| Badiroor L.P.School, Kakkodi, Kozhikode |
“Does rice grow on trees just like gooseberry,” when the 2nd standard students asked this in all innocence, the teacher Sudheer Kumar could not bear it. It became the topic of discussion in the staff room and resulted in the decision to teach the cultivation of paddy to students in the true work-experience way. And Badiroor L.P.School, Kakkodi, Kozhikode did shed their sweat and reap a bumper crop of rice.
Earlier paddy cultivation could be seen around the school and so the teachers could take the students to a field. Since cultivation had come down, the school decided to have a hands-on training.
The land for cultivation was provided free of cost by Puthalath Vasudevan Nair. The seed was purchased from a traditional farmer. And on April 18, 2007, just after the summer shower, the students started the cultivation. As fertilizer, they used ash obtained from preparation of noon meal in the school.
Students and teachers experienced the anxiety of farmers when the saplings were drowned in the downpour of July. But slowly water receded and the saplings started growing. When the grains ripened, the school celebrated the harvest with participation by few parents.
With towels tied around their heads, the young students worked at cutting and gathering paddy. The first standard students were not allowed to join the harvesting fearing they may be too young to do this job. However, that made the freshers gloomy. “Muhammed Siraj, a first year student, repeatedly begged till evening, permission to carry even the smallest bundle of harvested paddy”, remembers Jayasree teacher.
The paddy was threshed on the school floor collectively by students and well wishers. On February 25, 2007 the school had a feast with the rice produced by them. “The rice was so tasty,” attest the students about their produce that was made without chemical fertilizers.
Courtesy:
Sharmila (text), Gruhalakshmi, April 2008
Contributed by: Administrator
