Once a wedding date is set, most couples dive headlong into the whirlwind of bookings, photo shoots, and endless shopping. Vani and Vijith, however, chose a different rhythm. Seven months before tying the knot, they rolled up their sleeves and plunged straight into the soil, planting the paddy, vegetables, and bananas that would feed their wedding feast. When harvest time came, they cooked and served the fruits of their own labour to their guests, marking a homegrown start to married life.

V Vani, from Palakkulangara in Harippad, Alappuzha, and V C Vijith, from Kannapuram in Kannur, began farming together 16 years ago on a four-and-a-half-acre plot at Danapady, Harippad. Today, that plot has blossomed into a professional learning centre for eco-friendly organic farming. With cool ponds and the shade of towering trees, the farm exudes the calm and charm of a sacred grove.

The property is also home to ‘Prakrithi Jaivakalavara’, a marketing hub for organic vegetables, a food processing unit and a nursery rolled into one. The enterprise brings together produce from 480 farmers for sale and clocked a whopping ₹3.73 crore in turnover last year alone.

From choosing a BSc in Agriculture over medicine despite topping the entrance exams, to walking away from a promising career to embrace farming, Vani has one simple answer for every decision she has made: her love for farming. Vijith, an engineering graduate, was drawn to the same passion, and shared experiences in environmental protests and nature study camps sowed the seeds of their bond, steering them toward this life together. After their marriage in 2009, the couple threw themselves into farming on the four-and-a-half-acre plot adjoining Vani’s home at Danapady in Harippad.

A farm bursting with life
The farm is cradled by nine cool, sparkling ponds, each shaded by towering trees such as Nagalingamaram (cannonball tree), Kadambu (burflower tree), Athi (fig tree), Njaval (black plum tree), and Elanji (Indian medlar tree). These waterbodies teem with native fish like Kari (green chromide), Varal (snakehead), Chempalli (red snapper), Perl and Vala (ribbonfish).

The farm boasts 45 types of fruit trees, from cherished local varieties to exotic delights like Sapota, Sitaphal (custard apple), Athachakka (ox-heart jackfruit), Ambazham (hog plum), passion fruit and even peanut butter fruit. Nearly 120 free-range chickens roam freely across the grounds, while 15 cows and 13 types of traditional banana plants, including Sundari, Kannan, and Kumbicha Kannan, share the lush space with 55 varieties of vegetables. The vegetables grown include everything from beans and bottle gourd to spinach, ash gourd, tomatoes, eggplant, turmeric, and yams.  Medicinal herbs flourish here as well, all nurtured organically from native seeds. Even the livestock are indigenous breeds, fully in harmony with the land.

The slurry from the biogas plant, combined with fallen leaves, crop residues, and chicken manure, is transformed into compost that, together with Amrutham soil, which is a blend of Jeevamrutham and traditional compost, keeps the farm’s earth fertile. The land is a green wonderland, home to 32 varieties of mango trees, countless native fruit trees and a dense tangle of forest species. According to Vani, every plant nurtures its own microscopic community at its bottom, and these microorganisms not only enrich the earth but also stabilise the microclimate.

A hub for organic produce
The couple decided to set up their own marketing centre when traders refused to pay fair prices for their crops and even returned the produce after purchase. Launched as a modest stall from an arbour in the farm, it evolved into a full-fledged marketplace in 2017, with financial support from the Agriculture Department and was named ‘Prakrithi Jaivakalavara’. Initially, it sold the farm’s own harvest alongside the produce of 13 neighbouring organic farmers. Today, the centre stocks and sells the agricultural produce of as many as 480 farmers, along with a wide range of value-added food products.

The centre displays both the price paid to farmers and the retail price. Every seed is carefully catalogued and stored on each rung of a ladder-like rack, with each column labelled after a seed. The shelves are brimming with everything from fresh vegetables, rice, horsegram, and jaggery to eco-friendly toys. The daily average sales, according to Vani, stand around ₹1.25 lakh.

To roll out value-added products, the couple has also set up a manufacturing unit under the name ‘Ruchira Prakrithi Foods’. The unit makes and sells a range of items, including turmeric powder, millet flour for appam, puttu powder, sesame sweets and ragi laddu, among others.

Every scrap of organic waste on the farm finds a purpose, either feeding the biogas plant or enriching the compost. Rainwater is harvested to recharge the ponds, while solar panels power the farm, making the entire operation self-sufficient and green. Vani and Vijith have designed every inch of their farm to work in sync with nature and have successfully turned sustainability into a living reality.