Covid-19 has left the world paralyzed. With no cure for Corona, improving immunity has emerged as a key precautionary and fortifying measure. The ones who are in hospital are in need of immunity boosters even more. Ganesh Pawar, a youth farmer vowed to harvest and provide chemical and toxin-free agricultural produce to its consumers, has donated and distributed two tons which is 2000 kgs of Mosambi worth almost Rs. 1,00,000 (sweet lime) in Aurangabad and surrounding areas. “We have donated two tons of Mosambi with the help of Art of Living faculty Akshay Damkondwar and Akshay Aggarwal, and Prabhanjan Mahatole. We have been able to distribute 500 kgs Mosambi at the Ghati Hospital, 500 kgs to daily wager workers, three hundred dozen at the hospital in Kanchanwadi and a hundred and fifty dozen distributed in the Jawahar Colony area and also some to police officials too,” shares Ganesh Pawar, who left his job as a Mechanical engineer and took up farming as a profession after attending a Natural farming workshop by The Art of Living .
After Ganesh’s father was admitted in a hospital in Mumbai for 6 months and eventually diagnosed with D’Amelio Vitamin Deficiency Disease- a disease that weakens the immune system of a person, Ganesh woke up to the perils of the chemicals used in modern-day farming. Ganesh, a college and university topper who got placed in a well-paying company, had to give up his job to go back to his village and take care of his father. By this time, the family had spent Rs 10 Lakh on the treatment. Ganesh Pawar, then, vowed to work relentlessly to bring about a revolution in agriculture and invest in chemical-free farming. Ganesh has a 30 acre land where in half of his land he grows 25 different types of vegetables and 4-5 types of fruits in other half of his land where he uses enzymes and natural fertilizers like Jeevamrut, Ghanjeevamrut taught at the Art of Living workshop.
He has been successful in bringing together 20 farmers in the village Adgaon. Together, they produce chemical-free fruits and vegetables on 40-45 acres of land. They have now become very popular in the neighbourhood. He also plans to send chemical free fruits and vegetables to the big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. A plan to export the fruits to Europe in next few years is in the pipeline. He has been mentored and hand held by Akshay Aggarwal, an Art of Living Faculty in his journey. “Youths move to the city in search of jobs and nobody takes agriculture as a business. The Art of Living is helping such youths all over India to take up Farming as a revenue generation model. I have been mentoring this youth, providing market to them and also helped them register a company called ‘Kisan Fresh’ who will eliminate the middleman and sell farmers produce directly to the consumers’, shares Akshay Aggarwal.
‘Our costs have reduced so we don't have to invest on fertilizers and pesticides. We make everything on our own. Also, natural farming produce has higher rates in farmers. I am very thankful to the guidance from The Art of Living that provides a market to us’, shares Ganesh. “ I had been reading daily in the newspapers about death being caused because of the virus. Many people are dying because of less immunity. This is when we decided to donate this high in Vitamin C fruit to the people who cannot afford mostly daily wage workers and people in hospital”
From rags to riches, Ganesh Pawar’s story is a story of hope and determination. The sleepless nights because of his father’s illness and the suffering evoked a desire in Ganesh to help the world. Suffering of patients in hospitals and the long and seemingly unending battle against Corona left Ganesh feeling helpless. He followed his heart and decided to donate Mosambi (a fruit rich in Vitamin C and known as an immunity booster) to the patients and health workers in the hospital. A small step takes us a long way and Ganesh’s effort in fighting the Corona battle in Aurangabad will be remembered.
