A shop ‘selling’ garden-fresh vegetables, without a cashier or anyone attending to the ‘buyers,’ has become the toast of Koonammavu, a small town at Kottuvally panchayat near Kochi.
Opened about 75 days ago by the enterprising residents of the St. Joseph’s boys’ hostel in the town, the shop is actually not a shop, nor does it sell. The venue just displays fresh produce from a four-acre vegetable farm cultivated by the youngsters, says Father Sangeeth Joseph, who heads the hostel.
The hostel is home to about 50 youngsters, aged between eight and 21, either from families of single parents or families that have split up, says Fr. Joseph from the Varappuzha archdiocese of the Catholic Church.
Those coming to the ‘shop’ can pick up the vegetables or bananas they want. They can either put some money in a bottle kept on the counter or they can leave without paying.
The inspiration
The initiative, inspired by a Catholic priest Father Bobby Jose, is being implemented under the leadership of 18-year-old Arun and 16-year-old Godwin, both residents of the hostel. Fr. Jose was instrumental in setting up a hotel in Tripunithura on the same principle. One can eat and have tea or coffee at the ‘Capuchin Mess’ and pay what one likes or not pay at all, no questions asked.
“The idea is to eschew commercialisation. It is more than selling, it is sharing the fruits of one’s labour,” adds Fr. Joseph.
The Koonammavu boys’ hostel residents also rear 15 cows and the milk is sold to around 50 families in the town. Those who come to buy milk from the dairy farm on the hostel premises book the vegetables too in advance. At times, the vegetables are delivered home, along with the milk, by the boys.
The next venture
Inspired by the success of their first venture, the youngsters are now planning to cultivate the salt-resistant Pokkali variant of paddy in about 10 acres of field near Koonammavu. The field was being prepared for the purpose, said an official of the Agriculture Department on Monday.
