On one of my visits to the remote villages of district Qambar Shahdadkot in Sindh, I noticed some endeavours for uplifting the underdeveloped communities in the region.

The way to Union Council Hazar Wah, was largely through barren land, but a parts of the landscape were dotted with greenish wheat crops, harvested only weeks ago.

In the village, I found a tea shop where some farmers and elderly men were enjoying tea. Inside the dhaaba, a vegetable vendor had also set up his shop.

Some 70 kilometres away from district headquarters at Qambar we reached the village of Sahibdad Brohi to meet the Brohi family who run an organic farm business. Partially shaded by neem and other indigenous trees, the Brohis’ humble home is separated from neighbouring mud huts by a small water drain Twenty-two-year-old Rashida Brohi was picking vegetables in her garden and piling them into a blue basket. She invited us into her courtyard where charpoys were laid out for guests.

Small-scale farmers are using organic methods for growing vegetables

Like many others, Rashida’s family faced chronic poverty after the 2010 floods inundated their area, forcing people to evacuate their homes for months. The inundation of their village was so quick that the residents hardly had time to collect their belongings — they could barely even save their lives.

The Brohis struggled to make ends meet until 2014, when they started their organic garden.

Rashida’s father, Abdul Qadir Brohi, says, “Initially it was a challenge to grow a vegetable garden through organic methods. We were quite sceptical and thought perhaps it won’t work, but gradually it became our livelihood.” Presently, the kitchen garden provides enough means to feed their family of seven and also to have a bit left over as savings as well.

Rashida proudly shows off her organic kitchen garden laid out on 10,000 square-feet alongside their home. “We wanted everyone in the neighbourhood to consume uncontaminated, toxin-free vegetables,” she says. “This is primarily why we started growing organic vegetables on this small piece of land. Now everyone can have these vegetables at a nominal cost.”

They took different training sessions on organic farming, and kitchen gardening organised by ActionAid with its local partner NGO’s Development Society. “NDS sensitised and strengthened us by multiple awareness sessions, trainings on producing organic food. And their technical support has changed our life pattern completely,” says Brohi enthusiastically.

Earlier, the Brohis used expensive pesticide spray to protect their garden. Now that they have learnt about organic methods, they only need neem tree leaves and soaps to make a liquid that is sprayed fortnightly on the plants. “Once the neem leaves and soap in water are mixed, I heat it for at least two hours and then it is cooled down at room temperature,” says Brohi. “Spraying this on the plants help increase production by saving the plants from harmful insects.”

Previously, they would spend approximately 8,000 rupees on pesticides and fertilisers for their quarter acre of land. But now with making organic sprays and fertilisers at home, they have brought the expense down to only 200 rupees a month. The yield is cleaner, fresher and more abundant than before.

As Brohi spoke to us about the family business, Rashida was busy collecting ashes from stoves and dumping them into a small ditch in the courtyard. The ditch serves as a natural container of organic compost; ash, animal waste, leaves and dust are thrown into the ditch and care is taken to not to throw in any plastic.

“Once the hole fills up with material, I put two cans of water and cover it with a plastic shopper for three to four days. This naturally creates compost which is natural and free of toxins,” explains Rashida.

Salma Bhatti is an activist who helps the villagers grow kitchen gardens and provide smallholder farmers, particularly women, with technical support. She further explains the process of making organic fertilisers. “Organic fertiliser is usually made from plants, animal waste or powdered minerals. They are actually soil conditioners rather than fertilisers, which improve the structure of the soil and increase its retention of water nutrients,” she says.

“We are trying to build an understanding among people about the use of pesticides which are harmful to health,” Salma adds. There are 15 more families who grow organic food in Shahdadkot and around 32 women are smallholder farmers who cultivate cash crops using organic methods. These initiatives have brought astounding results and we have completely eliminated the use of inorganic pesticides and fertilisers.”

For the past two years, Rashida has been growing seasonal vegetables such as potatoes, tomatos, chillies, cucumbers, onions, coriander, eggplants, carrots, radishes, mint and spinach in her organic kitchen garden. With the passage of time, her small oasis’ yield has increased in quantity as well as the quality.

Rashida’s income register shows that, last year, her family earned more than 237,000 rupees from their small plot of land. She says the turnover was unexpected. Her dream now is to invest in another plot of land so that she can provide organic food to people outside her neighbourhood as well.

The writer is a photojournalist and tweets @genanimanoj

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 15th, 2018