Mr. Johnson is cultivating as many as 46 varieties of rice seeds, including the aromatic varieties of Wayanad such as Gandhakasala, Jeerakasala and Mullan kaima
Mr. Johnson is cultivating as many as 46 varieties of rice seeds, including the aromatic varieties of Wayanad such as Gandhakasala, Jeerakasala and Mullan kaima
Tourists and pilgrims on their way to the Thirunelly Sree Mahavishnu temple in Wayanad are flocking to a farm at Thrissilery to view the Ashok Chakra created by Johnson Oliappuram, a progressive farmer in “rice paddy art” form.
The 58 year old farmer hopes his experiment will attract people to paddy cultivation.
Paddy field canvas
Tambo Art or Rice paddy art is an art form originating in Japan where people plant rice of various varieties and hues to create images in a paddy field.
For the past six years, Mr. Johnson has been creating different patterns and images on his 20 cents of land. His creations include pookalams (floral carpets) with varying hues of paddy varieties, a map of Kerala, Diya with a flame and a heart image with butterflies and flowers.
“This year I have created the image of Ashok Chakra by using four varieties of rice seeds such as Nazar bath, Kala bath, Kaki sala and Ramlee that will ripen in shades that range from brown to golden; light brown to black; green to black and green to white and black, says Mr. Johnson, who won the State award for best organic farmer in 2020-21.
He created the art form on his farm beside the Thirunelly –Thrissilery road has attracted many and inspired them to collect the seeds of the rice varieties in different shades.
Model farmer
Mr. Johnson is cultivating as many as 46 varieties of rice seeds, including the aromatic varieties of Wayanad such as Gandhakasala, Jeerakasala and Mullan kaima as well as many other indigenous rice varieties on his 2.8 acres of land using organic methods. Some of them have medicinal properties too.
He sells the seeds of these varieties to the visitors at a nominal price as well.
“Rahul Gandhi MP also visited my farm recently to watch my paddy arts,” said Mr. Johnson, who is also the president of the Muthumari Areekkaara Padashekhara Samiti in Thirunelly grama panchayat.
Teacher turned farmer
Mr. Johnson is the president of the Thirunelly agri-producer company, an initiative of a group of organic farmers including tribal farmers, and as many as 100 famers are cultivating rice on nearly 110 acres of land under it .
Johnson, hailing from Manjapra, Ernakulam, was a teacher in Andhra Pradesh for 18 years and he settled in Wayanad around 15 years ago after quitting the job with the aim of starting afresh as an environment-friendly farmer and educating tribal children.
He has also set up a Trust named Unni Sadan Trust to educate tribal children, and teaches as many as 13 tribal children in the area free of cost. Mr. Johnson is supported in his efforts by his wife Nancy and two children.
