Kamil Muslim College in Yalalevu, Ba, is leading an initiative to support the local community by growing and selling fresh leafy vegetables through newly established nurseries.
Rinal Prasad, an assistant mathematics and physics teacher at the college, highlighted that this initiative will also generate income for the school.
“Our vision is to transform Kamil Muslim College into a sustainability hub. We are planning to undertake various green projects. Previously, we implemented a Bio duster and installed both on-grid and off-grid solar panels,” he said.
The school has already installed hydroponic systems.
“We have expanded our beehive farm and now plan to use hydroponics to provide fresh leafy vegetables to students and nearby communities. With over 5000 people living nearby, we also have plans to extend this hydroponics project,” he added.
Long-term goals include scaling up to approximately 400 plants per month.
“We intend to purchase 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,” he stated.
“There are several benefits to this. Although the initial setup cost is high, it becomes easier and more advantageous over time. We use nutrient-based water and operate without soil since it’s hydroponics. It falls under horticulture and is a subset of hydroculture. We have started with lettuce and plan to cultivate cabbage and other vegetables like coriander.”