MARGAO: Caroline Fernandes, a farmer and chilli cultivator, was born in the ‘Igorje vadd’ in Fatorda and later moved to Murida after marriage.
At 50, in the midst of a rapidly growing suburb, Caroline grows her chillies with the utmost care and love, a practice she inherited from her mother. “I picked up the skill of cultivating chilies two years after I got married, but always loved agriculture,” she says, adding that she also grows red spinach, lady fingers, and coriander among other crops.
Caroline credits her mother, Piedade Dias, for inspiring her to take up agriculture at the young age of 10. “I would enjoy going to the field after completing my studies, no sooner I reached home from school,” she recalls. Today, Caroline and her husband, along with the assistance of 4-5 villagers, cultivate their fields together. Unfortunately, her children do not share her interest in farming. Caroline cultivates during both the rainy and winter seasons, growing paddy in the monsoon and various vegetables in the winter.
While she once used natural manure like cow dung, goat dung, and pig dung, practical difficulties have led Caroline to rely on synthetic fertilisers today. She acknowledges that modern farming methods, such as using tractors instead of bullock-driven ploughs, have made the process less labour-intensive and more cost-effective.
For irrigation, Caroline initially depended on a nearby stream but has been using a neighbouring well for the past 25 years. This well provides a reliable water supply, eliminating any concerns about water scarcity for her fields. She sells her chillies at the Purumentachem Fest in Margão and other vegetables at the Fatorda stadium, Ponda market, or horticulture outlets in Margão.
Caroline enjoys farming despite the challenges, including pests like bugs, ants, fungus, and recently, peacocks, which have started raiding her chilli and paddy crops. She combats these pests using traditional wisdom, whipping up a concoction of neem oil, ash, and cow urine.
On a typical day, Caroline is busy from the crack of dawn. She is in the field by 7 am, returns home at noon, goes back to the field by 3 pm, and finishes her work by 6 pm. If she needs to sell her produce, she wraps up her fieldwork by 4.30 pm and arrives at the sale site by 5 pm.
“Harvesting the fruit of all the energy and love put in gives me immense joy and fosters a deep sense of satisfaction within me,” says Caroline.
