Co-Authors : Prabha D and Srilakshmi B Located in the picturesque village of Antharam, Telangana, Organo Antharam stands as a shining example of eco-conscious living. At its heart lies its commitment to Natural farming and Horticulture creating a sustainable and self-reliant ecosystem.
9+ acres of farms, 8+ acres of afforestion and the cow shelter at Organo Antharam are established and operated by the Organo Farmscaping Team. Through these efforts, the team also produces some of the kitchen essentials like pulses, spices, and oils, ensuring that families have access to toxin-free staples for everyday cooking. Over the years, the farming team has steadily transformed the land for producing high-quality farm produce and forest plantation that supports healthy living and a cleaner environment.
The Essence of Natural Farming at Antharam
At Organo Antharam, we have established traditional agricultural methods combined with modern eco-friendly practices. As part of our practise, we avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, focusing instead on natural composting, crop rotation, and intercropping to enrich the soil and protect biodiversity.
Natural Farming Practices Adopted
What sets Farmscaping at Organo Antharam apart is its commitment to sustainability is
Adopting Natural Farming : Natural farming is an ecological and sustainable approach to agriculture that minimizes human intervention, avoids synthetic chemicals, and works in harmony with nature. It is often associated with techniques such as use of native seeds, jeevamrutham, mulching, and diverse cropping systems.
Raising local and seasonal crop variety: Using native vegetable varieties ensures better adaptation to local climate, improved pest resistance, and enhanced soil health. Seasonal planting also maximizes yield while maintaining ecological balance.
Prudent Water Management: Drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting help conserve water resources.
Improving Soil Health:
Natural composting methods and the use of bio-fertilizers enhance soil fertility. A well-structured yearly crop plan based on seasons and rotation will ensure sustainable productivity. We categorize crops into families (e.g., legumes, leafy greens, root vegetables, solanaceous crops) and rotate them across farm patches accordingly to maintain soil fertility.
Pulses like cowpea, green gram, black gram, and pigeon pea are excellent nitrogen-fixing crops. They enhance soil fertility by converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants, reducing the need for external fertilizers. Integrating pulses into our crop rotation cycle improves soil health and benefits subsequent crops.
Healthy soil promotes strong plant immunity, enabling them to resist pests naturally. A balanced ecosystem with rich microbial life, organic matter, and beneficial insects helps suppress pest populations & disease management, without the need for chemical interventions.
Integrated approach to pest management:
Combining beneficial insect use with other pest management practices like cultural controls (crop rotation), companion cropping and mechanical removal, when necessary, has ensured healthy crop and yeild. Monitoring pest populations.
Regularly checking the plants to identify pest outbreaks early and determine if beneficial insects are also effectively managing them.
Creating a favorable habitat: Planting diverse native plants that provide food sources (pollen and nectar) and shelter for beneficial insects to thrive.
Establishing a Seed Bank: Maintaining our own seed bank ensures seed purity, adaptability to local conditions, and long-term sustainability. By multiplying native varieties, we help preserve biodiversity and enhance crop resilience.
Key Farm Produce at Organo Antharam
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including:
Seasonal greens like spinach, amaranthus, Gongura and coriander, Pudhina, Menthi, Ponaganti
Vegetables such as okra, Tomatoes, Eggplants, and Ridge gourds, Bottle gourd, Ash gourd, Snake gourd, Bitter gourd, Pumpkin, Chilli, Carrots, Radish, French Beans, Chikkudu, Beetroot, Broccoli, Capsicum, Green chilli, Green Lettuce, Red Lettuce, Cabbage, Cauliflower.
Fruits like guavas, papayas, bananas, and Mangoes, Custard apple, Sweetlime, Lemon, Waterapple, Starfruit, Sapota.
These crops are cultivated using Natural techniques, ensuring produce that is nutrient-rich and free from harmful chemicals.
Pulses: Black gram, Green gram and Sunflower
Indigenous grains and millets, which are both climate-resilient and highly nutritious. This includes varieties like finger millet (ragi), pearl millet (bajra), and foxtail millet.
Dairy Products: The cow shelter is home to our desi cows, raised on natural fodder. his ensures the production of:
Fresh A2 milk
Ghee and butter
Paneer and Cream Cheese
Farm-to-Table Initiative
The farmscaping team supplies to Organo Farm Store, where residents and visitors can purchase fresh produce. This direct approach eliminates middlemen, ensuring quality assurance for consumers. The produce is also supplied to Slow Down Place, the community kitchen at Organo Antharam, and ensures cooked food also has local seasonal produce from the farm.
By integrating eco-conscious farming into community operations, our Farmscaping initiative has created a model for producing healthy, natural food. The farm produce stands as a testament to the potential of combining tradition, innovation, and environmental stewardship. With every fruit, vegetable, or grain grown on this land, the Farmscaping Team at Organo Antharam continues to inspire a greener, healthier future for all.
About the Organo Farmscaping Team
Spearheaded by Prabha Damodharan and Srilakshmi Batulla, the farmscaping team include Agronomists, Horticulturists, Apiculturists, Fungiculturists, Animal Husbandry experts, supervisors, gardeners and farm staff. Guided by external experts such as Eminent Permaculturist Mr. Narsanna Koppula and Dr. Shyam Sundar Reddy, this team has built in-house strength over a decade of on-ground experience of running community farms and goshalas to ensure all Organo residents have access to safe and witnessed food through Organo Farm Store.
