BHARATI PAWASKAR
They will soon be nicknamed as the ‘flower girls’ of Nachinola, as this year they have not spent a single rupee on seeds and yet reaped a golden crop of orange Marigolds. Collecting the Nirmalya (used flowers in the temple) from the local Ravalnath Devasthan, and raising seedlings out of them on an 1000 meter piece of field offered free to them by a kind women farmer - all they had to do was to nurture these baby plants with love. Today the Tridevis (three goddesses) - Pooja Mayekar, Pratiksha Kavlekar and Sheetal Mhapsekar are all in smiles as they have been gifted a bountiful crop of Marigolds - bright and orange - saving them as well as many other women like them, from spending on the festive requirements of these traditional flowers.
“We invested only in two things in our floral farming - hard work and loving nurture. With not a droplet of water available around to sprinkle our plants, we solely depended upon the rain Gods. Thankfully, Mother Earth was kind enough to bless us with rich returns in (Mari)gold - proving that She is generous if we, her children, show willingness to toil in the soil,” shares a smiling Pooja, the lady behind this women entrepreneurship venture.
It was Pooja’s concept of engaging the neighbouring women in some kind of farming activity that would instil confident in them and make them financially independent. A graduate from St Xavier’s College Mapusa, Pooja who herself is actively indulged in agricultural activities, had an urge to help women earn their living with whatever little skills they have, even if they don’t possess high educational qualifications. With strong support from her husband, Pooja stepped ahead to rope the community women in Nachinola in agricultural activities.
Motivating the local women to join hands together Pooja helped them to learn vermicomposting and mushroom cultivation. Listening to her advice some of them tried and tasted success. Under her able leadership, they gained confidence and began to earn. Having witnessed this, Pooja thought of doing another experiment - that of flower cultivation and to her surprise, their efforts bore (not) fruits (but, flowers) making this agro-(ad)venture into a mega success in less than six months.
“Today, we have been plucking flowers in heaps on a daily basis and making them available at Rs 80 a kilo,” smiles Pooja who along with Pratiksha and Sheetal, has taken a rich crop of Marigold that would suffice the festival requirements of their entire neighbourhood during Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and even Tulsi Vivah - not having to visit markets to buy this traditional festive flower this year.
Elaborating on the process Pooja shares, “In March the women began collecting the used and discarded flowers from the temple and drying them. On May 15, the land offered by Deepa Kavlekar was cleaned and cleared with the help of a tractor and a labour which cost us around Rs 3000. Then we sow the seeds in the dry, dug soil and waited for the rain showers. The seeds began to sprout. When the plants started showing up, we transplanted them. Around 1000 plants survived. Rest died. We nipped the upper tip as bushy plants bear many flowers. With the necessary care, we could arrive at the expected result - each of our marigold plant is giving 25-30 flowers.”
Pooja is keen to repeat this experiment next year too. Her experience in agriculture dates back to her pre-marriage days, when she used to plant vegetables in her backyard. “My mother Suhasini Assolkar used to grow vegetables for home consumption. I learnt from her and training others,” quips Pooja who knows inherently that sweating in the sun pays with goodies.
An LIC agent and a panch member of Nachinola Panchayat, Pooja is aware of the difficulties women face while taking care of their families. Actively involved in community activities, it was Pooja who coaxed the local women to embrace farming. Today 30 of them do vermicomposting and a dozen are into mushroom cultivation.
“Women have great strength. United, they do wonders. The marigold flowers that are grown in the field are available to all at reasonable rate - Rs 80 per kg which is far less than the current market rate. A rupee saved, is a rupee earned. Even if few rupees are saved, it’s like a big earning for these women. It gives me joy to see the smiles that have spread on their faces. It’s a wise way to beat the inflation, in our own small way.”
Goa has hectares of agricultural land with comparatively few farming activities despite the motivational schemes and subsidies offered by the government. Thankfully, with examples of success stories witnessed across the state, many have returned to their roots. Few others who don’t have land of their own borrow it from their good neighbours and indulge into farming. Nachinola Marigold crop is just one example of community farming; the state is full of many.
