FOCUS : WOMEN AND LIVELIHOODS

Project:  School and Community Horticulture Enterprise

Funded By:  Young Social Enterprise Initiative

Duration: September 2006 - December 2007

The School and Community Horticulture Enterprise project, facilitates an innovative process in which the school and the local community, will ensure in a self -sustainable manner, the provision of the required vegetable nutrition for the mid–day meal scheme through local horticulture in green-house while at the same time creating an alternate source of income through sale of high value horticultural produce in urban markets.

The Hindiskere government primary school in Tiptur taluk was identified to implement the pilot project. There are approximately 85-90 students form classes 1 to 6. The school and SDMC members were willing to buy the vegetables from the enterprise. An existing Sreelakshmidevi Swa Sahaya Sangh - women’s Self Help Group (SHG) in the village was ready to participate in the project and run the greenhouse enterprise. Land for the green house (200 Sq.m) has been identified 2 km away from the school in an adjoining Shantanhalli village.

The design and cultivation plan of a greenhouse was developed in consultation with Prof Krishna Manohar, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The roof of the greenhouse was used for harvesting rainwater and offered water security for the crop in the green house.  

The group is supplying about 70 gm of vegetables per day per child to the school from June 2007 onwards. The school has been paying an amount equal to the budget allotted by the Government for vegetables to the enterprise.  

Red and Yellow capsicum were grown in 100 Sq.m area and Tomato were grown in another 100 Sq.m area in the greenhouse. Market linkages for the sale of high value horticulture produce have been explored. The total yield of tomato was about 1600 Kg and Capsicum was about 600 Kg. The harvesting of capsicum and tomato generated an income of about Rs 26,000 in six month period.  

The pilot project of the School and Community Horticulture Enterprise has created interest among other schools in the region, after the awareness meetings. Farmers from the neighbouring villages have shown interest in replicating the greenhouse cultivation. The project has resulted in activating a sense of social responsibility in the village community. Parents of the school children have begun to contribute some part of their farm produce to the school for the mid-day meals.

Software (ICT component) has been developed to generate a horticultural plan in a polyhouse for the supply of vegetables for school children. The software enables this planning using data on rainfall, harvested rainfall, crop water requirements, crop yield, duration etc, as well as information of the school (school location, strength). The present version of the software is basic in nature. As more empirical data is generated from the project, it will be used to further build and enhance the software.

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