In Pictures
In Pictures: Lockdown inspires gardening boom in India’s Nagaland
People in the northeast state were forced to grow vegetables after supply lines were cut during nationwide lockdown.
Two healthy pots of coriander and two of spinach are enough to provide a sense of achievement for Theyiesinuo Keditsu, a young English professor and mother of four.
Keditsu, who claims she has the “thumb of death,” planted the seeds and was amazed at how they grew.
The indigenous Naga people in India’s northeast, once virtually cut off from the rest of the country because of an armed movement seeking independence, were reminded of their vulnerabilities during the coronavirus lockdown.
“It scared the hell out of me, the idea that I may not have veggies to feed my kids,” Keditsu, 39, said.
Nagas are traditional farmers. But as concrete covers land that was once tilled, lifestyles have changed.
Kohima, the semi-urban capital of the northeastern state of Nagaland, relies on satellite villages for green vegetables. But supply lines were cut during India’s 10-week nationwide lockdown that eased in early June, inspiring residents to grow their own.
Achano Yhome has always loved gardening, a lot of it dedicated to flowers. During lockdown, her attention turned solely to vegetables, and she and her husband built a greenhouse with plastic sheets and bamboo where she now spends much of her time.
Reflecting a tradition of foraging in the forests for nutrition during past days of conflict, several villages organised residents to collect vegetables in the wild. They distributed what they gathered for free in big towns with dwindling supplies.
Neichutuonuo Yhome, 23, started a vegetable garden with her two younger sisters in the early stages of lockdown. Their patchwork garden now has half a dozen varieties, including bean vines crawling up a bamboo trellis.
