As the festive spirit of Onam approaches, Ward 7 member of Niranam Grama Panchayat, Bindu J Vaikkathusserry, is preparing for a unique and rewarding harvest. Her terrace garden, which has transformed her rooftop into a lush green sanctuary, has become a local sensation. Cultivated with the singular goal of providing fresh, homegrown produce for the grand Onam feast, her rooftop farm is now in full bloom.
While traditional home gardens usually feature common local vegetables, Bindu’s terrace stands out with some less common additions, such as hybrid cucumbers and bush beans. The cucumber plants are already flowering and bearing fruit, while the bush beans are progressing steadily. Alongside these, her farm boasts a diverse range of crops including long beans, okra, tomatoes, green chillies, red amaranth, brinjals, bird’s eye chillies, bitter gourd, and ivy gourd, as well as spice essentials like black pepper and turmeric.
A commitment to organic methods
To cultivate this green oasis, Bindu relies entirely on eco-friendly, organic methods. She utilises grow bags, pots, and sacks filled with a rich potting soil mix of cow dung powder, coir pith, bone meal, and neem cake. To nourish the growing plants, she regularly applies a nutrient-rich organic liquid mixture prepared from jaggery, neem cake, and groundnut cake. Government-provided bio-pesticides are used only in rare circumstances when absolutely necessary, ensuring her produce remains entirely natural and chemical-free.
Leading by example through adversity
Bindu’s dedication is particularly noteworthy given her active community involvement. Even when recent floods in her ward required her to spend an entire week coordinating relief efforts and staying alongside affected residents at relief camps, her passion for farming kept the rooftop garden thriving. This green thumb is a shared family trait; her children, Evan and Christy, have previously won the Agriculture Department’s ‘Kutti Karshakan’ (child farmer) award. Her husband, Jiju Vaikkathusserry, a local journalist, also actively supports her daily farming activities, making this project a true family endeavour and a model for local youth to emulate.
