On 15th of June 2014, Goa ForGiving along with the Botanical Society of Goa organised a Fruit and Vegetable Planting Workshop. The workshop focused on organic farming in urban areas where people have no access to ground space. Living in cities, people find it difficult to plant crops on the ground, which was why we held this workshop, to show that people who face such problems can switch to planting in pots. Kitchen Gardening is on a rise these days and more and more people are also taking it up as a hobby. Having this workshop made more sense as not many know the actual way of planting as it takes different methods to grow different types of fruits and vegetables.

Nature lovers as well as the Hamara School kids joined us who were accompanied by their founder, Ms. Mangala Wagle. Mr. Miguel gave a step by step demonstration on planting different plants like choosing the right seeds, preparing the "Rolled Towel" to test seed germination, using the right type of soil, manure content etc. He also gave a demonstrated on how to plant a citrus plant in a pot. It was an interactive session where participants also got to volunteer in the demonstrations like making the trellis, an art learnt from the Army 'Madams' of Bangalore's famed Flower Festival of 11-15 August at Lal Bagh Gardens since the early 1980s. Children as well as the elders volunteered in this demonstration. Ms. Wagle who was very impressed by the workshop showed interest in including plantation as part of the activities at the Hamara School. She said “I, as the supporter of the underprivileged must inculcate this habit of plantation into them, because, I would like to give them an agricultural vocation sometime if they like it”. Getting into the spirit of Father’s Day the Hamara School Kids recited a few poems on Fathers, played instrumental music and also sang a few songs. It was a pleasant morning at the Gonsalves Mansion on Father’s Day as we dedicated this Day to Mother Earth. Just like children need good parenting, in the same way plants need it too if you want them to be strong and productive.