Organic Veggies at Your Doorstep

A group of organic farmers from Mumbai have set out to bust the misconception that organic food is expensive. They’ve started Hari Bhari Tokri, a vegetable buying scheme that they say will allow consumers to eat healthy without denting their finances. “The idea that organic food is pricey is just a marketing ploy,” says Ubai Hussein, a member of the Mumbai Organic Farmers and Consumers Association, a collective of 12 farmers who renounced city life to grow vegetables without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides. Under the Hari Bhari Tokri scheme, you partner with a MOFCA farmer for an entire growing season (usually 3 to 4 months) by paying Rs500 as deposit. At the end of the season, baskets of fresh, organically grown vegetables—priced at Rs100 for a small-sized tokri and Rs200 for a medium-sized one—are delivered to you every week until stocks last.

Each basket will have between four and six different vegetables such as spinach, pumpkin, eggplant, okra, beans, cabbage, tomato, bell peppers and radish. When the season permits, the farmers will also include cereals, fruits, pulses and oils in the baskets. But don’t expect to see exotic vegetables like avocados that aren’t suited to the local soil or climate, in your basket. “For the first time, consumers can connect directly with the farmers and understand how the vegetables they eat are cultivated,” says Hussein who runs a farm in Bhiwandi. The next farming season begins this November and ends in January 2011 so people who sign up now can look forward to receiving their first farm fresh baskets in the new year.

To sign up for the Hari Bhari Tokri scheme, call Ubai Hussein on 99304 48204 or email mofca.consumers@gmail.com. The last day to register is Wednesday, September 1.