I know you love green. I know you like pollution-free open fields. So, just close your eyes and try to imagine a farmland of peas, bordered by sunflowers and banana trees. A farmer is smiling and removing weeds with family members. Is it good to see? I am sure this frame touches your heart.
If you wish, this imagination can come into your real life. This is not a difficult one. Please visit once the villages of Binjam and Kutulnar in Dantewada District. Your visit will encourage the farmers of these two villages to practice organic vegetable farming, just like the visit of Devesh Kumar Dhruv, the Collector of Dantewada.
Kutulnar is a small village. It does not even have a permanent kaccha road to reach one house from another. Villagers use open fields, taking shortcuts to go to their neighbours’ houses. Many Mahua trees were the hope of their income. Their secondary income source was not farming. As per their thought, it was cockfighting. Very few farmers, around five to ten, had just started thinking about earning money from agriculture.
The condition of Binjam village is a little different. Binjam is the neighbouring village of Kutulnar. Earlier, Kutulnar was part of Binjam village. Binjam has more conscious farmers. At least fifteen farmers had already decided that they could earn something from agriculture. However, the idea of year-long vegetable farming was very far away for both villages.
Do not be confused. The story of no year-long earnings from vegetable cultivation was from four months back. Right now, 27 farmers from Kutulnar and Binjam are growing various kinds of vegetables like brinjal, okra, peas, knol-khol, beetroot, carrot, tomato, radish, and other leafy vegetables. They are planning for the upcoming summer and monsoon seasons from now because of the new model—Kalpataru or ATM.
On 26th December, the Collector visited these two villages. He became satisfied after seeing the Kalpataru plots. He encouraged farmers to increase their area for year-long vegetable cultivation. He saw the white flowers of pea plants. He felt the fragrance of sunflowers. He observed the biodiversity of plants in the same plot.
This was the first time a Collector visited Kutulnar and listened to the success stories of vegetable farming under the Kalpataru Model. The Collector interacted with more than 15 farmers from Binjam and Kutulnar. All these farmers are happy with vegetable farming under the Kalpataru Model.
The model basically refers to multi-layer and companion farming. Even a small plot of one decimal consists of various plants. Farmers get their first harvest within one month of seed sowing. Harvesting can continue throughout the year if farmers want. That is why this model is also called the ATM model. Most of the time, the model plots are full of plants. It is not only for fruiting or flowering; it is also waiting for you.
Bhoomgadi is the local FPO with which I am pursuing my fellowship journey in Dantewada. Bhoomgadi planned a project to create a best model in organic vegetable farming that can give good yield and better income. The Kalpataru Model is fulfilling these requirements.
In the month of June 2025, the project “Organic Vegetable Farming: Better Health, Better Income” was started as a pilot in the Faraspal Cluster. The Bhoomgadi team chose Binjam village for the pilot. The project work started properly in July when I started living in Binjam. I got the responsibility to manage the project. Initially, I had no idea how to manage it or how to change the farmers’ mindset. I also did not have enough idea about agriculture. However, day by day, I received strong support and technical knowledge from Bhoomgadi, CSA, Nirmaan Organization, and the community.
At present, I am directly working with 49 farmers in the Faraspal cluster (Binjam, Kutulnar, Siyanar, Bode Surukhi, Alnar, and Kundenar villages). All 49 farmers are practicing vegetable farming under the Kalpataru Model. After the success of the pilot, the project is now expanding across Dantewada.
The Collector has promised to provide all necessary facilities to expand vegetable farming with this model across the district. Farmers will receive economic support from the government, including modern agricultural equipment, tools, and machinery. Technical and training support will also be provided by Bhoomgadi, as the organization has been doing for the past eight years in other crops like paddy.
I am proud to be a part of this journey. I am thankful to iVolunteer and Bhoomgadi for giving me the freedom and support to work for the well-being of farmers and the community. I celebrate every smile of my farmers. I feel very happy while having fresh organic lunch. I will feel even more joyful when you come to see all these green organic fields.
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