Lakkattur: A decade after switching from the teaching field to full-time farming, the life of Lakkattur Thottappally Puthunpuraykkal Sinimol Kurien is turning out to be a success story in organic farming. Sini left her teaching career in 2015 and embraced the soil and agriculture as part of her life.

In her home garden of about two acres, there are all kinds of crops, including brinjal, colocasia, ginger, ivy gourd, banana, tapioca, and dragon fruit. Grafted jackfruit saplings of wide varieties are also an attraction of the farm, where organic farming methods are practised. Brinjal is cultivated by filling sacks with soil and organic fertiliser.

Cow dung and quail droppings are the main fertilisers. The fish pond in the home garden is also part of the farm. The water from the pond where more than 300 tilapia fish are raised is used as organic fertiliser for the vegetable garden. The main feed for the fish is tapioca leaves. Irrigation is done using water from the well during the summer.

Her children, 10th-class student Deryn V Kurien and plus-one student Dona Kurien, assist her in farm work. Her husband Siby, a KSRTC mechanic, provides full support to the farming activities. Sini says that the inspiration from Bency Joseph, a native of Velloor, Manimala, who is an excellent farmer, and his mother Lisamma, fostered her interest in agriculture.