Buy farm fresh veggies, pay what you want

Church-run boys’ hostel residents share the fruits of their labour on 4 acres of land

A shop ‘selling’ garden-fresh vegetables, without a cashier or anyone attending to the ‘buyers,’ has become the toast of Koonammavu, a small town at Kottuvally panchayat near Kochi. Opened about 75 days ago by the enterprising residents of the St. Joseph’s boys’ hostel in the town, the shop is actually not a shop, nor does it sell. The venue just displays fresh produce from a four-acre vegetable farm cultivated by the youngsters, says Father Sangeeth Joseph, who heads the hostel. The hostel is home to about 50 youngsters, aged between eight and 21, either from families of single parents or families that have split up, says Fr. Joseph from the Varappuzha archdiocese of the Catholic Church.