The students and faculty of the PG Department of English had a hands-on experience at the farm with Partha Varanshi as the facilitator. After a short briefing on the sustainable agricultural practices followed at Varanashi Farms, he gave a guided tour of the multiple cropping system where arecanut, rice, cocoa, coconut, banana, pepper, cashew, vanilla, vegetables etc. are grown; and of the efficient bio-gas unit located near the cattle shed where the spent slurry is distributed in the farm by a pipeline. He also showed how the farm has adopted water harvesting measures by providing catch pits, mini check dams, percolation pits and other eco-friendly measures. The delicious lunch and snacks offered to the visitors were made from the produce grown at the farm.
The visitors were also given a guided tour of the sustainable architectural practices used in building houses at the farm. Resident architects, Kiran, Vanditha, and Rosa gave a detailed explanation of the materials and methods used in the construction and how they are eco-friendly and sustainable when compared to the use of cement and concrete. The tour ended with a glimpse of the work done at the Varanashi Development and Research Foundation where the research technologies developed in are being field-tested at a macro-level before being advocated for wide-scale adoption. The visit was an eye-opener for the students and faculty of the PG Department of English and convinced them of the viability of eco-friendly and sustainable agricultural and architectural practices.
