about me Chandru

ABOUT ME

N Chandra Shekar Reddy, Hanuman Halli, 34 years, married, 2 sons, a passion for my Family, Organic Agiculture and Indian Culture

In 1992 I lost my mixed orchad plantation by a huge flooding of our river. My parents lost their paddy crops and their dreamland as well, so all financial burden of the family fell on my shoulder. In that time, I got the chance to work on a French documentary project as a monkey trainer, so I started to travel around India working on various movie projects. In my free time, I visited plenty of farms in the country, asking about their agriculture methods. Here I realized that the only way to maintain agriculture lastly is the organic way, so I started to grow crops on organic basics on my own land.

Step by step I got to know more methods and possibilities of organic farming during my ongoing visits of different farms and agricultural places. For example I visited my grandparents place (Chittor District, Andhra Pradesh) where I saw a cow shed with attached cow urine collectors for the first time in my live. I realized that this kind of fertilization is not only cheap, but also closing the circle of resources used on an organic farm.

Finally one day, while I was busy with a movie project, I wake up and started questioning myself: what do I go for with this way of life.

At this point I decided to do something solid and use my energy for agriculture, like my parents did. But I didn´t have enough land to experiment with all my new organic farming knowledge.

I got lucky: In 2001, an Austrian – Swiss couple, settled down in the nearby area, got to know about my education and knowledge in organic farming. They formed the ” Rishimukh Trust” for “natural way of living” and asked me to join their project as a supervisor and consultant for the organic farm. I joined that project for 8 years by helping to set up and maintaining their organic farm nearby Hampi ( see Rishimukh Certificate).

During this time, me and my friends realized the biggest problem about organic farming in our area and possibly for all over India: the lack of a market for organic products and the obstacles to promote farmers to join cultivating on organic basics. Because of this we formed a local cooperative society for organic farming.

Next to this I was working on the forestation problem in rural areas of India like my hometown is. Because of rising energy prizes, local people cut trees in the surrounding areas for cooking and heating purposes, as they did for hundreds of years. But with rising population the demand on wood increases every year, and the forests are not able to recover by themselves any longer. We started to question ourselves, how we could make people aware about this problem. I spoke to the forest department and finally we founded a micro financial NGO with the women of the village, to increase forestation and maintenance of trees. This NGO still exists and developing well in the past years.

Apart from this I also saw the changes in my small rural village, upcoming with the age of media. Our old traditional programs and cultural roots are vanishing of our eyesight. Together with friends we started to do something on culture and tradition on our own, and I joined the Kishkinda Trust, formed to maintain cultural and heritage conservation in the Hampi World Heritage site. Together we performed cultural programs like concerts, dance, awareness on plastic pollution and general solid waste management with school kids, next to my daily business.

I never stopped to visit other farms and workshops in all parts of India. In Baramati I got to know about the Israel type of water tank, which basically founded my dream of greening the desert. In Sirsi I saw the ripped banana dehydration oven.

In 2004 I have been in Navadhanaya foundation on workshop for biodiversity and soil,water management in Dehradun in Himachal Pradesh.

Since from 2008 I am Organic Farming Manager in the Shama Pawar Farm in Hanuman Halli and Anegundi. I take care of those 18 acres, and I lead and train on Organic Basis Skills 19 workers .I have experimented there the Silk Production Cycle.

I am the Gangavathi Taluk Promoter for Organic Farming Mission in Karnataka.

I am President of Village Forestation Commite of Hanumnan Halli, one of the three selected village of our district.

I am member of VTC Village Tourism Commite of Anegundi.

I have advised many Farmers on their Organic Farming Cultivation In the Gangavathi Taluk, the cultivations were: Banana, Mango, Papaya, Goava, Silk, Rice, Vegetables, Cereals, Milk – Cows & Buffalos -, …

I have been interviewed about Organic Farming,by Karnataka’s Al l India Radio, Chandana Television, and Karnataka’s Samaya News Channel very recently.