Panaji: Teachers are usually required to bring lessons alive inside the classroom. But Class VI students of L D Samant Memorial High School in Porvorim went straight to their lesson.Around 130 students visited the horticultural farm of Padma Shri awardee Sanjay Patil in Savoi Verem to meet the Goan hero featured in their new Konkani textbook. “Agriculture is not just about satisfying hunger, it is our culture and our future,” Patil, honoured with the Padma Shri for natural farming, told the children. “You need to build a deep connection with the soil,” added Patil, who appears in the Konkani chapter ‘Jaitivant Sanjay Patil’ (Victorious Sanjay Patil).The new textbook was recently introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP), which has added more localised content.Born on Aug 31, 1964, Patil began practising natural farming in 1991 despite limited formal education. He adopted technologies from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and local institutes. To address water scarcity, he dug a 125-foot tunnel and built percolation trenches to harvest rainwater, ensuring year-round irrigation through a zero-energy micro-irrigation system.He transformed 10 acres of barren land into a lush kulaghar, drawing hundreds of visitors each year to study his methods.“We wanted to ensure that education is not confined within four walls but enriched through nature and hands-on experience. We wanted to bridge the gap between textbook knowledge and practical experience,” said Konkani teacher Prajakta Gaonkar, who organised the tour.Patil demonstrated how to prepare organic fertiliser and explained its benefits for plant growth, saying natural inputs preserve soil fertility and produce high-quality crops that fetch better prices.Students toured the plantation, learning about areca nut, coconut, black pepper, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and various fruit trees. They also tasted the farm produce.“The children made a beeline for Patil’s autograph. The students were deeply inspired by his journey. Experiencing a lesson in person that they had only read about made it highly impactful,” said headmistress Neeta Salunke.Earlier, the school had invited Padma Shri awardee and Goa’s first Arjuna award winner Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, also featured in the textbook, after students expressed curiosity about the living legends.
