The Hindu : Karnataka News : Healing through horticulture

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 07, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

Healing through horticulture

Staff Reporter

The APD has transformed barren land into a fertile space

The Kyalasanahalli horticultural centre offers a home and training to the disabled
On sale are 300 varieties of ornamental, floral and vegetable plants, grown by the disabled

BANGALORE: The Horticulture Training Centre for the Disabled in Kyalasanahalli is an oasis in more ways than one. The once dry and barren land has been transformed by the Association of People with Disability (APD) into a luscious space offering an abode and training facility for people with various physical and mental disabilities.

Part of their rehabilitation and healing process entails horticulture, and the results are impressive. A veritable orchard of well-tended plants, spread over a five-acre expanse, stands as testimony to the gifted gardeners, presenting a striking contrast to the dust-blown area surrounding it.

The APD has organised a plant fair at the Kyalasanahalli centre and over 300 varieties of ornamental, floral and vegetable plants are on sale till January 7.

Shashikala Murali, co-ordinator, who has been with the organisation for over two years, said: “When people think of disabled people, they are filled with sympathy. They don’t need that; that just cripples them further. We equip them to feel like equals, and that is the truth, they are no different from us.” In 2001, the Government granted a five acres of land in Kyalasanahalli, which the NGO uses as a residential training centre. The facility has 33 trainees and 18 staff. The disabled trainees, all aged between 18 and 30, go through a 10-month training programme during which they are taught horticulture, given healthcare and a vocation to help support themselves. They also undergo counselling to face the world.

Suresh Naik, one of the trainees, said that he has been part of the organisation for over 10 months, which has changed his worldview.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka