G Nanda Kumar, known as Nandu, is a 22 year old, who hails from a village in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh called Diguvapalem. He quit formal education in the middle of his 12th grade in order to pursue his passion for organic farming and setting up a learning centre in his village. He learned about organic farming from Marutham Farm School, Thiruvannamalai following which he returned to his village, much to the dismay of his parents who did not understand why he had come back. Nandu says:
“They had thought that I would go far away from home and get a job, but I came back and told them that I wanted to do organic farming in my own village. At first they were not very happy, but they eventually understood what I was doing and began supporting my project”.
Apart from bringing an awareness about organic farming in his village, Nandu has also set up a nursery in front of his village from where he transplants the plants on the hills surrounding the village using the help of youngsters. Nandu’s family plays the major role in the organic farm. Nandu’s project does not stop here. One of his major focus is on the learning centre which he has set up in order to conduct extra-curricular activities for children from his village. Nandu has to coordinate the construction for the thatched mud building with men from the village. When asked about the challenges he faces while setting up the building, Nandu talked about the daily dose of liquor he has to provide for the workers:
“Sometimes the work slows down because the workers come to work high, and sometimes, when they are mildly drunk, they work hard. But overall it is a problem because they are addicted to alcohol".
The building is nearing its completion after which the activities will begin. After school, children will be taught arts and crafts, music and traditional dances. The centre will be open only at night so as to not interfere with regular school timings and teachers will be entering on a volunteer basis.
For Nandu, the project is long term and he has plans to encourage people to use native cow breeds and also remove the use of pesticides and chemicals for agriculture. He also has plans to establish rain water harvesting systems in his village and work to increase the capacity of the lakes in and around his village. Being a dry region, Nandu has realised the importance of conserving water in order to enable smooth agricultural practices.
The project has been received well by the people of his village, and Nandu says that some of them have jokingly said that his techniques are old school, while the older farmers use newer methods. Nandu collects funds for his project mainly from the contacts he has established over the years and a few people from Rishi Valley School which is a few kilometres away from Diguvapalem. Having garnered support and enthusiastic participation from the youth of his village, Nandu hopes to carry out the project across the neighbouring villages in order to create a sustainable lifestyle. He says:
“Sometimes I see college students going for classes and I think to myself that I should also have gone to college, but that is only once in a while. I am happy with the path that I have taken because I can contribute to my village and bring about a positive change”.
It isn’t every day that one meets a young enthusiastic person willing to take the path less travelled and contribute to society in a positive way. Nandu is one such rare instance of a person driven solely by his will to improve agricultural practices and also provide an interactive learning experience to youngsters.
Nandu is a true Indian, patriot. He is an inspiration at this very young age . Best wishes.