Navara Eco Farm

The pristine banks of Chittur River in Palakkad district are home to an extraordinary farming venture. A one-man farming crusade championed by Mr. Narayanan Unny strives to bring back the cultivation of Navara rice, which is fast losing its significance. A grain considered to be of immense value from a healthcare point of view, Navara is a rice variety endemic to Kerala and predominantly found in the northern parts of the State. Records of the cultivation of this rice variety dates back to 2,500 years. Navara rice is also utilised in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, especially for Panchakarma treatment.

The Navara Eco Farm near Chittur, in Palakkad, sprawls over an area of 18 acres and also contains numerous other crops like coconut, mango, pomegranate, medicinal herbs, bamboo and vegetables. The eco-farm is completely organic and certified by Indocert, which is an accredited agency of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). A maximum of eight visitors can be accommodated in the farm at a time.

At the ancestral house located in the farm, visitors can closely observe traditional farming implements, varieties of Navara and rice seeds and literature on various farm products. The Navara fields in the farm are its nerve centre. Visitors who are interested in various farming tasks available at a particular period of the year, like sowing, weeding, harvesting etc. throng here. The farm also has an enchanting walkway, perfect for leisurely strolls and familiarising oneself with almost 80 varieties of trees and plants, of which most are fruit bearing.