Can your small piece of land become a Kalpataru plot? We discuss the answers in the third part of this series today.
How much land: If you do not want to depend at least on the market for vegetables, then 15 po decimals of land is enough. Even with 6 to10 decimals, this Kalpataru model can work. You may not produce in large quantities, but you will surely be able to send a few brinjals, four carrots, some lemons, and a handful of red spinach to your sister’s or a friend’s home without worry.
If you want to start selling vegetables in the market twice a week, starting just 25 days after sowing, then this model works best on at least half an acre of land.
Along with land, you also need to grow your sense of timing. You cannot delay things. Work has to be done at the right time, with proper planning. Regular care is what turns your land into an ATM machine.
Preparing the land: There are a few important things to keep in mind while preparing the land. For the first time, the soil should be loosened by ploughing, either with a plough or a tractor. This can be considered the last deep ploughing for the next three years.
Ploughing during the peak summer months of April and May is best. It helps destroy weed seeds and roots and reduces pest problems. This summer ploughing makes the soil loose and crumbly, allows deeper tilling, and improves the soil’s ability to hold water.
Raised beds: We need to prepare raised beds of a fixed size. In villages like Binjam, Kutulnar, Siyanar and nearby areas, we have made beds that are 2 to 2.5 feet wide. The width of the beds depends on the irrigation system, soil type, and the farmer’s preference.
The length can be adjusted based on the land and irrigation system, but around 20 feet works best. This helps in better control of flood irrigation, drip irrigation, and drainage.Along with dimensions, we also focus on layering. Before raising the soil, we first put a layer of dry leaves and straw. Then comes a layer of soil. The third layer includes cow dung, ash, and rice husk. After that, everything is covered again with soil.
These layers help increase humus in the bed. Microbial activity grows, and the soil becomes rich. Most importantly, the water-holding capacity improves greatly.
Just like we make a comfortable mattress by layering bedsheets, these layers make the soil soft like a cushion. The soil stays alive, and its natural fertility increases.
Soil treatment: Even after preparing the beds, the soil is treated with Trichoderma. Along with that, we use Jeevamrit. This helps bring life back into the soil and increases microbial activity. It also helps keep viruses and harmful pathogens away.
Sowing and care: In the time of seed sowing or transportation of shaplinh we use cow dung manure. Addition of bio-fertiliser, application of solution to control pest we maintain a proper manual.(That will share letter) If there are no leafy crops on the bed, it is covered with straw or dry leaves for mulching.
I hope, like the farmers of Dantewada, you too have now understood what this Kalpataru method is. Let me end with an example from one plot.
Rajo Netam’s field:
In Binjam School Para, Rajo Netam started this method on just 2 decimals of land. Around mid-January, she began preparing the land without even ploughing.
Along with her duties as a health worker, household chores, and daily responsibilities, she managed to give just one to two hours, three days a week, to this plot. From the first week of February, she started sowing different types of seeds one by one.
Using water from the Har Ghar Jal pipeline, today her plot has around eighteen to nineteen types of crops growing—brinjal, tomato, bitter gourd, ridge gourd, cucumber, kohlrabi, beetroot, chilli, papaya, long beans, gourpalley, coriander leaves, red spinach, carrot, bottle gourd, okra, groundnut, moong, and chickpea.
She has already harvested coriander leves, brinjal, tomato, and chilli. Red spinach have been cooked at home. Carrots and beetroot have brought a smile to her face.
In Rajo’s words, “I feel very happy when relatives visit and say, give me some coriander leaves, pull out one knul khol, save some tomato seeds for me. Now I feel that if I expand this to a slightly bigger plot, I can even sell something in the market every week.”
This Kalpataru is not just a piece of land-it is the beginning of a self-reliant life. External support alone is not enough. This model shows that development is possible within the community itself-by sharing seeds with each other, and by making use of water and natural resources around us.
Now the real journey begins-what to grow, how to feed the soil, and how to protect the plants. In the next part, we will walk through crop planning, nutrients, and natural pest control. Till then, stay with me and be a little patient.
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