"One of our students Vishwa Shankar from Grade 8 was doing a research on hydroponic farming. Every year we have a two and half month activity connected with ' Science Talent Day '. The students are normally involved in a science investigatory research project. Futuristic India was the theme and a number of subjects are worked upon by the students. Students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 give their output based on their choice of the topic. Farming was also a topic. I found the field visit of the boy to be interesting and therefore I requested him to promote it among his friends. In the process it was decided to involve the entire institution in this exercise. Finally it came to ' one child one pot ' and then we included the teachers and the management also", stated Geetha Raj - Principal : Kikani Vidhya Mandir ( Founded by Shree Coimbatore Gujarati Samaj ).
"One of our students Vishwa Shankar from Grade 8 was doing a research on hydroponic farming. Every year we have a two and half month activity connected with ' Science Talent Day '. The students are normally involved in a science investigatory research project. Futuristic India was the theme and a number of subjects are worked upon by the students. Students from Grade 4 to Grade 12 give their output based on their choice of the topic. Farming was also a topic. I found the field visit of the boy to be interesting and therefore I requested him to promote it among his friends. In the process it was decided to involve the entire institution in this exercise. Finally it came to ' one child one pot ' and then we included the teachers and the management also", stated Geetha Raj - Principal : Kikani Vidhya Mandir ( Founded by Shree Coimbatore Gujarati Samaj ).
The programme was named as ' Vidhaithu Payir ' : Learn to Nurture - and it was officially inaugurated on Guru Poornima. Every student was asked bring a pot, soil, seeds and organic manure. The choice of size and variety was left to the students and their parents. " Nature is the Adi Guru for everyone. One needs all the Panchabhootas ( elements ) for nurturing the plants. The trustees, teachers, parents and students participated in the launch. The seeds were sown amidst prayers and chanting. Thereafter the students watered the plants with their own water. The pots were subsequently segregated into groups. Everyday 2 students from the respective sections water the pots. We have 1100 pots of different sizes in our campus at the moment. The school takes care of the watering on holidays, " added the Principal.
Kikani Vidhya Mandir had come out with a colourful invite for the occasion. They involved a few farmers for the launch. Sriram Prasad ( Founder : Keeraikadai.com ) was the Chief guest. The other Chief Guests included A.Gnanamani, P.Vetrivelan, Shanmughasundaram and K.C.Gopal. All of them belong to the farming fraternity. Each of the pots have the name of the child along with details like class and section. The farmers who had attended the inauguration had been a helpful lot. They have been sharing their experience and inputs to the students. Thanks to these inputs it was possible to learn about the subsidies made available by the Government for such activities. The farmers had agreed for field visits by the students and are supporting them continuously.
" This programme ' Vidhaithu Payir ' has really raised the bar among the students. They are now seeing why some plants grow faster than others. Its nice to see the young minds gathering good skills. Now the student Vishwa Shankar wants to be a farmer. I am glad to share this at a time when people are quitting the vocation. Its really heartening to see this development. I am sure many more students will take to farming in the long run. No one wants to dirty their hands these days but our students are keen to soil their hands in order to produce more food. Students from Class 11 and 12 will be interacting regularly with the farmers. Keerakadai.com had an expo and our kids visited the same. Awareness levels are quite high. The kids have been encouraged to request their parents to give them a different green everyday for lunch. This preparation opens up a big discussion on the green variety over lunch among the students. Once the students acquire more experience all the 1100 of them will create kitchen gardens at home. This will reduce garbage, increase food security and in turn improve the health of the family because the produce will be fully organic. A lot of joy and contentment will occur in all the households for the family will be seeing tangible benefits, " smiled the determined Principal, Geetha Raj. The school is under the SBKV Trust ( Shri Baldevdas Vidhya Mandir Trust ).
The Board of Trustees and the Correspondent Tushar Kikani have been a committed lot. They have added much to the infrastructure of the campus and it is emerging as a pre eminent institution in the region.
" The students are beginning to assimilate a lot of knowledge about farming. We have greens and vegetables only. The first crop is for the students and their families. Later on they can share it with the society. Now they have begun to experience the process. They will understand the reasons for success and failure. Some of the seeds were planted unconventionally and therefore the plants are not up. Replanting will be done. Patience, maturity, accountability, responsibility, skill sharing, debates, ideation, discussions, empathy innovations, research, understanding the cycle of nature, learning more about the importance of rain days and the benefits of nourishing nature in a natural manner will be acquired by the students. India is an ancient country and our people had been prosperous during the times when they revered nature. Now it is time to go back to the good old natural life style. The best way to do it will be by nurturing young minds to take up natural farming. They will be able to convince the society and make our country rich and content, " smiled Geetha Raj.
The activities of the 1100 students of Kikani Vidhya Mandir will surely ignite the citizens to take up kitchen gardening in a big way.