A question that will arise in the minds of many readers regarding this article is the timings. People who read my blog posts regularly will detect a pattern. I usually associate the efforts of diverse Goans with political developments in Goa. As the elections in Goa have concluded recently, what is my intention behind this blog post? Let me illustrate this with the help of an example.
In a state that is renowned for tourism, Cleto Avito Fernandes is an inspiration for others. Apart from being a 12th Std student of Science in Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Panjim, he leverages the passion he has for agriculture into kitchen gardening. He not only grows his own produce, but sells it too to other areas of Goa.
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| Cleto and a glimpse of his kitchen garden |
Cleto was introduced to the world of agriculture in 7th Std through a trip to Kulem or Colem where he decided to spend his summer vacation. The lush greenery of Colem was a different atmosphere from the city of Panjim which Cleto was accustomed to. His uncle who was a priest belonging to the Society of Pilar was posted in Kulem during Cleto’s visit.
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| Cleto in a recent trip to Taleigao in June 2021 |
The Pilar Fathers have around 500 sq meters of land in Kulem for growing vegetables. Cleto’s first lesson about the world of agriculture was the tilling of the land which resulted in a lot of boils on his hand. This was followed by a lesson on the planting and the watering ladyfinger seeds. As he was there for 10 days, he not only oversaw the growth of this crop and learnt more about it, but also planted the seeds for his future in agriculture.
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| Children planting crops in Taleigao |
When Cleto was returning home, his uncle gifted him some seeds which he tried growing. Unfortunately many seeds were destroyed either due to neighbourhood dogs or excessive rain during that particular year, though two plants survived this destruction. Viewing the signs of progress on these two plants Cleto took additional care of them by watching YouTube tutorials and with support from his uncle. This tactic yielded its rewards when harvest time came, and he got around 10 ladyfingers per plant.
This motivated him to begin the kitchen garden on a larger scale with vegetables such as Radish, Red Radish, diverse varieties of Brinjals and others. He also attempted the intercropping of Marigolds during the period in October when Mother Mary’s statue visits households. He purchased a garland of Marigolds and tried cultivating Marigold’s from the dried flowers of the garland. Although it was his first attempt in doing this, he had a bumper crop.
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| Brinjals from Cleto's kitchen garden |
He soon added various vegetables that can be grown in Goa. He has begun an experiment of cultivating sweet potatoes on Laterite soil which he has been successful in. In the initial stages of his kitchen garden he used cow dung as manure but now he uses a BSF compost barrel. He recently came across Panchagavya, Jeevanamrut, Ghana Jeevanamrutham that are manures of excellent quality. While Panchagavya is excellent for the growth of trees that bear fruits, Jeevanamrut and Ghana Jeevanamrutham are ideal for trees that bear flowers and vegetables.
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| A Jackfruit tree in Cleto's garden |
Readers too can leverage this passion of Cleto towards their states, as enthusiastic individuals are the solution to counter the people who are active only during the time of elections. This can result in people developing unconventional ideas for their states, alert citizens, journalists who speak the truth always. When people join forces they can accomplish wonders. This approach is crucial as a new government takes shape.
