Back to Nature

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

An artist-thinker from Shimoga, a Mysorean who is the founder of a software firm and a tax consultant from Gulbarga, all have one thing in common. Their passion for the environment and sustainable living...Meet Devito Nagesh, Chida Shivanna and Chandrakanth Kulkarni.

Renowned French philosopher Rousseau’s famous apeal to the French to ‘return to nature’ made a huge impact during the French revolution and has inspired many generations of poets, litterateurs and thinkers. The 21st-century may have innumerable ‘nature lovers’, but only a handful of them are serving Nature unconditionally. Devito Nagesh is one such person. He is leading a back-to-the roots kind of life for the past 32 years in a small kuteera (shelter) in the middle of a natural forest spread across 20 acres at a tiny village called Heddur, nearly 25 km from Teerthahalli, with the sole aim of creating awareness among people about the importance of living in harmony with Nature. 

Having discontinued his BSc degree at Sahyadri College in Shimoga, he moved to Bangalore to study fine arts. Interestingly, he studied fine arts thoroughly and left the institute without obtaining his certificate. 

“I had the urge to learn fine arts; I did it by attending classes regularly. But, I didn’t appear for the examination which only measures your performance and potential.” Later, he decided to take the road less travelled in spite of opposition from his family members.

Having returned to his native place, Heddur, in 1980, he made up his mind to lead an environment friendly life in a natural forest close to his ancestral house. 

“Though 20 acres of natural forest area belong to the forest department, the authorities concerned haven’t raised any objections so far, as I am doing my bit for Nature.” 

He has named the 20 acres forest area ‘Vana Chetana’ which welcomes everybody. Once you step into it, you feel as if you have entered an entirely new world, a new civilisation.

He has transformed discarded objects and natural materials such as wood, etc, into meaningful ones showcasing his outstanding and rare viewpoints on various aspects of life. 

This apart, the place offers some tricky-yet-fun games for visitors. One needs to visit this place with an open mind and an urge to learn new things. 

The statue of a mother holding a child on her back is the major attraction of Vana Chetana. He has carved this statue with the aim of conveying a message to mankind that Mother Nature is bearing the burden of her children with a smile. 

Unlike several self-declared environmentalists, Nagesh has neither any profit motive nor hunger for publicity. The sole objective of his life is to broaden the horizons of the present generation’s thinking ability. Besides, he wants to create awareness about leading an environment-friendly life. 

S K Nrupathunga

Organic is the way to go

Oxygen Acres, located on the outskirts of Mysore, is bustling with activity all through the week. Apart from routine work on the organic farm, more than 50 visitors, many of them prospective dairy farmers, arrive at Oxygen Acres to see what it takes to churn out organic products, including milk, a variety of cheeses and soaps.

Run by Chida Shivanna, who also is the founder of a software firm, Oxygen Acres is run entirely on the principles of organic farming. The farm has seen an increase in production of milk over the last two years.

Having stared with supplying organic milk, Oxygen Acres is expanding and has added varieties of paneer, butter, ghee and milk-based soaps. Mozzarella and cheddar cheese for customers is also being planned by early 2013. Also, plans are afoot to offer organic vegetables and few fruits.

Speaking to Spectrum, Shivanna said: “I started running the farm as a hobby and supplied fresh and pure milk to friends and my own family members.” Having received a good response from the public, the farm expanded its cattle numbers from five cows to 40 cows.

Shivanna said, “Our goal is to feed organically grown ingredients to our cows. Also, we have taken a holistic approach to rearing cows by depending less on medication for our cows. If they do fall sick and are treated with antibiotics, we separate that cow from the herd.” The milk from the cow is not supplied to customers for 14 days in order to ensure that traces of antibiotics are not present in the milk. Due to high demand, we are planning to increase the number of cattle as long as the land supports the expansion.

We have a formula of five cows per acre of grass,” he adds.

Explaining what kind of feed is provided to the cattle, Shivanna says, “Diet for the cattle has variety in it. We feed Napier grass, azola, lucern, nugge soppu (drumstick leaves) and agase soppu (a local variety of greens), all grown organically. Growth hormones or milk enhancers are not used on our cows. We let mother Nature decide the quality and quantity of the milk.” Even the plants grown on the farm are supplied with cow dung manure, cow urine (ganjala) and biogas slurry ensuring that the farm remains 100 per cent organic. No chemicals are employed in cleaning as pressure washers are used for all washing purposes.

The biogas unit takes care of cooking needs within the farm. “Our biogas is connected to our 15 KVA generator, which runs for four to five hours per day on a daily basis. We also have 2 KWA solar panels with storage capacity of upto 15 KWA. Energy produced from these two sources run our farm house, cow shed and cheese unit uninterrupted,” he adds.

Discussing the initial problems, Shivanna explained that soil fertility takes a long time to develop. He believes that organic farming takes perseverance and lots of patience. It took almost three years for us to get optimum growth and yield from our soil. However, in the long run, it is sustainable and very lucrative, he says.

“Organic farming is all about self-sustenance. You produce your own manure, fodder and even electrical energy. In the long run, you are doing a whole lot of good for yourself and the environment - it is personally gratifying as well as profitable. Organic farming provides a holistic approach to prosperity,” he adds.

Manish

Naturally speaking...

A mere 2.5-acre-plot, with an income of Rs 10 lakh. How did Chandrakanth Kulkarni go about achieving that? This farmer has natural farming methods to  thank for. A tax consultant with a passion for agriculture, he owns seven acres of land near Gulbarga. His intention was to convert his land into a veritable forest.He bought pomegranate saplings from Maharashtra in 2007 and planted them on his farm. But, after one-and-a-half years, all that he got was a mere two tonnes of yield. Many scientists suggested to him to opt for chemical farming; but Chandrakanth was in search of alternative methods.

He strongly believed in natural methods, and decided to adhere to them. He bought cows and constructed a shed and a tank. Natural manure in the form of cow dung was supplied to all plants. He also took up mulching. After two years of struggle, he finally managed to reap a great harvest. 

“In 2010 and 2011, I supplied a huge quantity of pomegranate to major agri business firms. This year, I directly sent my entire produce to Hyderabad,” Chadrakanth points out.

This year, he has sold 12 tonnes of pomegranate and gained an income of Rs 10 lakh. “I challenge those who say agriculture is a non profitable business” Chandrakanth says confidently.

His farm is full of weeds, bushes and shrubs. “Actually, they help retain the fertility of soil and also conserve water. Some agricultural scientists visited my farm and recommended removal of weeds. Not many know of the relation between soil- microbes- plants,” says Chandrakanth.

AnandaTeertha Pyati