Is any childhood devoid of playing in the mud and jumping in the rains? The essence of being a child lies in the ability to enjoy nature as it is. Waking up early to the sound of the rooster crowing or the dogs barking, getting to see the first rays of the rising sun, feeling the cool breeze, and many more are events that take place in the daily course of people’s life entwined with nature. Trees and plants have a big role as well. They are climbed up with joy and eating those freshly plucked fruits and vegetables gives a unique pleasure. These trees and plants are the heart of any city and they are what keeping mankind alive.

However, in the recent past, with everyone inching towards urbanization and development, these trees and plants have somehow lost their importance.

“A place nothing less than heaven, with buds nothing less than fairies and an emotion nothing less than love. It is, no doubt an abode of beauty and claims itself as GARDEN!”

Yes, gardening. Gardening is one of the top hobbies people prefer to have. It a great way to reconnect with nature in a small pace. It is known for the calming effect it casts on stressed individual. Gardening, in general does require ground. But in this current scenario, fetching land for everyone wishing to do gardening is impossible. Thus was born the idea of “Terrace Gardening”. Regionally recognized by the term “Maadi Thottam”, terrace gardening is a wonderful step towards a better tomorrow.

Owing to the current state of nature and depletion of trees, a lot of concerned citizens have taken a step and started these terrace gardens at their respective homes. Any step is commendable, be it small or big.

One such person is Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, a resident of Coimbatore city. She has been fostering her terrace garden for over a decade now. She happily expresses that spending an hour or two everyday gardening is a great exercise and relaxation in her busy schedule. She started this garden to grow greens since the ones in markets are medicated and could spoil health. With time, she added all the basic vegetables required in the kitchen like tomato, onion, beans, coriander, chillis etc. She used to grow them before her house, however for sunlight requirements and better ease, she shifted them to her terrace and started working on them full-fledged. She uses a mixture of red soil, regular soil and coir pith to grow the plants in grow bags. There is nothing inorganic with whatever she uses. From the manure to pest repellants, she makes them or buys chemical free ones. For instance, she makes compost at home using all the waste generated in the kitchen mixed with a spoonful of cane sugar. Another such manure she makes in using onion peels. Nearly 4 handfuls of the peels are let to soak in water for 5 to 6 days and the residual water is used to the plants. Further without wasting the peels, she uses them in the making of compost. It is her ideology that everything is available in the environment but it is our responsibility to put them to proper use. Nature contains solution to everything, it’s up to man’s creativity in putting them to proper use.

Watering the plants is a tedious job in itself. Each plant requires varying level of moisture and it needs to be tended accordingly. Vijayalakshmi, checks the moisture level of the soil every day and waters the plants only when they lack the sufficient water content. She waters them manually since she found the tube watering system a failure for they didn’t provide the necessary force of irrigation. Protecting and fostering doesn’t stop here. After every harvest, the soil worthiness needs to be examined. For this, she removes half the contents of the soil from the grow bags and refills it with fresh ones and manure. The three are mixed well and let to settle for atleast a week before the next seed is sowed.

She loves taking care of her garden. This is not just for her own benefit that she does such an act. She showcases utmost love to her surroundings and claims that the population of birds coming to her place has increased post setting up the garden. Only a person with zeal towards the environment and own self could continue a pious habit like this for over a decade. Kudos to her for all that she has done and more power to her for inspiring many others in stepping into saving the Mother Nature together! – -B Alankritaa

Sheer determination and hardwork are the two basic qualities embedded deep into him, beginning his career as a medical representative, now operates 400 crore business enterprise. The journey started 30 years back, which has grown into international reckoning with an international pharmaceutical marketing company, trading and a manufacturing unit Fondly called by his friends as Shiva, Shiva Kumar Balakrishnan has his empire spread over 35 countries.

The early days of his professional life had its own share of struggles and hard work. With every obstacle that he faced, was made into a stepping stone which has helped him reach heights. As life progressed he found his calling that something remarkable in life needs to be done not just for himself but in the larger interest of the society. Thus was born the concept of Swadharma which has become a pivotal point in his life. He is now involved in Natural Farming, more often called Organic Farming wherein he cultivates traditional Indian varieties of crops that includes vegetables. pulses, rice and fruits. Taking the help of his friend, he started setting up his own farm, MIT. Located by the Bhavani near Sathyamangalam, Erode District and in Nilgiris, his 85 Acres farm is a USDA/EU certified organic farm. It boasts of native varieties of vegetables that are being supplied to Coimbatore, Chennoi, Ponachi, Bangalore. Ooty and Erode on a concept of ‘farm to home’, where the fresh farm vegetables are being delivered directly from his farm to the consumer.

His mission in life is to bring bock at Host 5,00,000 acres of chemical based farmland into not rebased forming lands. His farm was chosen by the PMO as a model farm for large scale sustainable organic farming and more recently was selected as the most innovative farmer of the year by Krishi Vigyankendra (on ICAR body) and also recognized as a certified training school or organic farming.

His vision is to empower every single family of the nation to be able to consume naturally grown Organic food for healthy living as healthy living begins with eating healthy! His success in the natural way of farming had made many heads turn as it was once considered as a cost intensive farming without much commercial benefits. This was a turning point where Shiva had inspired many other farmers in his neighbourhood initially and now across many states to actively take up natural farming which is healthy and economically viable. His mission of converting atleast 5,00,000 acres into organic farming land seems to be reality as he is inching closer towards his goal every passing day. Going down the memory lane, it was a tough time when he was looking for employment to make his living but through his smart forming techniques combined with natural methods, today he is in a successful position where he inspires many and also in a strong position to provide employment to many more. He has just not brought a smile to the farmers face, he has also ensured that his knowledge supports many families. His success has also been shared to many when hecreated aninnouotiuernodelcalfed MIT-SATS. – SHIVAKUMAR BALAKRISHNAN

Soapnuts as the name indicates ore soaps that grow on a tree and are also called Soap berries/ Soapnuts/ Reetha. It’s a magic berry that contains natural soapins and has excellent cleaning properties. Our ancestors have used soapnuts to clean jewelry, wash their hair and silk saris effectively and naturally. The leftover water from the cleaning process was let out into their home gardens, without the need for any sewage treatment.

Here we have listed a few ways in which we can still use these magic berries in all our cleaning activities, to suit the present day lifestyle:

• Tie up about 10-12 soapnuts in a small cloth bag and drop it into the washing machine or dishwasher, for naturally clean clothes/ dishes, The bag can be dried and reused a few times.
  
• Soak soapnuts in a vessel overnight and use the strained liquid for hair wash to get shiny and stronger hair
  
• 3. Soapnuts can also be dried, powdered and used (just by itself or in combination with other cleaning agents), for all general cleaning purposes.
  
• 4. We could also make a multipurpose cleaning liquid, that takes care of pretty much every cleaning need.

Given below is the recipe:
Soak two handfuls of soapnutsideseeded), in a vessel, overnight Bring to boil the next morning , and after about 5 minutes of cooking, turn off the heat and let it cool down Crush and strain the liquid (the leftover skin of the soapnuts can be composted). Mix with an equal portion of citrus bio enzyme, and this is the much useful, multipurpose cleaning liquid. This liquid can be used For dish wash, hair wash, floor mopping, kitchen cleaning, toilet cleaning, gloss cleaning, car wash, pet wash etc.,
– Sangeetha Subash

Sapindus Mukorossi aka ( soapnut berry ), is one of the most important trees of the tropical and subtropical regions of Asian’s commonly found in the Western Ghats, plains of South India , Nepal and in the Himalayas.
It grows in deep fertile soil and needs lots of water. Soap Nut trees can grow to become large deciduous trees with spreading crown . It helps erosion predominantly in the Himalayan foothills. It produces desirable earnings to the local population. It is a completely resilient tree as it is defiant to diseases and insects. The tree grows to about 30 to 60 feet in height and starts blooming and bearing fruits after 9 years. The leaves are alternate, long, pinnate with 14 to 30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often missing. The flowers are small and creamy white. The fruits are small, leathery skinned drupes. The soupbones fruits are round, yellow berries that become reddish tan and crumbled as they ripen. its façade is somewhat like a date.

The drupes ( soapnuts) contain an essence called Sapnonin that produces a soaping effect. Saponin is 100% organic, natural and unmodified, so acts as an alternative to synthetic laundry ingredients and cleansers. It can substitute many synthetic detergents such as those containing sodium laureth sulphate and does not harm the environment. Soapnuts are being used from ancient times, all over the world as a laundry detergent , as soap for personal hygiene, for cleaning and detoxifying food, natural pesticides in farming, to repel insects off plants and outside the house .

Soapnuts can be used crushed or used in powder form in home gardening and agriculture to repel some insects and pests. Sapindus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some moths and butterflies species. The kernel extracts of soapnut disrupt the activity of enzymes of larvae and pupae, also inhibits the growth of mosquitoes, an important vector of viral disease.
Soapnut is also used as a dyeing agent for coloring of yams of Tussar Silk And Cotton. Local cultivars collect the soapnut as it falls from the tree. The seed is removed from the shell ( husk ), dried up in the sun using entirely no synthetic processing. No manufacturing process is required in any way for the soapnut to be effectual. The Trees and the soapberry nut is a sustainable farming and forest produce .The botanic name is resultant from latin words, Sapo ( soap) and Indicus ( Indian ), based upon its high quality of ‘soap’ substance and uniformity.
– Ms Shanthni Balu

In the wake of the plentiful rainfall that we have received this year from both the monsoons, it is impossible for us to repay our debt to Mother Nature for the love and care she has showered on us. No amount of eulogizing will be enough for the sweet pearls of pure water that has descended upon us from about No words are sufficient to praise the muddy rivulets of water that fill up our lakes. No greater miracle can there be than the blinding rain that fell upon us and filled our land and heart.

It is to the credit of all the voluntary organizations and the Coimbatore Corporation that the tanks were cleaned and bunds readied to receive all the water. The tireless work of the non government organizations will pay rich dividends this year. Water soured is worth its weight in gold. And it is our privilege and honor to be able to celebrate this bounty from Mother Nature with so much fanfare and gaiety at the Kovai Vizha 2020 to be held on January 11th of Kikani Auditorium, Coimbatore.

The monsoon of 2019 has exceeded all expectations and all the dams have overflowed. The delta region of Tamil Nadu has benefited greatly. In the Coimbatore region also the tanks Kumaran Kuttai, Ukkadam Tank, Selakarachal dam. Gangs Maroon Samudrom and Sottaiyandi Kuttai have immensely benefited the farming community. The check dam at Nandankarai has a perennial overflow. Here in this region, because of the hard rock formations, water percolation is slow and aquifers are found at depth of more than 700 feet below ground. So dependence on river or surface water is great. It is also a fact that during monsoons, the runoff water from the horseshoe formation of mountains surrounding this area causes flash floods and soil erosion. So the water that falls over a period of week or ten days will have to be stored and made available for as long as possible. This makes it totally mandatory that proper scientific water shed management is done in these regions. Only then will the rainfall have the necessary benefits for the local community.

The movement for water is gaining traction every day. More and more young hands are interested in making a career in this field of scientific water management principles coupled with socio environment consciousness. Water management in private hospitals, factories and apartments can help save thousands and lakhs of rupees that would otherwise be spent in rigging more bore wells or in purchasing water during the summer months. Indeed, it is a win – win for all concerned when every drop is soured as it’s more than worth its weight in gold.
– Vanitha Mohan

In today’s world, water is the most undervalued resource on the planet and is indeed, the most precious. It is an irony that most of us simply are unable to fathom the depth of an impending water scarcity crisis if sustained efforts are not taken now. And it is of greater concern to see that most of the world’s population goes about their daily duties and activities without any thought or concern for this beautiful and most essential commodity that we have on this planet.

Although most of the earth’s surface is covered with water in the form of oceans, fresh water forms just three percent of all of the earth’s water. Of this three percent, about 2% is locked up as glaciers in the Polar Regions. So that leaves just about 1% of the world’s total water resource as surface water and underground aquifers. With ever increasing human population how is it possible without proper planning and thought to ensure clean water is supplied to the maximum persons? It is also to be noted that water availability is skewed. In India and Africa, per capita water availability is much lower than in Western nations. Water management forms the pivot of almost all activities of Siruthuli. Over the past 17 years we have desilted 12 Lakes and 14 village ponds in the vicinity of Coimbatore City. Cleaning up involves removing the excess silt that has accumulated over the years and in fact even using some of this silt for strengthening the bunds. In some of the larger tanks like Ukkudam Tank, artificial islands have been created in the middle of the tanks to provide a habitat for birds and plants.

The second part of prudent water management is treatment of sewage and drainage. For most part, it involves technical inputs and incurs huge costs which cannot be borne by individuals or associations and therefore the role of the government administration is essential for scientific wastewater treatment.

Garbage and other solid wastes can be seen with the naked eye and almost always evokes a sense of disgust and anger in citizens. But waste water, this insidious poison is hardly visible. Lakes like Valankulam in Coimbatore look very pristine and beautiful while in fact the water is highly contaminated and totally unfit for any useful purpose whatsoever! A study of underground water in Vellalore , Coimbatore, has established that the water is contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.

At the individual level, we can opt for limited or no chemical cleansers in our homes and offices. Natural cleansers such as bio enzymes and the humble ash go a long way in reducing the use of harsh household cleaning agents. Soap nuts and lime are very simple but effective cleansers for utensils and laundry and treating waste water from such eco friendly households is very simple. A Soak pit will do a good job of removing the contaminants.

Eventually, the solution to most of our environment concerns lie with us. It is well within our hands to make a difference whether positive or negative. Once we agree on this basic premise, it then becomes very easy to be the agents of change.
– Vanitha Mohan