3 days ago
Pharmacist sows hopes for lost heirloom vegetables
Vadodara: A vibrant spread of yellow and black carrots, red okra, purple tomatoes — including those which are cherry-shaped, velvet beans and even blue turmeric is growing in the fields of Koyali village — a sight rare in today's farmlands.
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These aren't genetically modified novelties, but heirloom vegetables, revived by Kaushil Patel, a city-based drug analyst who has turned to farming.
Patel, 40, works as a drug analyst at the Food and Drugs Laboratory in Vadodara, run by the Gujarat govt. A postgraduate in pharmacy, his life once revolved around test tubes and chemical reports. But six years ago, a growing concern over food adulteration pushed him to explore natural farming.
What began as curiosity has now blossomed into a 25-acre heirloom vegetable farm at Koyali village on the outskirts of Vadodara.
Inspired by the late Rajiv Dixit, a strong advocate of traditional Indian agriculture, Patel decided to move from supporting farmers to becoming one.
Starting with just one acre, he began collecting seeds of forgotten vegetable varieties from across India. "Like stamp or coin collectors, there are people who collect indigenous seeds.
I met one in Chennai who had preserved black carrot and tomato seeds," Patel recalls.
Now, his personal seed bank includes 130 varieties of tomatoes, 40 of brinjal, 12 types each of bottle gourd and okra, and several kinds of leafy greens. He uses traditional preservation methods — drying seeds during summer and storing them in glass bottles, adding ash powder to protect delicate varieties.
He uses traditional techniques to preserve the seeds, storing them in glass bottles and using ash powder for more delicate ones.
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Running his organic store, 'Gaubharat', Patel supplies these exotic vegetables to customers not just in Vadodara, but also in Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai and even Mysore. His customer base has grown to nearly 1,000 loyal buyers, many of whom discovered his produce through social media or farmer fairs.
Farming, for Patel, has been a journey of self-education. "When you start farming, your biggest learning is about seeds," he says.
Since 2019, he has practised cow-based natural farming, staying true to sustainable methods.
His farm yields an impressive 15 tonnes of vegetables per acre annually. Yes, heirloom vegetables may cost more — one and a half times costlier than those available in the market — but Patel says the value lies far beyond the price tag. "Eat a watermelon, banana, or bottle gourd from my farm and compare it with store-bought ones.
You'll feel the difference instantly — in taste, in texture, in nutrition."
Since 2019, he has embraced cow-based natural farming, sticking to his commitment of nurturing the land and reviving India's agrarian heritage. His work hasn't gone unnoticed — he's bagged nearly a dozen Best Farmer Awards from Gujarat's horticulture department, frequently topping categories like creeper crops and leafy vegetables.
What are heirloom vegetables?
Heirloom vegetables are 'desi' or the native varieties which have not undergone any kind of change or modification (either genetic or natural) or hybridization. There are 'desi' varieties which may have also undergone changes with the passage of time. But heirloom varieties are the original native varieties. In contrast, there are hybrid varieties, which most of the people consume, there are genetically modified varieties and there are biofortified seeds in which there is some kind of fortification in the seeds.
