Kottayam: When a group of women from Neendoor in Kottayam decided to pursue watermelon farming, many thought they were taking a huge risk. Faced with many challenges, including an unfavourable climate and soil conditions, the women stuck with the plan. Despite the odds, they achieved a bountiful harvest three months into the venture.

The women were part of the Kudumbashree Joint Liability Groups (JLG) of Neendoor Panchayath. JLGs consist of groups of women who engage in farming activities and share equal responsibilities. When Kudumbashree launched the 'Venal Madhuram' project aimed at providing fresh watermelon during the peak of summer, the Anaswara JLG and Oruma JLG of Neendoor grabbed the opportunity and decided to take on the challenge.

"Many hurdles awaited them when they took on the venture. The area had red soil, which is not favourable for growing watermelons. The soil was acidic and required fertilisation. Watering the plants was another challenge, and additional capital was needed to install a drip irrigation system," said Gopakumar Govindhan, Assistant Agriculture Officer.

However, Bindu Ajith, Jayasree Venugopal, and Mini Luka were unwilling to give up. They began by treating the soil. The land was tilled with the help of a mover and left for solarisation, a natural process that kills unwanted pests and bacteria in the soil by exposure to direct sunlight. It was then treated with Trichoderma and Pseudomonas to prevent diseases.

In January, Minister of Cooperation V N Vasavan inaugurated the watermelon farm by planting the first seeds on the 1.5-acre property spread over two plots. The group selected the Sugar Baby variety, which comes in three colours, red, yellow and orange. Around 1000 plants were cultivated by the group.

Along with watermelon, they planted spinach, green chilli, brinjal and okra. "The main challenge was to water the plants. Since we didn't have a drip irrigation system, we had to draw water from my well and carry it to each plant. It was a tiring process as the plants needed to be watered two times a day," said Bindu Ajith. Around 1000 litres were required daily to water the plants.  

The group was also trained by the Agriculture Department on fertiliser use and plant care. They adopted organic farming practices and added potash, fish amino acids, and other fertilisers recommended by the department.

"Everything was going well. But then, the temperature began to rise, severely affecting our produce. The rising heat destroyed some of our plants. Though watermelons require sufficient temperature, the intense heat during February and March was unbearable, and there was nothing much we could do," said Jayasree. She added that they tried to protect the plants by covering them with tarpaulin and dead leaves.

Although the group lost some of its produce, it still managed to a good harvest. The group harvests around 25-30 kilos of watermelon in a week, which it sells in the local market and to neighbouring people. "The hard work of our team paid off. The fruits we grew were organic. There is high demand for our produce, with people from different parts of the panchayath coming to buy it," said N J Rossamma, CDS Chairperson.

"We didn't expect the climate to be so harsh, but we still managed to save most of our produce. We didn’t incur a loss, and we were able to prove that watermelon can be grown here," Bindu said. The group doesn’t plan to limit themselves to watermelons alone, as they plan to grow jasmine and marigold for the next harvest.

The Neendoor Panchayath also supported the women with subsidies and other forms of assistance. "The support from the Panchayath and our ward member has been invaluable. They consistently checked on the condition of the plants and were always there to help us," said Mini.