The students and teachers of KHM Higher Secondary School, Valakkulam, surprised the people of Pookkipparamba near Kottakkal on Saturday by reviving the traditional village fair. The fair held on the school campus witnessed a heavy rush. Most items of ethnic importance on sale were sold out in the first few hours. The school’s National Green Corps or Haritha Sena launched the fair on Saturday to mark World Soil Day celebrations, driving home the message to “recapture the kitchen, and keep diseases at bay”.
A variety of items, including organic vegetables and rice, seeds, home-made flours and food items, agricultural implements, ornamental fish, refined coconut oil, home-fed poultry, coir, and medicinal plants, were made available at the fair.
Some items like vegetables were sold out within an hour after district panchayat president A.P. Unnikrishnan inaugurated the fair in the morning. The children had procured the items from all sources available to them. “We didn’t expect such a response from parents and teachers. We couldn’t meet their demands in fact,” said Haritha Sena volunteer K. Farha. By the time, all students of the school were brought to view the fair, most items had been sold out. “We’re sorry we couldn’t give all our friends a chance,” said A. Sreerekha and M. Vishnupriya.
The students are planning to conduct the village fair every month. The next fair will be in January. Farha said they would hold three more fairs before their annual exams.
The excitement of the students was palpable as parents and local people poured in to look at and buy the goods on sale. “People would love to get locally grown food items which are free from pesticides,” said P.K. Mohammed Bashir, school headmaster.
They are planning to conduct three more
such fairs before the annual examinations
