Paddy cultivation in the house courtyard by Devappa Gowda

• Desire ignited on seeing unused fields, converted courtyard into a field

Savanur: The house courtyard has become a field. Without using a plough and only by using a shovel, he ploughed the courtyard, planted seeds and created a paddy field in his courtyard. It can be seen that, equipped the interest and enthusiasm like that of Devappa Gowda, a resident of Savanur, anything is possible.

Nowadays, fields are disappearing everywhere. Commercial crops have taken over fields. The enthusiasm in growing paddy which gives us food has diminished. The several fields now remain unused. Seeing the large empty fields that remain unused, Devappa wondered why not grow paddy by himself? But, the thought of the lack of proper land to grow paddy kept haunting him. Finally he saw light in the small courtyard in front of his house!

Devappa thought, why not grow paddy in the courtyard of his house instead of looking for some other field? Accordingly, he himself ploughed the courtyard with the help of a shovel and converted it into a field. He enriched the soil with nutrients, procured paddy seeds and sowed them.

His dream sprouted and the whole courtyard metamorphosed into a green field. Seeing the paddy plants sprouting from the seeds that he himself had sowed filled Devappa with much happiness. Several people in his area take the panicles from his courtyard and in this way he is a model for others also. “I am happy that paddy panicles that I have grown, is reaching the houses of many others,” says Devappa Gowda.

Article by Praveen Chennavara translated into English by Aaron Dmello