The Hindu Business Line : How green is my Blue Hill

The men from the neighbouring fields used to shout out to us as we started work on the experimental organic farm near Doddabetta,” recalls Vanya Orr, Project Director, The Earth Trust. “It is a good thing I did not understand Tamil those days, I thought they were encouraging us. They were actually making fun of us,” she says with a smile. The small farm set up in association with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department at the old cinchona village was the beginning of an organic farming movement in The Nilgiris.

When Vanya first visited India in 1994, little did she know she would end up spearheading organic farming in the Blue Mountains. “I was a trained nurse with experience of working with traumatised people. I had also done some organic farming and had worked with crafts,” she reminisces. She had set out to use all these experiences in helping people, first in the village near the old cinchona plantations and later in other villages too.

A non-governmental organisation called HOPE (Healing of People & Earth) was set up in November 1994 with help from FRLHT (Foundation for the Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions), and the first medicinal plant development area was established. The northern slopes of Doddabetta which had originally been planted with cinchona trees by the Forest Department (and later clear-felled) were restored to grow aromatic and medicinal herbs.

The land was in need of intensive care, says Vanya. Vermi compost was made using local worms. An ideal environment was created for insects which break down decaying material but leave the vegetables alone. In three months, nearly four inches of forest-type soil is generated this way.

Biodynamic sprays were used, some during sunrise and others at dusk. Slowly, the land revived and the group began growing rosemary and thyme. Vanya recalls how groups of men came and shook their heads at the ongoing work but soon quieted down as the herbs grew abundantly and found markets. Several of them in fact turned into passionate organic farmers and became the key people at the Organic Training Centres functioning in 20 villages today.

Three years ago, a second NGO called EARTH Trust was set up to work with issues of sustainability in farming, health, livelihoods and environment. The OTCs have a farm first-aid box equipped with bio-pesticides and bio-fertilisers such as pseudomonas or azospirillum. The panchakavium, an organic mixture which is diluted and sprayed as a 24-hour pesticide and tonic, is another valuable input. Vanya says this one product is enough to convince the farmer that he should shift from chemical to organic farming.

She says the Earth Trust is encouraging villagers to start nurseries of indigenous shola trees to help stabilise local water systems such as streams and springs. The OTC farmers have formed an association called the Biodynamic Organic Growers Association in The Nilgiris (BiOGAiN) to find markets for their produce.

Women’s self-help groups visit the nursery regularly, not only for inputs on organic farming but also for training in growing herbs back in their villages and in using the herbs in primary healthcare.

Vanya says the tea crisis in 2000 which left thousands of small tea-growers without an income came as a wakeup call. With markets for tea drying up, small growers were forced to look for other sources of income. Many of them switched to organic farming methods to grow herbs and vegetables.

The Earth Trust now has a programme for schools in creating awareness on environmental issues, civic cleanliness and waste management. Inter-school compost competitions have been organised and discussions on nutrient levels held. Areas of concern include re-establishment of shola forests, eco restoration and clearing of exotic weed species that are destroying indigenous species. Children are also encouraged to grow their own organic gardens.

The Earth Trust also plans to set up gene pools of medicinal plants growing in the varied climatic zones of The Nilgiris. These gardens or small conservation parks would serve as a shop-window for buyers of medicinal herbs, besides generating income for the locals and regenerating the forests. The Forest Department has reportedly expressed interest in this venture.

Most visitors to The Nilgiris today see a sad wasteland filled with treeless, dusty towns connected by pot-holed roads and acres of untended tea gardens. But Vanya is determined to regenerate the magical, pristine hills that her great grandmother had seen 180 years ago. “My dream is to see crystal clear water flow from the hills again,” she says.