Kamil Muslim College in Yalalevu, Ba, is leading a community initiative to provide fresh leafy vegetables by establishing nurseries and selling their produce.
Assistant mathematics and physics teacher Rinal Prasad emphasized that this initiative will also generate income for the school.
“Our vision is to make Kamil Muslim College a sustainability hub. We are planning to undertake all green projects. Previously, we have 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 implement hydroponics to supply fresh leafy vegetables to students and nearby communities. There are over 5000 people living nearby, so we also plan to expand this hydroponics initiative,” he stated.
Prasad added that their long-term plans include scaling up production to approximately 400 plants per month.
“We intend to purchase the remaining seedlings from Go Global, with prices ranging 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 size,” he explained.
“There are numerous advantages. 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 that we are engaged in. We have started with lettuce and plan to cultivate cabbage and other vegetables like coriander,” Prasad added.