Organic Farm | Blossom Trust

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Dayspring Organic Farm

The Blossom Farm was established by Caritas Sweden in 2002 with the idea of creating a sustainable income for local people. Caritas Sweden then agreed to allow some of the products to be used to sustain a healthy lifestyle within the designated children's home.

The farm grows onion, eggplants (aubergines), spinach, gooseberry, guava and mango. We have livestock that consists of cows, goats and chickens. The farm is maintained by a farmer and short-term international volunteers, and also the children learn and participate in the harvest and care of the livestock.

The farm aims to be environmentally focused and organic, instead of using only pesticides and chemical fertilizer, using three different kinds of local organic mixtures called panchagavya, asola and geevamirtham.

Livestock & crops

The agricultural side of the farm is thriving with the cultivation of many varieties of fresh produce. These include okra, aubergine, corn, spinach, lentils and pulses, pumpkin, drumstick (moringa), mango, guava, chikoo, gooseberry and aloe vera.

This broad spectrum of nutritious foods provides the children with a balanced and diverse diet, giving them a platform of education on a healthy lifestyle.

This year the site has 3 cows, 5 goats, 2 turkeys, and following intensive breeding our chicken population is booming! This is thanks to the construction of new chicken sheds supported by EH-Klub, and we will soon be diversifying into the sales of Country Chickens.

Fertiliser, water & agri-tech

The farm is fully organic, using the manure from the livestock to fertilize the land. A new edition in 2018 was the production of ‘vermicompost’ using worms to fertilize the soil and to help enrich the earth in the farm giving better yields on production.

We then went further still, using the manure from the livestock to create gas to cook with. A bio-gas plant was built and installed with the help of Caritas Linkoping: the manure is collected and mixed with water to be sealed in a chamber, methane gas is given off and stored at the top of the chamber and a pipe system is connected and attached siphoning the gas into the kitchen, where it is used for cooking. This is not only environmentally friendly but saves a huge amount of money on the ever-rising costs of fuel.

To conserve on water and maximise the effectiveness we use a drip irrigation system, with which rainwater is collected and slowly released across the farm through a pipe system. The farm also contains a well which stores safe water for the children during the summer when the rains can’t be relied on for collection and use.