Bengaluru’s Pushpa and Kishan Kalyanpur, along with their children, not only made 13,900 square feet of land barren for years in Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh, but also made it fertile with only 3 months of hard work and efforts. There is also a huge and beautiful food forest named ‘Vrikshavanam’, which has become the identity of their sustainable home today.
A lush green food forest is situated on a small piece of land inside a gated colony in Kodikonda, Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh. Along with 163 trees and plants of fruits and vegetables, many medicinal plants have been planted here. These plants are enough to meet the daily needs of a family of four.
The surprising thing is that the land on which this flourishing food forest is situated today, that land was lying barren for centuries. Bengaluru-based couple Pushpa and Kishan Kalyanpur have worked to revive it by making it fertile.
This food forest is like a dream
A makeup artist by profession, Pushpa has always been passionate about growing her own essentials. She used to grow fruits and vegetables by doing terrace gardening on her terrace at home, which gave her the experience of being close to nature. Making his own food forest ‘Vrikshavanam’ was nothing less than a dream for him.
The Better India Speaking to , Pushpa says, “We bought this land around 2.5 years ago, at the time of the Corona pandemic, when it was completely barren. To make it fertile, we had to work hard and it took three whole months.
He planted nitrogen-fixing plants here and used many organic methods like compost and manure. Eventually their hard work paid off and today there are hundreds of plants of flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs on this land, which the couple has grown through organic farming and prepared a food forest.
Sustainable and beautiful mud house
Pushpa and Kishan have also built an eco-friendly, sustainable mud house, named ‘Shambhala Mane’, amidst the greenery of their food forest Vrikshavanam. Pushpa shares, “It was always my dream that my family grow their own food, so that we eat pure food and live in a mud house near nature. Today my wish has been fulfilled.
Despite planning well in advance, building a mud house was not very easy for them. To build this house, he had to change the workforce several times and several architects to design it.
After attending a workshop, Pushpa, Kishan and their two children spent several days on site building the walls of the Shambhala Mane themselves, a task that took them more than a year.
Natural materials like mud bricks and recycled wood have been used to make this 650 square feet eco-friendly and sustainable home. This two bedroom mud house has a spacious verandah and a traditional kitchen outside.
The Kalyanpur family spends time here at least once a week. The blooming food forest on a small piece of land in the city and the beautiful mud house built in between it attracts everyone towards itself.
See also- Two friends built mud house and tree house in the middle of the forest, promoting sustainable travel
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