The remote hamlet of Galwaduwagama, Sravastipura, Anuradhapura is home to many enterprising farmers. In line with the Government’s Saubhagya home gardening concept, several residents of the villages have taken to home gardening.
Among them are Sugath Chandrasiri and Chandrika Seneviratne, a husband and wife duo who have taken home gardening to a new level. The home garden was first proposed a few years ago by Chandrika, who has since been ably supported by Sugath and their three children, aged 18, 13 and 9.
“This is a completely self-contained garden. We have a biogas generation unit and a compost generation facility, so we use no chemical fertilizer or weedicide. It is 100 percent natural,” says Chandrika, who grows a plethora of crops including vegetables, potatoes, manioc, sweet potatoes, pepper, coffee, ginger, cinnamon, and herbs in her sprawling garden. She is also a bee keeper and a dairy farmer. Her poultry den supplies a steady flow of eggs. In keeping with her religious beliefs, no animals are sent for slaughter.
“This is completely self-sufficient. Apart from rice, we have grown almost everything else here, so we don’t need to buy any foods from outside. Moreover, no chemicals are added to our crops, so they are completely organic. We can run this home garden without any problems for the next 20 years,” says Chandrika, lamenting that the Agriculture Department is not more actively promoting home gardens around the country.
“The Saubhagya programme is a golden opportunity for everyone to take up home gardening. Moreover, if at least two milch cows can be supplied to rural households by the Government, milk powder imports too can be greatly reduced. Then we can create a healthy nation,” adds Chandrika.
Chandrika earns a good income monthly by selling the excess produce to her neighbours and stores in nearby towns. “I do not need to do any other job to sustain my family or depend on any Government handouts even during the Coronavirus pandemic. While many other households waited for supply lorries to come to their doorstep during the lockdown, we could manage just fine with the food from our home garden.” She appreciates the help given by her husband, three children and the neighbours in tending to her home garden.
“Whenever we have visitors, we take them to the home garden, ask them to pick up the veggies they like and cook it for them. Dessert is usually buffalo curd from my dairy. The visitors are highly impressed every time. Many people even from far away towns come to my garden to buy vegetables, curd and honey because they know it is organic. So we have a good income every day of the year.”
She urged the authorities to further popularize the concept of home gardens and home dairies, which she says could ultimately save a large amount of foreign exchange as well. “The pandemic was a good lesson for us all to rely more on ourselves and our own products. With this home garden, I have proved that it is possible.”
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