Telugu couple Alankrutha Chandra and Meher Gundavarum commerce their techie jobs to embrace sustainable farming in Warangal, and set up a clothes label, ‘Elephant in You’  

The primary lockdown, in 2020, proved to be a tipping level for Alankrutha Chandra and Meher Gundavarum, techies working in Chicago, USA. They returned to India and took up farming in Meher’s native city, Warangal, in Telangana. “Meals, shelter and clothes are the fundamental requirements and we are attempting, one step at a time, to guide a planet-friendly way of life,” says Meher. Their nascent clothes label named Elephant in You, the produce that grows on their chemical-free farm, and a farm keep that’s being arrange are all a step in that route.

The couple was in Hyderabad lately for the month-to-month Biodegradable Santha on the Crafts Council of Telangana premises. On view have been a few of their ready-to-wear assortment in unbleached natural cotton, linen and hemp materials that used pure dyes. All this can be a development of the plastic-free way of life that they had adopted for a number of years, says Alankrutha.

They met whereas working within the US and hav been dwelling collectively. “We prevented utilizing plastics however had not performed anything to say we have been planet-friendly. Till the lockdown, I had not even grown a plant from a seed,” she says. After Meher gifted her a hydroponic set, she started rising herbs and greens. “Every day, I might get up and test on the vegetation. It made me glad,” she recounts. 

Return of the native

That step was a reminder of the life-style of Meher’s household in Warangal and her household in Tenali. Hailing from an agricultural background, Meher was aware of each the fun and challenges of farm life. He noticed how a number of family members had steadily given up agriculture, unable to deal with the excessive prices. Meher’s dad and mom too had moved to the town to arrange a bakery, however they nonetheless retained a patch of land again residence.

Alankrutha took step one and instructed they return to India to take up farming. “It took me six months to course of the thought,” confesses Meher. “In my youthful days, I by no means loved visiting the farm since I used to be not used to roughing it out.” He was additionally conscious that financially it could be a leap of religion to depart their well-paying jobs and begin from scratch.

Alankrutha was the primary to return to India, and Meher adopted go well with a 12 months later. They bought married and determined to embrace the farm life. “We thought we might have issues in management in a number of months. However a month later, Meher’s dad and mom needed to step in to information us,” she recollects.

The farm now has 40 types of fruit timber (10 types of mangoes, three types of guava, pomegranate, sapodilla (sapota), candy lemon (mosambi), Java plum (jamun), lemons, star fruit, avocado, Singapore cherry and extra, pulses corresponding to pigeon pea (toor dal), inexperienced gram (moong dal), black gram (urad dal), Bengal gram (chana dal), legumes like cowpea, (lobia), peanuts, and the oilseed sesame in addition to seasonal greens and three types of indigenous rice. “We understood why folks hesitate to do chemical-free farming. For instance, getting chemical manure and pesticides is way less complicated than getting ready your jeevamrutham. You want cows for manure, you must are likely to them, and getting ready the manure takes time; it is advisable to repeat the method every week,” says Meher.

At current, what they develop on eight acres of the farm isn’t sufficient to fetch earnings, they are saying. The produce is used largely by family and friends. Not too long ago, they offered the rice to a relative who was organising a marriage. Such measures assist usher in income to maintain the farm. “We now have been counting on our financial savings,” says Meher.

Simple on the pores and skin

In the meantime, Alankrutha additionally learnt to work with pure dyes. She started sourcing unbleached kala cotton from Khamir in Kutch, linen, cotton and hemp from others. This transfer, she says, was a results of her experiencing frequent allergic reactions to retail clothes. “The rashes have been short-term. However every time I developed an allergy, I believed this shouldn’t be occurring within the first place. I needed to discover chemical-free clothes.”

The capsule collections developed by Elephant in You might be offered on the label’s web site and thru Craft Council exhibitions. The identify of the label, says Alankrutha, is a nod to the elephant that lives in sync with nature. 

Engaged on the farm within the searing warmth prompted Meher to assemble a limestone studio for a retreat. A mudhouse can be below building. “Usually, each inch of farmland is used for cultivation. However we needed a small house to ask individuals who need to go to the farm and expertise dwelling near Nature.” The cement-free building can be a step in direction of lowering their carbon footprint.

The final three years have been transformative, they clarify. “We’re up by 4am or 5am, work on the farm until 9am, get residence to do some chores and return to the farm at 4pm. It has been a variety of unlearning and studying,” says Meher. Has it been satisfying? Their beaming smiles say all of it.