A woman prepares organic fertilizers in Bishunpur. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Bishunpur (Gumla), March 24: A sleepy nondescript village in Bishunpur block of Gumla district, inhabited by primitive tribes and otherwise looked down upon for being backward, has a lesson to teach to not only its neighbours but also to other hamlets across the country.

Residents of Langratarn — meaning a “lame village” in literal translation — especially women, have perfected the art of producing organic fertiliser or vermi-compost that helps in cultivating organic crops. And now, they are sharing the knowledge with the more educated farmers of nearby villages.

People from Range, Balatu, Beti and Marwai are flocking to Langratarn on the foothills of Netarhat to learn how to produce vermi-compost. Langratarn villagers also make an extra buck by selling the organic fertiliser to farmers in the region.

“I produce around 15 to 16 quintals of organic fertiliser a year. While a portion of it is used in our own land, we sell most of it to other farmers,” said Kunwair Birjia (35), a tribal woman.

Birjia, who sells the fertliser at Rs 10 a kg, produces vermi-compost in her small thatched house. All she does is buy earthworms and cover them with cow dung and dry leaves. Thereafter, she sprinkles water on the heap. The worms devour the leaves and dung and their excreta forms vermi-compost.

Birjia said they were taught to produce the fertiliser by Vikash Bharati Bishunpur — an NGO working among the tribals of Gumla and Latehar districts.

“This is my brinjal field. I have cultivated it with only organic fertiliser,” said Sarnat Kharwar, a farmer, pointing to the healthy brinjal plants in his plot. Some years ago, he and a few others, had gone to Punjab and Haryana to work in the fields of rich farmers there.

“There I saw that the soil was getting spoilt due to the use of chemical fertilisers. After coming back to my village about two years ago, I decided to use only organic fertiliser in my land. It is just as well that our women picked up the art of making the fertiliser from Vikash Bharati,” Kharwar said.

The result is that several tribal women, even those from neighbouring villages, are producing vermi-compost at their houses for selling.

“We may have to explore a new market now as the local one is limited,” said secretary of Vikas Bharati Ashok Bhagat.