Children turn farmers
G. MAHADEVAN
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Students of Government LPS Kulasekharam gladly made way for their playground to be converted into a paddy field.
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And so it was that little hands put seeds to sand and their hopes to the earth in an unparalleled learning experience.
Learning while farming: Students at their paddy field.
In 2010, when the teachers and students of the Government LPS Kulasekharam, Vattiyoorkkavu, agreed to convert their 25-cent playground into a paddy field, little did they know that they were giving wings to a concept which would catch the fancy of one and all.
Inspired by this experiment, other schools in the district too have come forward wanting their own little ‘paddy fields.'
Farming is fun
It was the department of agriculture which first came by the school taking up a food security programme for which it had funds. The department also wanted to show the local people that you don't need vast vistas of wetland to indulge in paddy cultivation. Also, what better way to ‘bring back' paddy farming than to sow seeds in the minds of children?
And so it was that little hands put seeds to sand and their hopes to the earth in an unparalleled learning experience. They watered the seeds, later, pulled out weeds, caught pests and when the corn stalks started waving and whispering in the wind, ran to their hearts' content in their ‘playground.'
“Though agriculture officers were there to give specialist advice, including the selection of the right variety of crop to be planted, it was the sheer enthusiasm of the students and the involvement of the teachers of the school that took the experiment forward,” said Asha Raj the Agriculture Officer at Vattiyoorkkavu.
Harvest time
When the time for the harvest came, the school was flooded with children — including those from other schools who dropped by to marvel at what their peers had accomplished — and local people who stared in wide-eyed wonder at what the little hands had shaped. Also wielding the sickle were the Mayor K. Chandrika and Minister M. Vijayakumar.
But that was in the closing months of 2010, right? Yes, but now Ms. Raj has been invited by at least two more schools to help them replicate the Kulasekharam experiment.
“The Vocational Higher Secondary School at Parassala and the Government School at Manjampara have asked us to help in paddy farming. Of course, we have promised them all help. May be things would move forward in the next academic year,” she said.
That is not all. The children of the Kulasekharam school have also planted some corn in pots at their homes. A reminder to the people at large that where there is a will there is always a way.
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