. But next year, the floods hit Kerala. Then I redesigned it to ensure the house is equipped for a possible flood situation.”

Achari mentions that air tanks installed in the foundation of the house are what help the house rise. When the water level rises, so will the structure.

“To avoid the floating house from being swept away by the floodwaters, I have placed four steel pistons in four corners through the walls. These pistons are not visible from outside or inside the house and are entrenched 25 feet into the earth. The house stands on the inner rods of these pistons and doesn’t touch the earth. During floods, the house will move up along with the air tank with the support of the piston. When the water recedes, it will automatically come back to the normal level. The house will not move an inch on to the sides,” says Achari.

In this particular model, the piston extends up to 15 feet above the earth, and therefore the house can safely move up to 10 feet. The height of the pistons can be adjusted to any level, but the strength and length of the piston should be increased accordingly.

“I haven’t used mud, rocks, tiles, cement or wood. The entire structure is made of steel (GI pipe). The walls are made of multi wood sheet on both sides. There is an air gap of 1.5 inch between these sheets which help bring down the temperature in the house,” he adds.

The basement is also covered with multi-wood sheets so that the tank will not be visible from outside. The model house is made of aluminium sheet. Any material can be used for roofing.

Cost

If a good quality GI pipe is used, the house will cost approximately Rs.1,600 per sq.ft. Achari claims that he hasn’t compromised on the quality of materials.

“It took me four months to build this 1,300 sq.ft. house. The construction demands very less labour force as skilled workers are only needed for welding, carpentry and plumbing. Four welding experts worked throughout the construction period, while four carpenters also worked for a few days, besides getting a hand in the wiring and plumbing process,” he says.

Interestingly, Achari claims that the flood-resistant houses can be constructed on any type of soil⁠—from very loose sand to hard rock.

“I have also designed a model house which will help people living in low lying areas like Kuttanad, where water-logging and floods are part of daily life. It is an ‘extra height house,’ which again stands on many pistons,” he adds.

Recognition

After a video of his house became viral, more than 300 people have visited to learn about it. These people include architects, civil engineers and students, among others from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Also Read: Dump the AC, Use These 3 Green Cooling Solutions While Building Your Home!

“I have given detailed information to all and learnt that some people have started constructing houses using this model. I am happy that my experiment has turned helpful to people. I’m more than happy to share details to those interested,” he says.

(With inputs from Ranjith KR)

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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With a unique waterway system comprising freshwater lakes, small rivers, lagoons and canals that are interspersed with small islands surrounded by gangly groves of coconut trees and verdant mangrove forests, Kumarakom in Kerala’s Kottayam district is a popular tourist destination.

Does the thought of harming the environment stop you from travelling? Check out eco-tours here.

In fact, this sleepy little backwater village is one of the destinations in the world listed by National Geographic magazine. This cluster of islands has the mighty Vembanad Lake in the backdrop. Recording an annual footfall of about seven million visitors, the kettuvallam (houseboat) rides are especially popular.

The traditional cuisine comprising seafood dishes like Chemmeen (prawns), Kakka (clams) and Karimeen (pearl spot), elicit a fan following of their own.

And then there’s the legendary Bird Sanctuary by the side of Vembanad Lake. A famous haunt of ornithologists and bird watchers from across the world, many migratory species like the Siberian Stork and the Wild Duck, along with more common species like darters, herons, egrets, waterfowls and cuckoos can be found here.

Against this picturesque backdrop, imagine a group of local women silently heralding the cause of Responsible Tourism through delicious meals since 2011.

Welcome to Samrudhi Ethnic Food Restaurant.

One of Kumarakom’s flagship initiatives under Kerala’s award-winning Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission, this humble joint has been offering tourists a taste of local cuisine while providing a steady source of income to the women carrying its reins.

Vijayamma Sarlappan, Samruddhi group’s president, shares how it all started. She begins, “With the boom in the tourism industry that was shortly followed by various Responsible Tourism initiatives, employment scope for home-bound women like us gradually began to take shape, and with that, the possibility of a steady income finally seemed a reality.”

She explains that each of the ten wards under the Kumarakom Panchayat selected a Kudumbasree unit member to put together Samrudhi’s workforce.

“As an initial investment for the restaurant, each of us pitched in Rs 10,000 from our savings, in addition to a loan of Rs 2 lakh that we received from Kudumbasree, plus Rs 1 lakh as a subsidy,” she adds.

Under the Café Kudumbasree initiative, they also received training in catering as well as clean and hygienic restaurant practices.

“We were even trained with tips and practices to keep in mind while serving food. Everything we prepare is strictly in line with the Green Protocol and does not contain any artificial food colours or chemical additives. We have been practising this in our kitchen religiously from day one,” shares Puthuparambil Raji, the restaurant secretary.

Samrudhi Ethnic Food Restaurant opened its doors to people for the first time on 11 April 2011.

Today, Samrudhi has become a recognised Kumarakom brand, catering for nearby events as well. “We have prepared food for about 200 people and are positive that we can undertake orders for larger groups in the future,” adds Raji.

Starting at 6.30 am, the restaurant operates till 8.30 pm, with the local backwater delicacies finding maximum takers. From vegetables to seafood, everything is sourced by the team from local farmers and fishermen.

Organic vegetables like pavakya (bitter gourd), payar (beans), padavalangya (snake gourd), cheera (red spinach), vazhachundu (banana flower), mathangya (pumpkin), ethakaya (raw plantain) and etha pazham (ripe plantain) as well as milk, pappadom (papad) and coconuts are purchased by the women from farmers and Kudumbasree members.

Part of the Kerala government’s ‘triple-bottom-line’ mission which comprises economic, social and environmental responsibilities, Samrudhi restaurant is one of the 14,000 registered units operating under the state’s pioneering Responsible Tourism Mission.

As of the achievements of this ambitious project, about 75,000 people from across the state have found jobs in the tourism sector, while 40 villages have become part of RT packages. The total revenue of Responsible Tourism activities in the state is around Rs 10 crore annually, and the total revenue from RT initiatives in Kumarakom is Rs 3.15 crore a year, says Rupesh Kumar K, Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala.

As of the achievements of this ambitious project, about 75,000 people from across the state have found jobs in the tourism sector, while 40 villages have become part of RT packages. The mission has single-handedly contributed to the state tourism sector with an annual turnover of Rs 7.15 crore.

Livelihood opportunities that empower once-confined local women to interact with people from across the globe are the accomplishments closer home.

In fact, Harold Goodwin, a tourist from England, penned the following words in their visitors’ diary. “Delicious food that is prepared and served with love. Extremely amiable and well-behaved employees. Thank you, thank you so much for all your services.”

From incorporating traditional jobs to seamlessly fit in with the tour packages, forming local women’s groups and integrating these into the tourism sector to introducing traditional cuisine from the backwaters to glocal tourists, Samrudhi is setting a rare benchmark for the tourism industry.

“Earlier, as ordinary home-makers, our interactions rarely extended beyond the peripheries of our households, let alone the society. Now, we can go anywhere without any fear or inhibition, and can ably interact with the community. These are changes that have significantly impacted our lives. In addition to that, we have managed to provide a quality education to our children, get them married, and even repay debts and loans. Thanks to Samrudhi, we have become pillars of support for our families,” shares Sarlappan, proudly.

The women have taken their responsibilities a notch higher by making cloth and paper bags to eliminate plastic waste. Earlier this month, they received the prestigious gold award conferred by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

This was one of the three awards conferred by PATA to Kerala Tourism for its women empowerment initiatives under the RT Mission. Samrudhi boasts of an annual turnover of Rs 15 lakh and plans on expanding to services like live kitchens, juice counters, and food festivals.

These successes, they attribute to the support and supervision of RT Mission’s state coordinator Roopesh Kumar and Kumarakom coordinator Bhagat Singh V S.

Remarkably, Samrudhi is not the only people-powered local initiative. Of the 15,500 RT units in the state, around 13,500 units are headed by women! Together, they reiterate how responsible tourism can uplift a region socially and economically.

Also Read: How Kudumbasree Women Changed Barren Land to Lush Farms, Earned 100% Profits!

As for the tourists, exposure to these places not only satisfies their wanderlust or gastronomic goals but also enriches their lived experience. So why not be part of an initiative that gives you so much and also allows you to give back to the place that made your trip worthwhile?

For more information on Samrudhi Ethnic Food Restaurant, reach out to Puthuparambil Raji at 9562750260.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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Our social media feeds often startle us with photographs of marine animals in distress due to plastic pollution. Tortoises with deformed bodies stuck in plastic bottle rings or mammoth whales dying from a diet of plastic straws – news like these hits us hard every day. However, we often overlook how our daily plastic use is leading to such a massacre of marine species.

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In Beypore beach of Kozhikode, Kerala, a group of youths were deeply bothered by the dire marine pollution scenario. They came up with the idea to amalgamate water sports with marine pollution awareness which led to the start of Jellyfish Watersports in 2013. While offering the tourists fun and eco-friendly water activities like kayaking or rowing, the team keeps them abreast of the diverse marine fauna of the region, slowly making their way into the endangered list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Four days ago, the Jellyfish Watersports team inaugurated the Marine Cemetery – world’s first ‘graveyard’ dedicated to critically-endangered aquatic species. The idea is to evoke shock among the visitors and prompt them to resolve against the use of single-use plastic.

The Story behind the Unique Concept

Tarun Gupta (33), Brand Executive of Jellyfish Watersports shares, “While interacting with tourists from the city, we realised that they have little connection with the water bodies. They do not realise the repercussion of the heaps of plastic waste they generate. So, we took it upon ourselves to educate them about how marine pollution is wreaking havoc on aquatic life.”

In the past three months, Jellyfish Watersports undertook two major environmental activities – Chaliyar River Paddle and Beypore Beach Cleanup.

“In the first, over a 100 recreational kayakers participated in the 3-day expedition along the Chaliyar river. Traversing over 68 km, they collected discarded plastic bottles and bags along their way, which we brought back to the shore,” informs Tarun.

Beypore Beach Cleanup saw enthusiastic participation of the young and old – from local citizens, school-goers, IIM-Kozhikode students and even tourists. The activity saw a collection of a whopping 800 kg of waste from the beach, from which they segregated over 2,000 plastic bottles.

What is Marine Cemetery?

Jellyfish Watersports decided to recycle this humongous amount of plastic waste into something creative and useful. That’s when they came up with the idea of a Marine Cemetery.

Located on an extended stretch of fallow land meeting the sea, the cemetery comprises of nine gravestones made out of plastic bottles.

Measuring 4 ft X 3 ft each, eight of these gravestones are dedicated to eight endangered marine species of the region. The largest tomb of 6 ft X 4 ft is in ‘remembrance’ of the Miss Kerala—a beautiful freshwater fish once found abundantly in the Chaliyar river. Often hailed as the pride of the state, the fish is now inching toward the critically-endangered status.

Here’s the entire list of species represented at the Marine Cemetery:

1. Seahorse (Hippocampus)
2. Parrotfish (Scariidae)
3. Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)
4. Eagle Rays (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)
5. Sawfish (Pristidae)
6. Dugong (Dugongidae)
7. Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
8. Hammerhead shark (Sphyrnidae)
9. Miss Kerala (Sahyadria denisonii)

Inaugurated by Kozhikode Collector S. Sambasiva Rao on 4 December 2019, the cemetery has seen a considerable footfall in these few days. Most of the visitors are local residents who throng the beach during sunrise and sunset where the sight of a beach-side graveyard intrigues many.

At the inauguration event, Rao stated, “The Marine Cemetery is a reminder of the destruction that we are bringing upon our planet in the name of convenience.”

Tarun shares that the Collector’s office has extended their full support to Marine Cemetery on behalf of the Clean Beach Mission and also expressed how it will help promote Kozhikode as a sustainable travel destination. They were supported by Aakash Ranison, a full-time traveller and climate activist in their endeavours.

Till date, Jellyfish Watersports have prompted over 200 individuals to pledge against single-use plastic in their lives. They believe that the Marine Cemetery will bring hundreds more into the anti-plastic brigade.

Also Read: In 23 Years, This School Dropout from Odisha Has Saved Millions of Ridley Turtles

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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When Yasmin Arimbra was sixteen, her father told her she could not study further due to financial constraints. “Come and help me in the paddy field instead,” was the unequivocal injunction.

“It pained me to see girls my age going to school and building a future for themselves. I knew that I couldn’t expect more from our family’s deplorable situation. I was turning into the kind of person I had detested all my life, someone who is denied an education and deprived of all social activities,” says 35-year-old Yasmin, a native of Thennala panchayat in Malappuram district of Kerala.

But Yasmin is made of sterner stuff. Mistress of her own destiny, she is now the Managing Director of Thennala Agro Producing Company that grows and sells paddy. Her rice brand ‘Thennala’ has made inroads in the regional markets and is widely known for being chemical-free.

Want to grow your own farm but do not have space? Check out this cost-effective mini hydroponic growing kit for in-house farming. 

Not only that, Yasmin has changed the lives of more than 500 women in the district by engaging them in farming activities, she has made them shareholders in her company. 

In the last fiscal year, the company made a profit of Rs 24 lakhs that was equally distributed among these shareholders. 

Breaking the Mould

After clearing her ninth standard with good marks, Yasmin was excited about tenth standard for she knew that freedom awaited her in college. But, her father’s words shattered her dreams.

“Hundreds of thoughts, both positive and negative, crossed my mind. There was not a single person I could talk to or lean on. I was desperately looking for one hope, one signal to cling onto. Though a little late, help did come,” she shares. 

The state government’s Kudumbrashree Mission reached Yasmin’s village in 2010. The mission is a social collective working towards women’s upliftment through awareness, training programmes and financial aid. 

The collective, that comprises of nearly 5 million women, forms Self-Help Groups (SHGs) at the grassroots level and gives its members vocational training. 

The collective also solves the problems of the members through weekly meetings. It encourages small-time enterprises by helping them open bank accounts, to begin with, and later, they help them in availing subsidised loans from banks. 

The moment Yasmeen heard of the Kudumbrashree Mission, she was one of the first to join.

“I was not alone. There were so many girls and women who were confined to the four walls of their house. Amidst all the issues, I saw hidden aspirations, hopes and an eagerness to be a changemaker. Their stories became my inspiration to form my own identity,” informs Yasmin. 

Having worked for two years with passion and dedication to bring in more women under the mission, Yasmin was elected the President of Panchayat level unit of Kudumbashree. 

And her first plan was to revolutionise paddy cultivation in the village.

“Most men would leave the village and go to the Middle East for jobs. The fields were abandoned and paddy cultivation saw a decline. Since these farms were already fertile and rice production was something that all of us were well-versed with, we decided to utilise the opportunity.”

Yet, even here, people did not make things easy for her. ‘Women cannot do ploughing’ and ‘your group won’t be able to get a fair price’ were some of the jibes she had to hear on a regular basis.

Forming the Agro Company

Disregarding the taunts, Yasmin mobilised local women (mostly from BPL families), which was a daunting task in itself. With no help from the family members, the onus of purchasing the land came entirely on the women. 

Instead, the women got the required land on lease. 

Yasmin divided all members into 126 groups (each having four women). Each cluster leased 1-3 acres of paddy field. 

These 126 acres eventually increased to 522 acres with Kudumbashree’s constant financial help. 

Alongside, Yasmin also enrolled in the State Literacy Mission in 2013, pursuing a level equivalent to class ten. Currently, she has joined a degree course in Sociology under the same programme.

From 26 tonnes of paddy in the first year and 30 tonnes in the next, the paddy cultivation thrived. However, women received marginal revenue as middlemen would mostly take the profits. 

“Most of us are either school or college dropouts. We had no idea about marketing strategies, packaging and storage. The cost of renting a warehouse and paddy processing was too high. It was time to escalate our activities,” says Yasmin. 

In 2015, Yasmin and her group took a brave step by launching their own company to avoid getting duped, remove middlemen and increase revenue. 

Kudumbashree and NABARD both chipped in with Rs 10 lakh each. Each of the members gave Rs 1,000 and became shareholders of the company. Meanwhile, the Krishi Bhavan gave free seeds and natural fertilisers to these farmers. 

In September 2015, Thennala Agro Farmer’s Producer Company Ltd was formed. Now the activities include cultivating, processing of paddy into rice and rice products (like rice flakes, rice bran, payasam, rice flour) and marketing them.

Under the brand name ‘Thennala rice’, the company packs the rice in cotton bags of 2,5 and 10 kilos. 

The company sells its produce through trade fairs conducted by Kudumbashree, in local retail stores and to individual buyers. 

Life has changed for these women, who once believed that taking care of the house was the only contribution they could make. Financial independence aside, there is a sense of confidence that resonates in the group. 

“Earlier, I was just a housewife. But farming has changed my life. We were reluctant to come out into the public sphere. Now, we have gained confidence as there is financial independence and interaction with various people. All the jobs in the company are done by its members,’’ Hajira Syed, who cultivates 25 acres with seven other women, told The Indian Express. 

Changing times

Yasmin cultivates on five acres of land and has also started a school for 36 specially-abled children in the Panchayat. 

Through her own savings, she runs the school where she has hired local teachers.  “I spend close to Rs 36,000 to meet the school’s expenses. More than the money, it is my time that is more challenging to give. In future, I hope to provide them with vocational training to make them independent.” 

Over the years, Yasmin has managed to turn the taunts into praises. Today, she is respected in the community where people, even men come to her for advice. Kudos to her for not giving up on her dreams under societal pressures!

Featured Image Source: Kudumbashree/Facebook

Also Read: 36-YO Woman Smashes The Patriarchy, Grows 25 Varieties of Millet With Rainwater!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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