Kamil Muslim College in Yalalevu, Ba, is launching an initiative to support the local community by establishing nurseries and selling fresh leafy vegetables. Assistant mathematics and physics teacher Rinal Prasad emphasized that this initiative will also generate income for the school.
“Our vision is to transform Kamil Muslim College into a sustainability hub by undertaking various green projects. Previously, we have implemented a Bio duster and installed both on-grid and off-grid solar panels,” Prasad explained.
The school has already installed hydroponic systems and expanded its beehive farm. They now plan to use hydroponics to provide fresh leafy vegetables to students and nearby communities, which number over 5000 people. Their long-term plans include scaling up to approximately 400 plants per month.
“We plan to purchase the remaining seedlings from Go Global, where prices range from 15 to 20 cents per seedling. Once the lettuce or other vegetables are ready, we aim to sell them for $2 to $2.50 each, depending on their size,” Prasad added.
He noted numerous benefits, despite the high initial setup cost. The use of nutrient-based water and soil-free operation makes it more advantageous over time. The project, which falls under horticulture and hydroculture, currently focuses on lettuce with plans to expand to cabbage and other vegetables like coriander.