Not so KoRa/???? life of girls from Haryana: Story of the evolution of Mharo Mitti Farm stay

"Nothing will be done unless you do." – Maya Angelou.

The inspiring story of two girls from a small village in Haryana in India is something that we all look for a constant dose of motivation. In today's time, health is one prime importance for every human being.

If we ask questions like, how the COVID era changed your way of life? Would you choose work over health? The answers from people are pretty much going to be the same.

Especially after COVID, we have seen how people who were earlier negligent of their food or exercise routine have started resorting to healthier means of food and exercise routine.

Thanks to the lessons that the pandemic period induced in every single one of us to take health seriously and prioritise before anything. People prefer having homemade, hygienic, safe food even when travelling.

Komal and Raveena were two young girls from a remote village of Pataudi in Haryana. While villages in Haryana are known to produce India's best quality farm and dairy products from farmers' hands, these two girls set an example in their state like never before.

Wiwitan came across Komal and Raveena during Startup Saksharta to Saksham Abhiyaan held in a government school in Pataudi, Haryana. The program was conducted in collaboration with the District Administration, Gurugram, and the Department of School Education, Gurugram. During this program, our primary goal was to instil the entrepreneurial mindset and 21st- century skill development program in the school children.

Komal and Raveena, belonging to class 11th, wanted to do something new and innovative in agriculture and farm work. Belonging to the state of Haryana, which has been pretty productive in agriculture since its inception, the girls had an inspiration to do something in this area.

As per the data by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Haryana, around 70% of the residents in the state are involved in agriculture.?

They told us about the availability of the farm area and their ideas regarding how it could be used. Their main concern was to make the process as sustainable as possible at a minimum cost. Using the idea filtration technique, we asked them to jot down some ideas they already had in their minds to start brainstorming all of them together and come up with a standard and innovative solution.?

And then, after narrowing down all the ideas, they came up with the idea of introducing farm stay with fresh farm food via organic farming. Within this, they wanted the visitors and tourists to be exposed to the serene aura of farm stay and the agriculture experience of India.?

Why did they choose farm stay with a unique experience?

• People travel more to understand the roots of the place. Being a hub for agriculture, Haryana would prove to be a suitable venue for this venture.
• The girls had their farmland and previous exposure to the work on the farmland.
• Farm stay brings people closer to the lap of nature with authentic food offerings straight from the land they are surrounded with.
• Organic farming is sustainable for the environment as it does not leave any long-term damage to land or biodiversity.
• Farm stay, as a concept, has not gained momentum in India yet. The early starters are deemed to get benefits once the farm stay start-up picks up.?
• Organic farming is a safer method of food production using organic means of input like cow dung, mulches, etc., rather than the chemical-based inputs. It is safer for the human body.

Both the girls have quite successfully implemented the idea and brought into existence their start-up by the name of "Mharo Mitti." In fact, they are setting standards for other farmers and women folk in the area to take up a similar initiative on their land.

With Wiwitan's program specially designed to nurture the entrepreneurial mindset of school children and youngsters, seeing the start-ups of these small girls pacing forward gives us immense satisfaction.

You can check the programs and initiatives taken by Wiwitan in pursuit of making the country aatma-nirbhar/self-reliant here: https://www.wiwitanfoundation.org/whatwedo