As institutes tie up with NGO, students are dedicating time to greener premises and sustainable consumption
Providing organic food for thought, a few well-known educational institutes in the city seem to be moving towards a greener and more sustainable campus. Under a new project that just began late last year, the academic hubs are making an effort to convert barren land on their premises into patches where organic farming is being practiced, as well as encouraging students to take part in the activity.
For this, the administrations have tied up with Eco Factory Foundation Pune, a not-for-profit non-government organisation (NGO), which works towards building a sustainable environment.
A few names taking part in this initiative include Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) College of Home Science, SNDT College of Arts and Commerce, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), and a campus of Symbiosis. After the programme began roughly three or four months ago, all these institutes have at the moment successfully created food zones on their campus, from where they are producing organic fruit and vegetables.
Students from these colleges, whether in a group or individually, dedicate at least five or six hours of the week to farming — and have already begun to notice the difference. They are now growing their own produce and have noted the increase in green cover in their colleges.
Speaking about the organic project to Mirror, a home science student at SNDT, Niyati Deshpande, said, “We have named this effort as Project Sanvardhan. It began only a few months ago and we are surprised to see how much greenery has already replaced barren land. We didn’t ever think this would turn into a place where we would find our solace. We have planted coconut, papaya and spinach organically. Sometimes, we take the produce home, or use it in our kitchen at the home science department. The steps involved in organic farming are very simple and we are all inspired to replicate the same at our homes, too.”
A student from GIPE, Aditi Pandit, said, “I personally found this activity to be an escape from regular college life. There is no compulsion — a person can dedicate whatever time possible for him or her. When ready for harvest, we mostly give away the produce to the canteen at subsided rates, and regrow the plants that do not cost a lot.”
The initial investment made by each college towards the project ranged around a few thousand rupees.
Eco Factory Foundation first began this project circa 2017, teaching farmers on the city’s outskirts how to convert barren land into a fertile patch. Speaking on the latest effort, group founder Anant Chordia emphasised that their expertise was shared without any payment to pass on the skills. He told Mirror, “The students are being taught how to grow their own food, as well as live in a less polluting environment. Organic vegetables will also help to improve their health and reward the body with better immune systems in the long run. Hence, it was necessary to ensure that such activities are practised in colleges, where we have successfully converted barren land into food-producing zones.”