Food for thought

Rayson Rappai at OTR Organic Farm outlet 

Palm sugar at OTR Organic Farm outlet 

Software architect Rayson Rappai found his true calling in organic farming

I’m at the farm, planting china vengayam and manjal. Can I call you back?” asks Rayson Rappai, 45. He does, after sunset and a day of hard work behind him. “My wife Nimmy and I planted about 60 kg of onion. Feels good,” says the founder of OTR Organic Farm Products, Saibaba Colony.

Rayson lived every middle class Indian’s dream. He studied well and migrated to the U.S. in 1999. During the week, he was a Microsoft architect. In the weekends, Rayson, Nimmy and kids Rohith and Rhea hit the orchards of North Carolina. They visited local markets and hand-plucked vegetables at farms. A local grape farmer even wanted to adopt Rayson!

The fruit-and vegetable-laden farms reminded Rayson of his family’s lushkitchen garden in Coimbatore. The couple returned to India in 2007 and Rayson decided to become a farmer. He started off planting cauliflower, greens and thattaipayir in the plot adjacent to his house. He trawled the Net for a working farm, and found one in Puthur near Thondamuthur. “It’s ironical. I came back from the U.S. to buy a farm from a person who was migrating to the U.S.!”

The farm was semi-organic, and Rayson continued that way for two months, till an incident changed his mind. “Workers would spray pesticides and head straight to the toilet. They had severe stomach upsets. When I passed by the area being sprayed, I would have a lingering headache. What was happening was wrong. And, I was determined to set things right,” he says.

Rayson read up on pesticide-free cultivation, learnt about farming techniques from his uncle Baby, an organic farmer himself, and decided to go natural. He raises fenugreek, thandu keerai, mulai keerai, arakeerai, sirukeerai, mint, coriander, dill... He started a store to stock produce from his farm and other nearby organic farms. Today, locals in Saibaba Colony head there to pick up grocery, greens,fruits and vegetables. Monday is D-day, when greens (20 varieties), lemon, amla, brinjals and mullangi arrive from his farm.

There’s a queue in front of the store, and two cash tills operate that day. “The crowd can get difficult to manage. But, it adds to your responsibility to provide only organic stuff,” he says. Rayson chooses his suppliers carefully, whetting them based on certification and references. “There’s a lot of inorganic stuff masquerading as organic. We have to be careful.”

Rayson’s farm is home to many fruit-bearing trees — guava, chicku, rose apples, pomegranate, mangoes. Herbal plants such as thoodhuvaalai and kuppaimeni abound too.

“I restrict myself to raising a few varieties of vegetables. One person cannot cultivate everything. And, if you sell only what you produce you cheat others of a livelihood,” he says. He interacts with other farmers, so that there is no duplication. “I don’t plant banana. I leave that to another who is an expert in it,” he explains.

At work in the farm are both technology and traditional wisdom. “We avoid flood irrigation and plant on raised beds,” he explains. He is also particular about running an ‘orderly’ farm. “Everyone wonders if I am creating software here or running a farm,” he laughs. “But, I like to do things scientifically, and with discipline.” He’s also pursuing a degree in Farm Technology from TNAU.

Rayson visits the farm every day, either on his scooter or car, and brings back the day’s produce. “The farm is where my life lies. For me, happiness is the thought that I cultivate food, and that someone depends on me for nourishment,” says Rayson, packing half a kg of sundaikkai for a customer. “He called yesterday. It took me some time to pluck it. It won’t earn me a lot of money. But, that customer will cook something healthy. That’s what drives me.”