The Infertile Kerala Village That Became India's Organic Farming Model

A community where every single household practises organic farming? It takes a village to achieve such a dream. Kerala's Kanjikuzhy proved to be one such village. The people of Kanjikuzhy, a panchayat in Alappuzha district, were once primarily dependent on the coir business for their livelihood. But in the early nineties, when the coir economy began to suffer losses, Kanjikuzhy's residents had to turn to other sources of income. The panchayat's then president PP Swathanthryam saw the solution in agriculture. To most of the village, this seemed impossible. What could grow on the dry and infertile soil of Kanjikuzhy? Besides, no one was familiar with farming beyond the handful of families who practised it generationally. But the panchayat was set on its goal of building Kanjikuzhy into an organic farming village and won the confidence of every household in the process. Through largescale distribution of seeds and fertilisers, organisation of clusters that offer support to budding farmers, and events that reward successful efforts, Kanjikuzhy created a culture that celebrates farming as an occupation worthy of respect and recognition. Today, Kanjikuzhy is a vegetable-sufficient village, a feat achieved by sticking to organic methods every step of the way. #goodfoodmovement #organicfarming #kerala