After retirement, Remabhai S (58) from Kollam, Kerala, discovered solace in cultivating dragon fruits on her terrace utilizing revolutionary soilless strategies. Now, she harvests 500 kg of dragon fruit each month, incomes Rs 1 lakh.
After dedicating 36 years of her life to educating younger minds as a zoology trainer and later serving as a headmistress in a authorities faculty, Remabhai S lastly embraced retirement in 2022. Little did she know that her retirement would mark the start of a deeply fulfilling journey into the world of dragon fruit farming.
Grieving the lack of her mom, who handed away across the identical time, Remabhai discovered solace and goal in cultivating unique fruits as a interest. “My mom lived with my sister, whose home is adjoining to mine. Every time I might come house after faculty within the night, she could be ready for me. She would lovingly welcome and hug me,” she says.
“My father died once I was 15. She taken care of all of us 13 siblings. She was a really sturdy woman. After her loss of life, I felt lonely as there was nobody left to welcome me within the lonely home,” provides Remabhai, who lives in Kollam, Kerala.
Along with her husband engaged in work and her son residing far-off in Delhi, the 58-year-old turned to her terrace as a sanctuary the place she may channel her vitality and feelings into nurturing crops.
Pushed by her son’s insights on the myriad well being advantages of dragon fruit, together with its capability to decrease ldl cholesterol and enhance imaginative and prescient, Remabhai set out on a mission to domesticate this distinctive fruit.
She now harvests about 500 kg of dragon fruit each month from her terrace. With a bountiful harvest promoting out at a profitable worth of Rs 200 per kg, she manages to earn Rs 1 lakh per thirty days, post-retirement.
Rising dragon fruits with out soil
Regardless of being instructed that dragon fruits may solely thrive in soil, Remabhai fearlessly took on the problem of rising them on her terrace, adopting a soilless planting medium and defying standard knowledge.
“I should not have sufficient vacant land. Additionally, rising dragon fruits on the terrace required a whole lot of soil to be transported. I couldn’t carry soil to the terrace by myself. So, I made a decision to observe a soilless planting technique,” she says.
Remabhai grows 100 crops of uncommon unique fruits, together with pink and yellow sorts of dragon fruits, in 50 giant plastic barrels with compost because the rising medium.
Revealing her method for making the nutrient-rich mixture, she says, “Take a plastic barrel and make a small gap on the backside for drainage. Put a thick layer of inexperienced leaves, then a layer of sawdust, adopted by a layer of rice peel, and a thick layer of compost (say 3 kg). Add 100 grams of bone meal because the final layer. Plant your saplings thereafter. I planted two saplings in every container.”
“This mix gives all of the required vitamins and sufficient aeration for root progress. It has been a handy approach for me to develop crops with out soil,” she provides.
Remabhai has additionally crafted her personal natural fertilisers utilizing a mix of dry leaves, vegetable waste, and pure components like fish, prawn pores and skin, and crab shells for accelerated progress and fruiting. Her revolutionary strategy yielded vibrant and wholesome dragon fruit crops.
Sharing the secrets and techniques of her natural fertiliser, she says, “Take 1 kg of fish, prawns, crab shells, and an equal amount of jaggery. Combine them with tender papaya peel. Hold it below shade and the fertiliser will probably be prepared to be used in about three months. It’s an excellent supply of calcium and phosphorus. These minerals are very helpful for the expansion of dragon fruit plant.”
Remabhai meticulously tends to her dragon fruit crops. By a soilless planting technique, she has discovered a sustainable and efficient technique to nurture them with out the necessity for huge expanses of land or tedious soil transportation. She takes delight in stating that each one her day’s harvest is quickly bought out.
From the harvest, she saves some produce to ship it to her son Dr Krishna Advait, who revels within the pleasure of receiving contemporary dragon fruits. “One of many methods my mom showers her affection on me is by sending dragon fruits by way of put up. They’re my favorite, particularly when grown organically at house, they style higher. My largest flex is that I can go to my yard at house and pluck contemporary fruits at any time when I like!”
He admires her resilience and dedication to staying lively and engaged in her post-retirement years. “I needed that my mother and father would keep lively even after retirement as when you begin a sedentary life-style, you’re liable to life-style ailments. I’m completely happy that she is making an attempt out new experiments with dragon fruit cultivation. She nurtures every plant as her personal baby,” he provides.
For Remabhai, the journey of unique fruit farming has healed her loneliness by permitting her to stay engaged all day. She additionally runs a YouTube channel ‘JC’s World’ to share her experience in dragon fruit cultivation.
Within the twilight of her life, Remabhai exudes a youthful exuberance and zest for all times that transcend boundaries of age. “I’m 58 however I really feel I’m solely 20! Day by day, 200 to 300 flowers bloom on my terrace; simply taking a look at my backyard makes my day. All my unfavourable emotions and worries fade away,” she remarks.
Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures: Remabhai.
