And, he does have a lot to take pride in. The tiny bit of land in the conventional sense has five jackfruit trees, 60 cocoa, five teak, five mango trees, 450 arecanut trees, 60 coconut, two cinnamon, a rare variety of blueberry tree, pineapple, sugarcane -- and the list only grows!

Categorically stating he has a lot of excellent returns from the land. Ventakesh’s annual returns go up to ` 1.75 lakh to two lakhs. It suffices the small family of Venkatesh couple, who are blessed with a son and daughter -- both of whom are graduates.

Clever planning

When his father died, Venkatesh inherited 1.2 acre of land. In conventional sense, little over an acre was not a highly beneficial proposition. However, with clever planning and execution, Ventakesh has been able to make a decent living out of the land. Initially, he grew a native version of Marrow (known as Sambar Soute) coupling Sugarcane, the yield of which went up to 70 tones per acre.

Though Venkatesh and Chandramma couple aim at complete organic farming, they are forced to use some amount of chemical fertilisers too. In a place like Mirle, which thrives on faith between people, with almost no robbery incidents occurring anywhere, Ventakesh does not guard his coconut trees. The coconuts are collected after they drop from the tree on their own and are used in their nursery to make quality coconut saplings. This way, Ventakesh has added value to his own land, without having to spend too much on it.

This year, he reaped high benefits at Puttur market for his cocoa yield, which was up to two quintals from 60 plants. A happy man with his small family, Ventakesh has created rich green Malenadu in Mirle, the area which is found wanting of water.