Kosara – tending to your own trench
How often have you sighed when you saw those dainty cottages where you could step into the garden from the kitchen and eat the produce right out of the soil? The desire is even deeper today because we are plagued by the headlines in the newspaper daily about the food adulteration and the cries by WHO, FDA and all such organisations educating or rather alerting us on the harmful effects of what we are eating. The contamination is deep seated into the soil that our food comes from. In a time like this, how many of us have ached for a backyard where I could produce the food I consume. Was that the reason why a child's game like Farmville was a success with all adults? Ten years later, it is a possibility with Kosara.

This DIY is a health boon
Kosara, which in Sanskrit means a 'furrow', gives you the opportunity to outsource a farm. They present you two models, one wherein you can rent a piece of land and get the Kosara team to be your farming team who will tend to your farm, grow what you want to eat and deliver the food basket to your home once a week at a nominal rate of INR 3000 per month. The second model is where you can get your hands dirty and cultivate your own farms, feel the soil in your hands, experience ploughing with a tractor and picking the fruits of your labour. In the second model, you have Kosara's advisory team to guide and aid you. You could learn the tricks of the trade with an on-the-job organic farming experience and you might be carving your new career again at the rate of INR 3000 per month.

App happy farming: An investment in yourself
And yes, it would be a surprise if this modern initiative didn't have an App. You could be a farmer within a few seconds by downloading the Kosara application, choosing the suitable model and growing seasonal crops. And no, it is not a virtual farm, it is real; the Kosara Farm is located near Damdama Lake, Sohna, District Gurgaon, Haryana. To make your experience a fruitful journey, the Kosara team has planned workshops, events and exhibitions where Kosara might be the constructive weekend getaway from city life that most of us dream of.

Paras Chopra, co-founder of Kosara farms, states that 'organic farming gives you food as it should be, clean and fresh' and the subscribers to this idea echo the same in their experience so far. You have, of course, seen the shelves of your local grocery store displaying attractively-packed organic products that were 3 times the price of your erstwhile kitchen needs and it has often given you the shoppers' dilemma. Your experience at Kosara might afford you insights that were a farmer's prerogative and could help dispel the fog of unfamiliarity.

Paras adds that they have been rejuvenating the farm for the last 3 years and no chemicals have been used on the land for the same period of time. They are certifying the same to assuage customer fears. Subscribers are invited for an on-the-ground experience of the soil and farming practices before they are sold the idea.

Knowledge is the key to survival of the fittest today
'The focus of developing economies today is not about whether we can replace the conventional agriculture model but on how soon we can do so', adds Paras. 'Organic food is not a luxury for those who can afford it, it is a necessity, and every man's right. The marketing of organic food as a premium product is a sad state of affairs that needs to change'.

Organic food today costs a fortune because of the simple model of demand and supply just like crude oil or other previous minerals. You can change this reality and be a catalyst of the change and help cut down on the gestation period that the government takes in regularizing food production and its price. Even if we are far from that utopian reality one could zoom the magnifying glass to their own gastronomical intake. You can undo the blues caused by the erroneous green revolution, you could start it with your backyard albeit a few miles away.