Techies on Field; Harvest Festival at UL Cyberpark

Techies' Green Revolution at UL Cyberpark

Kozhikode UL Cyber Park, the world's first IT park owned by laborers, is garnering attention through its biological connection with nature. Today (Wednesday, December 01) marked the paddy harvest festival of extensive rice cultivation by IT professionals and park staff on the premises of UL Cyberpark.

Techies, including women, harvested 70 cents of paddy adjacent to the park building. In addition to paddy, vegetables and fruits are grown in the park. At a time when widespread concerns about the work-related stress of IT professionals are mounting, a variety of crops are being grown on the park's spacious grounds, with the aim of providing stress relief to UL Cyberpark workers.

UL Cyberpark is owned by the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), one of the largest primary co-operatives in Asia. Ramesan Paleri, Chairman, ULCCS, inaugurated the harvest festival.

It is the policy of ULCCS to promote agriculture in all the project sites and institutions of the Uralungal Society, said Ramesan Paleri. Cyber Park is a Green Campus with the Gold Certification of the India Green Building Council. He added that a model like this that connects professionals in modern industries to land and agriculture developing organic links to nature is rare to find.

Sreeja Murali and Anupa Sasi, Directors of ULCCS, CEOs of various companies in the park, and senior park management officials participated along with the IT professionals in the harvest festival. The CEOs noted that this is a model to be emulated, and added that the cultivation should be extended to the remaining land of the UL Cyberpark.

The Rakthasali variety of rice is cultivated in the Cyberpark. This seed variety is high-yielding and has various medicinal properties. The fact that very little water is sufficient for its cultivation makes this seed important in this age of climate change and planned water use, said TK Kishore Kumar, General Manager, UL Cyberpark.

Cultivation is done by harvesting rainwater. For this, a storage facility of 7.5 lakh liters capacity has been constructed at UL Cyberpark. The farming activities are headed by employees who maintain the garden in the park. This is the third time paddy has been harvested in the park.

Apart from the greenery beyond the window to cool down at work, it also provides an opportunity to wander through one's own farm when tired of work. Authorities are also planning to develop seating and Wi-Fi facilities to allow techies to work in the orchards of the park premises.