School Farms and Outreach

We had an early start to the monsoons this year; the rains arrived in mid-May, a good two months in advance, and that too in heavy showers. While this helped turn the campus into a welcoming shade of green, it put a strain on the farmland preparation activities—both at the school side as well as at the village level. This is expected to impact the growth and yield of this year’s monsoon crops.

Meanwhile at the school farms, we entered into the 10th year of in-situ seed conservation of heirloom seeds, which include 100+ varieties of rice and small millets. Our farm soils have improved in their humus content and fertility to give rich harvests of vegetables that were planted during summer this year. Students of classes 7th and 8th continue to engage with the school farms and village government schools during their SUPW blocks.

Under the Rural Outreach, about 44 farmers are now registered with the school as suppliers of local farm produce such as grains, vegetables, and fruits. This helps the school get fresh produce directly from the farmers and helps farmers reduce their transportation overheads.