Showing the way towards subsistence farming

Indian expatriate Shahana Ilyas is a pharmacist by profession. But the premises of her home at Al Aziziya is full of lush green plants and flowers. The highlight is tomatoes of 22 types. Varieties of gourd, pumpkin, beans, chillie, brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli,carrot, potato, spinach and radish are also grown here in addition to f strawberry and shamam and herbs such as coriander and mint.Farming is a way of life for Shahana who feels happy growing vegetables and fruits. “I come from a hilly hamlet in Kerala and I am fascinated by greenery which soothes my mind. After coming to the Gulf, I started to miss the greenery back home and decided to do my bit,” she told Community. Shahana started with some tomatoes and flowers nine years ago. “Though the flowers bloomed, there was no yield of vegetables,” she recalled. Undaunted Shahana read up on the ideal farming methods and sought the advise of experts.

 

“I became a member of some farmers’ collectives and groups where I got insight and ideas of becoming a better farmer. I bought seeds, fertilisers, soil and agricultural equipment. She also used to bring all these while returning from vacations back home.Shahana credits the farmers' collectives with helping and encouraging her. "With the advent of social media platforms, I could easily clear my doubts and listen to the experts,” she said.Shahana follows organic farming methods even though it needs extra effort. She uses treated cow and camel dung after making the soil ready for farming by mixing protein soil and coco peat. “Farming here needs a lot of effort while preparing the soil, planting and watering,” observed Shahana who is supported by her husband Abdul Aziz Purayil and their children Izza Safreen, Khalaf Salman and Mishal Ramadan. Shahana is immensely fond of growing tomatoes “Love for tomatoes drives me to shops and supermarkets where I find new varieties. I also have Arab friends who keenly wait for the harvesting. I share the yield with my relatives, friends and neighbours, and some of them often want to know when I reap the vegetables, especially tomatoes,” she said. Shahana has already harvested 19 varieties of tomatoes, with three more due soon. She makes sauce and jams from tomatoes and credits her mother for the passion towards making food.She is the admin of Keralite culinary enthusiast group Malabar Adukkala and is passionate about cooking. She runs mytastediary.com, an exclusive website for food making and writes for food magazines. She has also won several prizes while attending various cookery competitions. Her new venture Charlotte Baking Solutions sells baking materials and equipment.