Daily Archives: March 12, 2015

A role model for rural women

Agriculture, Green Initiatives & Environment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features
Beena Sahadevan in her organic vegetable garden.
Beena Sahadevan in her organic vegetable garden.

Nirupama, the much acclaimed character portrayed by actor Manju Warrier in her comeback movieHow Old Are You , has been an inspiration for many women. Here is a real life heroine, who has proved that with hard work and willpower one can face any difficult challenge.

On International Women’s Day, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra-Thrissur (KVK), with the support of Mathilakom panchayat will honour Beena Sahadevan, who has become a role model for rural women.

Beena is being honoured for her efforts and determination with which she has beaten numerous odds in her life and reaped success in farming.

She took up farming five years ago after her husband, who was working in the Middle East, fell sick. The family had no source of income. She started growing organic vegetables in her 33-cent plot, in addition to homesteads of five neighbours. She has now three cows, about 50 goats, more than 150 poultry birds, including 50 ducks and fishes in three ponds of neighbours.

Now, she makes enough income to take care of her husband and for other expenses, including the education of her daughters. She also makes garments besides taking up occasional catering assignments.

Officials of the Agriculture Department and the Thrissur Krishi Vigyan Kendra have supported her efforts. She also got training in seedling production, quality seed production and other planting material production from Dr. Jalaja S. Menon of Krishi Vigyan Kendra.

The programme to be held at Mathilakam block panchayat auditorium will be inaugurated by V.S. Sunilkumar, MLA. More than 300 women, who are involved in farming in the nearby panchayats, will attend the function.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Mini Muringatheri / Thrissur – March 08th, 2015

Books of Authors to Make a Library

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Education, Uncategorized
The library to be opened at MAM UP School, Parambil Kadavu t p sooraj
The library to be opened at MAM UP School, Parambil Kadavu t p sooraj

Thiruvananthapuram  :

In book shelves arranged on branches and the trunk of a tree’s statue, ‘Aksharakoodaram,’ a library to be opened at MAM Upper Primary School, Parambil Kadavu, Kozhikode will feature books from the personal collections of major writers in Malayalam like M T Vasudevan Nair, Sugatha Kumari, P Valsala, etc. And with these appealing features, the school library is being set up for a unique cause – to develop a reading culture among the families by taking the parents, besides the children, to the world of books. Apart from the teachers and students, each of the parents will be the members of the library, which will be opened by writer M T Vasudevan Nair on March 19.

Aimed at instilling better interest in reading among the children, the library club of the school had organised a programme to introduce the writers, along with their books, by conducting visits to their homes, and the books for the library was a result of that.

“The collection of books for the library began on the last reading day when the students interacted with M P Veerendra Kumar, who donated his 18 books to the library. Later, they had an interaction with M T Vasudevan Nair during Onam and then with writers like U A Khader, Satchidanandan, etc., who donated their own as well as other books in their collections for the library,” points out library convener Simi Z A.

“We actually aimed at offering an opportunity to the children to interact with the writers and they offered their books after knowing about our project,” points out Rajeesh Kumar, who led the programme.

“After making the parents the members of the library, we will be organising book discussions during the class PTA meetings with an aim to develop a reading culture among them, which will have a great influence on the children. It will further give a boost to the academic activities of the children, who will be encouraged at home to get into the reading habit beyond their academic syllabus. The majority of the parents often show reluctance towards children reading books other than their textbooks and creating interest in reading among the parents will bring in a change to it,” points out school headmaster Devanandan K C.

Apart from the writers’ collections, publishers like Lipi, Chinta, DC Books, Olive, etc. and the students and alumni members have also contributed books to the library, around 1,500 of them, and the school authorities aim to increase the number of books to 5,000 this year. All other accessories in the library and reading room, including the table, fan, tiles, shelves, computer, etc have been donated by the alumni members. An amount of Rs 1.5 lakh has also been raised from the teachers, students and alumni members. Moreover, the library will also be fully digitised with a software developed by an alumni member.

“What attracts me is that it’s not the library and its facilities, but the opportunity it provides to select books according to our taste,” says Anagha Krishna S J, a class VII student.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Anila Backer / March 12th, 2015

She Autos an instant hit in Pathanamthitta

Arts,Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Records, All, Travel
Many takers:Municipal chairman A. Sureshkumar with She Auto drivers in Pathanamthitta town.— Photo: Leju Kamal
Many takers:Municipal chairman A. Sureshkumar with She Auto drivers in Pathanamthitta town.— Photo: Leju Kamal

Five pink autorickshaws ply on Pathanamthitta roads

Pathanamthitta is becoming a model in gender support, with the Pathanamthitta municipality pioneering She Auto service in the town limits.

Taking a cue from the Shetaxi scheme of the Social Welfare Department, the civic body here has introduced the State’s maiden She Auto scheme a month ago. Painted in pink, the She Autos are fast getting popular in the town, says A. Sureshkumar, municipal chairman, who is the brain behind the women empowerment programme.

The municipality has sanctioned 12 She Autos and the first allotment of five autorikshaws hit the road a month ago. The other seven beneficiaries are undergoing driving classes and vehicles will be allotted to them as soon as they qualify the driving test, says the civic body chief.

The municipality has provided subsidy to the tune of Rs.60,000 each to the beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes sections and Rs.40,000 to those in the general category. The civic body has also arranged vehicle loan to all the 12 beneficiaries through UCO Bank.

“A majority of our customers are women and we earn a profit of Rs.650 to Rs.750 a day,” say Sindhu, Lonamma and Sathi Muraleedharan, She Auto drivers. Suchitra and Rajalakshmi are the other two She Auto drivers in the town.

However, the autorickshaw drivers at the autorickshaw stand near the private bus stand are up in arms against allotting a separate stand for She Autos in front of the private bus stand. District Collector S. Harikishore has intervened in the issue and an amicable settlement is expected soon, says Mr. Sureshkumar.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Radhakrishnan Kuttoor / Pathanamthitta – March 09th, 2015

Broccoli Cultivation Fast Catching up among Farmers in Idukki District

Agriculture, Business & Economy
A broccoli farm in Idukki
A broccoli farm in Idukki

Idukki :

‘Anti-cancer’ vegetable Broccoli is being cultivated in West Kodikulam, a sleepy village  near Thodupuzha, by a small-time farmer named Jose.

The news of Jose Vattakkadu becoming the first farmer to successfully cultivate the crop in the district has thrilled people in the neighbourhood. “People are thronging my 15-cent farm in large numbers to have a glimpse of it,” Jose told ‘Express.’

“Broccoli is a great source of indole-3-carbinol, which boosts DNA repair in cells, and blocks the growth of cancer cells. The vegetable grows only between the months of October and March, and at least two crops can be cultivated during this period,” he said.

Jose has successfully cultivated 100 broccolis, each weighing over one kg. However, some of them wilted away. “The vegetable costs about Rs 200 per kg in supermarkets. As I was thrilled about growing it, I distributed them among neighbours and relatives,” he said.

Another farmer, 70-year-old Jose Cheruparambil who lives in West Kodikulam, said he was planning to start broccoli farming in October this year.

“At present, I have only 50 cents of land, in which I am already growing beans, cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables. I am looking for land on lease so that I can take up broccoli farming in a big way. It is said to be costing about Rs 250 per kg in metros. If I get Rs 100 per kg in Thodupuzha it will be a good price,” he said.

The Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Kerala  (VFPCK) had made an unsuccessful attempt to cultivate broccoli at Erattayar near Kattappana. Jose, who cultivates vegetables, tapioca and plantain on his 50-cent land and 75 cents of leased land, is planning to continue with broccoli farming provided he gets seeds from the government. “Ten grams of seeds cost `2,000, which is too much. Using ten grams of seeds, about 2000 broccolis could be grown,” Jose, who is a member of VFPCK, said. “Once harvested, the crop sprouts from the roots of the earlier plant. Therefore, there is no need to sow seeds every time. My experience has encouraged others to take up broccoli farming. But, the government should come forward to provide the seeds free,” he said, adding that many people were not aware of the medicinal value of broccoli and its role in fighting cancer. Once awareness is created in this regard, there would be tremendous demand for the product.

VFPCK assistant manager Litty Thomas, who has been assigned to proliferate broccoli farming in the district, said that it was encouraging that broccoli could be grown in Idukki. “The VFPCK will hold discussions with regard to  extending help to more farmers in the district for growing broccoli,” she said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by P .B. Jaysankar / March 09th, 2015

Call to exploit commercial, medicinal potential of njavara rice

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Nature, Science & Technology
The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.
The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.

Expert moots branding unique variety of Kerala rice

The need for proper branding and planning of marketing strategies has been highlighted by the speakers at the State level workshop on “Prospects and possibilities of njavara rice farming”.

The workshop organised by the Centre for IP Protection under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) took note of the mismatch between the high demand for quality njavara rice on one hand and the difficulty faced by genuine njavara farmers in selling their produce on the other.

KAU Registrar P.V. Balachandran, in his inaugural address, stressed the need to validate scientific data on the medicinal value of njavara to convince the international society. “Even though njavara has been traditionally used for treatment of multiple maladies and there are reports on its capability to thwart cancer, it has to be validated with scientific data. Medicinal rice is the unique product of Kerala. Ensuring universal acceptance, proper marketing strategies and product diversification are the best options for sustaining njavara rice farming,” he said. T.R. Gopalakrishnan, Director of Research, in his presidential address, called for collaboration between the KAU and the Ayurvedic research institutions to identify the genetic elements responsible for the medicinal properties of native varieties like njavara and pokkali.

“An action plan to encourage cultivation of these varieties and spread awareness of their qualitative superiority and value should be evolved,” he said.

Dr. Ramankutty Warrier, chief medical officer, Vydyarathnam Ayurveda Foundation, Thycattussery, explained the medical applications of njavara rice.

Dr.Warrier detailed the different treatments using njavara and the properties of which were exploited in dealing with different diseases. Njavara should always be grown organically, he said.

Technical sessions on “GI status of njavara”, “Cultivation practices of njavara” and “Marketing possibilities of njavara” were held as part of the workshop. It was attended by farmers, traders and industrialists from different parts of the State.

source: http://www.thehindu.com  / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Kerala / by Staff Reporter / Thrissur – March 12th, 2015