Meet three Tamil Nadu farmers retailing farm-fresh value-added products

The Hindu brings you stories of farmers in Tamil Nadu who produce fresh value-added products in small batches and retail them directly to the customer. Think cold pressed oils, coconut chips, ghee, coffee, and more farm-rich goodness.

With large FMCGs in India being questioned about misleading labels and the high sugar content in their products, the spotlight is back on the Indian farmer. The pandemic did bring about a mindset to eat clean and buy directly from the source, but recent headlines have urged more people to take the natural route. We make things easier for you by bringing you stories of farmers in Tamil Nadu who produce fresh value-added products in small batches and retail them directly to the customer. Think cold pressed oils, coconut chips, ghee, coffee, and more farm-rich goodness.

The Natural Farmer

A seventh-generation family farmer for the last 35 years at Kamanur village in Kodaikanal taluk, R Mahesh Narayanan follows humus-based natural farming. This, he explains, is a form of farming inspired by the nearby forests, rather than input-based organic farming.

At the 150-year-old farm, he says, coffee has been a mainstay. Over the last 30 years, pepper joined their list of major revenue earners. “We cultivate black and white pepper. There’s a coconut grove in our backyard, and from the yield we make coconut oil. Five tamarind trees that we planted for shade now provide us with tamarind,” says the 56-year-old who was inspired by Padma Shri award-winning agriculturalist Subhash Palekar to make the switch to natural farming. “Our coffee farm was a high input, intensive farm, harvesting bumper yields. In 2015, the yields dropped dramatically, wild animals invaded our farms, and the debts started running high. This was when our friend suggested attending a natural farming training programme. Skeptical about terms like ‘organic’, ‘global warming’, I went along more for the company than for the course,” says Mahesh, who admits being “bowled over” by his learnings. 

Though he had to fight the panic to revert to technology-led farming, the team made the switch. Today, alongside the major crops, he also cultivates avocados, giant passionfruit, bird’s eye chili, cinnamon, allspice berries and leaves, Indian bay leaf, and turkey berry. “We also source wild honeycombs from local traditional tribal honey hunters and process them into raw honey. Other products include robusta coffee, jams (made by his wife, Pramila), cascara (a brew made from the skin of dried coffee cherry skins), and vinegar made from fruit skins,” he explains.

Over the last four seasons, Mahesh ventured into specialty coffee. At his farm, coffee wood is converted into natural media coasters, candle stands, and fruit, cheese, and bread plates. 

To order, call 9842199516. @thenaturalfarmer_ on Instagram