Meet farmers and shop at ‘Nalla Sandhai’ in Chennai


At their latest market, Nallakeerai celebrates innovative farmers, serves their produce and launches an app to connect with them directly

There’s a scented rice variety called jeeraful, that smells of jeera (cumin) when cooked. “A farmer is bringing it all the way from Chhattisgarh to Nalla Sandhai,” says R Jaganathan, the founder of Nallakeerai. The event, a mammoth platform for organic produce from across the country, is something that Jaganathan always dreamed of.

“Consumers now have the awareness on organic food. But many don’t know where to find authentic produce,” he says. “They want a sandhai (market) for genuine organic products.” And organic farmers want recognition for their products — “Farmers don’t want their fruit and vegetables to be mixed with the regular kind, with no regard for the effort they took to raise them chemical-free.” Nalla Sandhai is Jaganathan’s solution to both problems. “We want to connect farmer and consumer,” he says.

At the event, to be held over two days, the Nallakeerai team hosts a farmer’s market, a food festival featuring traditional South Indian fare, talks by experts on how ‘Food is medicine’, and cultural programmes featuring songs sung during sowing and harvest seasons. “Nalla Sandhai is all about thanking the farmer,” says Jaganathan, “We have picked eminent, path-breaking farmers from across the State to be conferred with awards.”...Read more

 

Source web page: The hindu


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