Marigolds in various hues of dusk covering a large expanse of land. One may feel like they are in one of the flower farms in Gundlupet that often caters to the needs of the State during Onam. But this is Kolavipalam, near Vadakara, known for its turtle beach, where the plants bloom.
The marigold farm is part of an eight-acre plot owned by the Uralungal Labour Contractors’ Cooperative Society which also houses a cement brick unit and a vast farm of several fruits and vegetables.
“We started this venture around two months ago. We purchased the marigold saplings from Bengaluru. Now they have all bloomed and our labour has borne fruit”, said Shibin.K. site in-charge at the brick unit, under whose supervision the farm came into being. Former agriculture officer K.P.K. Choyi has been advising the team technically while vice chairman of ULCCS Ananthan.P.K. is their pillar of strength.
The 15-strong brick unit has three additional staff for cultivation. They had a trial run on floriculture the previous season in 40 cents. The success pushed them to think bigger and add a few ‘vada malli’ plants to the mixture.
“We spent around ₹1 lakh to grow the plants. Now they are worth around ₹4 lakh”, Mr. Shibin said.
The group plans to sell the flowers on the spot to locals and harvest flowers only based on demand. They also plan to expand the farm in the coming years and include more varieties.
