Students grow their own vegetables for mid-day meals

Kadaba: In the era where the youth are walking away from the culture of cultivation, a special attempt is being made at Ramakunja high school wherein, an organic vegetable garden has been created at the premises of the school with the aim to inculcate the culture of cultivation among the students. Since two years, the students of the school look after all the aspects of cultivation from sowing seed to gathering the harvest.

Fresh vegetable for mid-day meals

Ramakunja is the birthplace of Pejawar Seer and the aided school is functions with the aim of education with culture under the aegis of Sri Ramakunjeshwara Vidyavardhaka Council to which the Seer is a honourary president. Close to 430 students are pursuing their education here and the students themselves are growing organic vegetables for their mid-day meals.

During cooking, only if the vegetable amount is less will more vegetables be bought. The mottos of the plan is to get the students attracted towards agriculture, to understand the difficulties faced by farmers and realize the truth behind the colloquial saying that one earns ones food only by working for it.

Another specialty here is that the nutrients used in the cultivation of the vegetables is completely organic.  In order to do this, students who live in the vicinity of the school have been charged with procuring cow dung. Ash from wood fire as also used. Presently, long beans, ladyfinger and brinjal is being cultivated here and in the coming days, spinach and tendrils will be used. 20 students interested in agriculture are selected from the 9^th std class and are given the complete responsibility of the job. The remaining students cooperate with the work. The project is being run under the guidance of head master Satish Bhat and with leadership form the school’s physical teacher Prafulla Rai and teacher Pushpavati.

To understand the efforts put in by farmers, one must involve in agriculture for at least a little bit. With this aim, we are trying to inculcate the spirit of cultivation in the minds of the students. In the coming days, we are planning to introduce the Israel method of farming using less soil and water into the vegetable patch that we have in the school – Satish Bhat, Headmaster

Along with education, lessons regarding life are also being received. Working with mud is a pleasure. In that too, when the vegetable plants planted by us bear flowers and yield fruit, the happiness we feel is entirely different – Shrikant Golitottu, 9^th std student