By Kathleen Smith | Project Leader
Things are going from strength to strength at our community farm, we’re expanding and have planted a whole array of new fruits and vegetables from cauliflower to papaya- you name it, we’re growing it. The arrival of hundreds of mangos along with our endeavour into cow farming means that we are now able to produce 50 litres of milk a day; suppling Snehalaya’s children across our rehab and adoption centres with milk and a nutritious diet – all off our own bat!
But the benefits of our farm stretch far beyond material gain of the harvest; we provide a second chance haven for HIV positive individuals to seek respite and learn valuable skills. Vaibhav and Vidya found more than they bargained for when they joined our farm back in 2012. This June saw the joining of the two in marriage; Snehalaya, our ‘home of love’ very much living up to its name! Arriving just a few months apart; Vaibhav having been abandoned as a child due to his inherited positive status had been living on the margin of society and Vidya had been disowned by her family upon her positive diagnosis. They two came to find each other at our farm. With your support, through Snehalaya they gained a safe home, purpose and ultimately love.
Snehalaya’s youth group Yuva Nirman are steaming full speed ahead to raise awareness of Snehalaya’s work and the importance of caring for the environment. Almost 100 students and young people risked life and limb and took to the streets for a cycle rally peddling the four hours from the city centre to the farm to shout about the our work and promote the de-stigmatization of our beneficiaries. Volunteer support has been overwhelming. Students from Leeds, Leeds Beckett and Cambridge Universities have been getting their hands dirty standing side by side with our staff tilling the land and local volunteers have been rallying together to help support the efforts. This combined with a highly fruitful Facebook campaign calling for the donation of farming tools has enabled volunteers to join with us and take pride standing shoulder to shoulder with our residents to tend to the land.
To top it all, with the expansion of our farm we are now gearing up to create a social enterprise, empowering our farming families to take control of their own business, gaining valuable skills and providing a real world opportunity to thrive. A recent report suggests that within a few years the farm could become self-sustaining and even have the potential to provide 30% of the financial support needed for Snehalaya’s 15,000 beneficiaries. From an area of barren land to a sustainable haven for India’s most downtrodden - the power of the mango is strong.
To keep up with how your money is making the world a little better and to learn more about Snehalaya’s range of projects head over to Snehalaya.org and subscribe to our newsletter.
From our residents, staff, volunteers, cows and goats; a big thank you!
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