A 5-acre farm in Shilli Village, which is located at the Himalayan foothills, is now being used for the organic growth of delicious Kiwis and Apples. After being harvested, these fruits are directly delivered to the consumers. These fruits are completely free from chemicals and artificial substances.
The farm named ‘Swastik Farm's owned by Mandeep Verma. The fruits that are grown on this farm are completely free of artificial chemicals such as plant growth regulators, insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, and weedicides. They do not even require washing, just rubbing them with a cloth is sufficient.
Story of Mandeep Verma
Mandeep completed his MBA in the year 2010, after that he started working as a business marketer. His job required him to meet with high-ranked government officials and other professionals in the field. He handled about 8 clients of such sort, which gave him a new kind of exposure. He worked for 4 and a half years in the IT sector however, he never felt content with his job and career. Finally, after gathering enough courage, he quit his IT job. He then brainstormed ideas about pursuing an alternative career, where he could build something from scratch and call it his own. He decided to opt for a different approach to the academic skills he possessed.
Beginning of Swastik Farm
Mandeep, a 38-year-old IT professional decided to pursue farming as an alternate career. He discussed this matter with his wife and she agreed to support him. The couple had land of about 4 acres, which they decided to use for their farming purposes. However, with only marketing expertise and absolutely no farming experience, Mandeep had no idea about growing vegetables or any crop. Furthermore, even the land which they were using was barren and had never been used for farming purposes before.
The land was completed isolated from the human world and was filled with grasses, weeds, and other wild vegetation. Nevertheless, he believed that the Himalayan soil is enriched with nutrients as nature always inherits decomposed animals and other organic matter. He decided to pursue his farming without the usage of chemicals. Mandeep started cleaning out the land and removed all weeds and wild vegetation. He also leveled the soil as the land had a slope angle and was uneven.
Got help from the Internet
He took the help of the internet, watched hundreds of videos, and learned all about farming. He learned about organic agricultural practices and even asked for guidance from local agricultural authorities. The entire farm took 5 months of constant hard work and labor to get completed. His neighborhood was filled with crop-destroying monkeys. He then along with the help of an agricultural professor, decided to grow Kiwi.
During the first few days of fruiting, kiwi is sour, and the hair-like surface of it discourages monkeys from coming near it. It is also a fruit with high market value and it helped Mandeep to reach the milestone of earning 40lakh rupees annually.
