Why Bhoomi Seva donates desi cows
Desi cows are required for natural farming. Bhoomi Seva donates them to marginal farmers who do not have one, giving the family both farm inputs and milk income.
Kanakapura and Mandya
Farmers & Environment
Farmers & Environment
Farming is one of the most important occupations there is: every meal begins in a farmer's field. Yet many farmers are in distress, and some have taken their own lives because they could not sustain a livelihood. Soil fertility has also been depleted by the long-term use of chemical fertilisers. Bhoomi Seva works with farmers who want to move to agroforestry and natural or organic farming, which the organisation has found to be more lucrative over time. This work started in the Kanakapura area.
What this includes
Farmer training in natural farming and agroforestry
Training and awareness sessions for farmers. Training covers the benefits of organic farming and agroforestry, how continuous use of chemical fertilisers reduces yield over a period of time, how natural farming practised for more than a couple of years can produce yields above those from chemical fertilisers, and practical guidance on how to make the switch. Sessions use videos and information from model farmers who have successfully made the change and describe how their lives changed afterwards.
Farmer training events
Training has been organised in the Kanakapura area with the intention of holding it each year in July or August. A session was held in July 2023 at Chirantana School, Kabbalu, Kanakapura.
Desi cow donation
Desi cows are needed by farmers who want to practise natural farming, so Bhoomi Seva donates desi cows to marginal farmers who do not have one. Cow dung and cow urine are used in farm-made natural-farming preparations, and selling milk gives the family additional income.
Learning from model farmers
The organisation shares examples, videos and information from farmers who have already made the change, so that other farmers can see what actually happened on similar land.
Stories from this programme
Farmer training in natural farming at Chirantana School, Kabbalu
A training session on natural and organic farming and agroforestry, held in July 2023 at Chirantana School, Kabbalu, Kanakapura.
Chirantana School, Kabbalu, Kanakapura
A desi cow identified for a woman farmer in Mandya
Sannamma, a woman farmer from Kothhathi Hobli who wanted to practise organic farming, was identified as a farmer who needed a desi cow. The outcome is not confirmed in our records.
Kothhathi Hobli, Mandya district
A cow, a sewing machine and school fees for a daughter
Sunita Kumara Swamy's family at Kurubarahalli Doddi near Kabbalu received education support for their daughter, a desi cow, and a sewing machine — three kinds of help at once.
Kurubarahalli Doddi near Kabbalu, Kanakapura
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