Tondra - The Organic Village of Jharkhand

The organic revolution is now becoming a familiar face to the country. One such inspiring story comes from a small village from relatively less known state of India - Jharkhand. The 12 villages of Jharkhand including Kasamar and Jaridih near Bokaro are on the path of organic farming. The 1200 acres of land in these villages don't use any kind of chemical fertilizer for farming and the leader of all of them is Tondra village of Bhaski Panchayat near Bokaro.  

Going Organic

The first totally organic village of Jharkhand near Bokaro has a population of about 1200 people. Out of which nearly half of the population - 600 people are farmers. These farmers have not only initiated organic farming in their fields and successfully growing crops but also demotivated other farmers nearby to use chemical fertilizers. The impact seen was quite majestic which revolutionized the lives of people there.

Start of a Change

Noonibala Devi of Tondra  recalls " under the guidance of Agriculture Scientist M S Swaminathan, the leader of Green Revolution ,we took it on a serious note to adopt organic farming and related practices when he told us about the severe consequences and harm done to the environment due to use of chemicals". 

She elaborates " Our village panchayat Bhaski put up the slogan "No chemical ,go chemical" for the first time in the region. In village Bhaski itself, a total of 125 acres of land is cultivated under organic farming. It includes paddy ,maize , tuar daal and vegetables. Vegetables are grown on a large scale organically in the village.  

The Sarpanch of village Mantu Marandi and Ex Sarpanch Sunita Kumari are both very active. Sunita attends every meeting related to organic farming. Panchanan Mehto of Durgapur Panchayat says that we have totally adopted this beautiful practice to conserve our land and water resources realizing its power.

Consequences of Organic Farming

Organic farming have started leaving its positive results now. Due to this practice, not only the biodiversity of the village has enhanced but there is a remarkable improvement in the overall health of the villagers also. The women told that there is no one in the village who is seriously ill. 10 -15 years ago, people were suffering from cold and cough only however during covid period ,3 cases of diabetes were also detected in the village. After adoption of organic farming, their glucose levels have improved drastically. There are no cesarean deliveries is in the village .Moreover the village children also rarely become ill !

Effect on Farming

Initially the farmers have to work hard and invest more but they start getting benefits within eight months. Contrary to chemical fertilizers, whose intake has to be increased continuously year by year, the use of organic manure decreases with the increasing time span as they replenish the soil naturally. Although the production increases to 10% of its present value using chemical fertilizers but 15% product decompose or rot also . Moreover they degrade the health also. One such result was clearly seen in the village by the presence of tomatoes in the month of may when the flowers of tomatoes were shed away all over the state and tomato prices were raised. 

The villagers have firm belief that it's only a matter of attitude. If someone is dedicated to adopt organic farming ,he has to just change his mindset and the amazing results are in front of everyone through the example set by Tondra village of Jharkhand. Infact ,it is a perfect example of team spirit and community service !