My Personal Reflection: Markus Lewin, Swallows, Sweden

A personal reflection about Kolunji Ecological Farm and Training Center

My reflection begins just after I have arrived at the Kolunji Ecological Farm and Training Center (Kolunji) on the 25th of October 2022 when I sit down at the farm`s newly built dining hall to eat my pre-packed lunchbox. When I sit there I view the scenery outside the building`s windows. There I am met by a sight full of greenery, different trees, and a pleasant silence after leaving the office in Tiruchirappalli. When I glance at an ideal green Kolunji, a thought catches on to my head/mind, that many of the things in my eyesight would not be there without the initial financial support from The Swallows and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to establish the farm in the 1990s.

Today, around 30 years after the first deep thrusts were taken at Kolunji, it is truly a model farm which has also had a positive effect on the local environment. The coexistence between the farms animals, insects, trees, birds and organic fields results in a physical example of what a sustainable agriculture is, and how it’s practically implemented for the farmer. The day after I arrived at Kolunji I was sitting outside my room at the newly built Vidivelli Boy’s Home when two small buses arrived with about 40 farmers and students. They had all traveled to Kolunji for a full day stay to learn and listen to Kudumbam staff`s lectures about the advantages with organic farming, and how it can be implemented on the farmers field. The fact that the farm is flourishing today, with visiting university students who come there to gain knowledge about Kudumbams farming methods and farmers that are interested in alternative farming techniques, showcase that the Kolunji project is set to continue. New partner organizations have today stepped in after The Swallows financial support ended which demonstrates a hopeful future for Kolunji.

The farm is currently also an income source for the organization in several ways. On the one hand they run a nursery where they develop various fruit and timber tree saplings to sell. Kudumbam also takes out a fee for students who participate in lectures on organic farming, as well as private persons who visit Kolunji and are interested in farming. The visit for me is a clear example of what Swedish international development work is, and simultaneously how it can be implemented successfully in India to strengthen small-scale farmers’ rights. Finally, there is one additional piece of the pusel which needs to be mentioned in the story about Kolunji, and that is Kudumbam’s field office that I visited the day after 10 km away in the city of Keeranur. The office has been established as an indirect effect of The Swallows initial support to Kudumbam’s 35 acre big ecological farm Kolunji and there increased presence in rural areas of Pudukkottai district. Quote from Chelladurai, employee at Kolunji, speaking to farmers”When Kolunji started there were only small bushes in the area and no trees were growing here”