An 84 year-old Nanjammal belonging to Thoppampatti village in Coimbatore (now Koyampuththur), Tamil Nadu, grows vegetables in her kitchen garden and has been distributing vegetable sapling free of cost to promote culture of kitchen gardens.
“I want villages to have their own kitchen gardens and be able to grow organic vegetables on their own. Now more than 100 families are growing vegetables in their own kitchen gardens.” ANI reported quoting Nanjammal.
She further added, “Since the prices of vegetables were rising up, being a farmer I decided to grow vegetable saplings and distribute them to my villagers in Thoppampatti and guide them about growing fresh vegetables at their homes.”
Bharathi Chinnasamy, a writer and son of Nanjammal, said that the main goal was to create village kitchen gardens in their area.
He further added, “During the COVID-19 period we faced the issue of prices shooting up and it was not possible to afford, so the idea of growing on our own came up. During COVID-19 we are promoting organic kitchen gardens in rural areas free of cost. By this, every family can save Rs 6000 per year. There are around 12 crore Self Help Groups in India and by encouraging them to cultivate Self Help Group garden in open areas, vacant land, and roadsides, they can earn a considerable amount of money.”
Tamil Nadu: Nanjammal, an 84-year-old woman grows vegetables in her kitchen garden at Thoppampatti village in Coimbatore & distributes vegetable saplings among villagers free of cost, in a bid to boost kitchen garden culture. pic.twitter.com/hhLvFZAMco
— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2020