onam is just around the corner and households in kerala have already started worrying about the surging prices of vegetables however residents of the nanniyode panchayat near palode in thiruvananthapuram will breathe a collective sigh of relief this year thanks to their efforts to cultivate organic vegetables in their own backyardthe residents along with the support of the nanniyode krishi bhavan have adopted the practice of organic vegetable cultivation and consumption and by the start of the malayalam month of chingam august 17 the village would have close to 1000 kitchen gardensagricultural officer s jayakumar of the nanniyode krishi bhavan says that the residents have embraced the cultivation practice so much that it has become the status quonanniyode is now called as organic village as almost all families here cultivate the vegetables they need he says currently around 100 families are part of the agriculture departments project onathinu oru muram pachakkari a scheme which envisages mass cultivation of vegetables by residentswe want to expand it to 1000 kitchen gardens by covering every house in the panchayath the motto is to have safe and healthy vegetables on our dining tables and have organic vegetable as a part of lifestyle he saysbitter gourd bottle gourd pumpkin peas beans lettuce spinach cabbage tomatoes plantains and tuber crops are some of the plants cultivated by the residents as some families have up to several acres of land in possession jayakumar says apart from commercially cultivation of vegetables by the farmers in the past two years women developed a keen interest for organic farmingwe worked with women to create these garden in their backyards to meet the requirements of their families a group named ammakoottam was thus formed who now practise home bazar they collect and sell the leftover organic vegetables from nearby houses he saysthe villagers were distributed seeds and also given routine monthly awareness classes on organic pesticides and farming techniques as part of the programmeapart from women now the youth are also showing interest towards agriculture as many have started growing plantains in land we hope by onam the village will be selfsufficient for all their sadya requirements says jayakumar