SH Centre for Organic farming, Ornithology and Biodiversity - SHCOOB
The idea to have a farm land to experiment with organic farming had always been there and Joy chettan (Mr Varghese K.), our staff, who knew my interests in this regard suggested that there could be land available in his neighbourhood in Arayankavu. And we began to be on the look out for land. When some students joined from that area, we asked their parents if some such land would be available. Finally, it was Joy chettan himself who linked us to the owners of a plot of paddy field.
I had managed to raise a corpus while being at Rajagiri College, which could be spent on matters related to enviornment. And I suggested that Rajagiri college procures the land available. The administration was very receptive to my suggestion and agreed to purchase four acres, and accepted my rider for facilitation of the process, that 80 cents would be in the name of the mother-college, i.e., Sacred Heart College. I had indicated it in our SH monastery as well, and no body appeared interested or bothered, as monastery or college didn't have any financial obligation. (But later on, on some formal disucssion in the monastery council, I was given a sound rapping for not having sought proper permission to get a property acquired in the name of the monastery! I was indeed shocked, though the matter was a fact! That could have been rectified much earlier by pointing the matter out, without accusing someone of mala fides). So a property of 3 acres 80 cents was acquired, and later on, 30 cents in the middle of it, which was temporarily acquired by Thankachan (who functioned as our local contact and manager with some genuine interest in organic farming. The plot was thought to have some dispute), was also bought by SH college, by paying Thankachan Rs. 3 lakhs (almost double the price he had paid for it, about 3 years ago). Thus, the college was in possession of 1 acre of farm land, and Rajagiri College around 3 acres. But all these years, SH college could use the land at will, and Rajagiri team involved only to the extent we went out of the way to involve them.
But we had a hitch, there was only farm land, and when the students and the staff came for some activity or other, we hardly had any place to stay, rest, store our stuff, or eat food. A piece of land was sought. And again, it was Joy chettan who linked us to someone from whom we obtained some 8 cents with a house and a well from a resident ... for almost Rs. 20 lakhs, which was bit too much for that property then. But it did help that person to get a better house elsewhere, and we had a place to operate and to develop as a centre.
This region, 25 kilometers from Ernakulam was a typical farming belt, with potential for paddy cultivation, vegetable production and rubber or other fruit bearing crops or coconut. Our plot had a small sacred grove (kaavu) on its border, which was owned by pulaya community. It had some wild growth with lianas. But the small 10 cent plot as such was not maintained well. It had some very specific indigenous trees like cheru.
The locality was considered an apt place for an extension centre of the college with great potential for almost all disciplines - Botany - bio-diversity, organic farming; Zoology - ornithology, entomology, arachnology; Aqua-culture - fresh water species in natural habitat & breeding; Economics & Sociology - Kutumbasree, Padasekharam, Health issues, general uplift of the Panchayat, Cooperatives, Credit; Commerce - marketing of farm products and credits; Chemistry - soil and water conservation; Phyiscs - Energy education, oorj swaraj; Environment Science... so on and so forth. Ample scope for student projects and longitudinal studies. So we held meetings with the kaavu committee and padasekhara samiti, and with the Panchayat member. Dug a big water conservation tank for collecting water for the summer times. Added another plot of 10 cents. Made an assessment of the lepidoptera and birds with the help of researcher Abin Joseslip of Zoology.
Till 2020, we had cultivated paddy in that single crop paddy field - with NSS volunteers and some interested students getting involved. For a few years, Mr. Thomas Peechat, the SDO and PRO facilitated the cultivation with the assistance of Mr. Thankachan. One year, it was a total failure, with the entire crop going down under flood waters. After Fr. Joseph's joining the English department, the farming received a boost, especially with his knowledge of farming, and with the additional invovlement of the aspirants, as he had the charge of the aspirants as well. He took the extra trouble to have the grain stored, cleaned, processed and then sold. It reduced the loss to a great extent, though it never received great enthusiasm in the campus community or in the CMI community.
The campus was inaugurated in March 2021, in the presence of NSS volunteers, and other campus leaders, and being the international year for fruits and vegetables, about 25 species of plants (either fruit bearing or of perennial vegetable purpose) were planted. Now almost 20 months gone, was glad to find most of the saplings grown over 6 feet, some of them already bearing fruit. The leaves indicate lack of Magnesium. Perhaps, more of litter to cover the infertile laterite sandy top would transform the soil into a more healthy one.
Was extremely glad and grateful to be invited by the Economics department, and to see the entire faculty team being present with the III DC students spending a forenoon, and clearing the overgrown grass in no time, and having some fun with kappa and meen from the college canteen.
May SHCOOB grow into a bio-diversity model centre.
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