KHAALIS – WHERE ORGANIC MEETS YOU…
“Be the change you want to see.” Living up to this is Khaalis – refreshing breather in more ways than one! A community run organization, the place stocks organic fresh produce, grown by the founders and other farmer friends too. Their mission is to offer affordable, healthy food and other essentials in an environment that fosters participation and cooperation. The whole idea of Khaalis is the owners’ Ramnik Singh and Iqroop Kaur’s belief in sustainable, organic and chemical free living. Originally from Chandigarh, the couple, after having spent 13 years in New Zealand returned to India, and were genuinely pained to see “that one’s own (the Punjabi farmers)were feeding poison to one’s own (the consumers).” They wanted to make as many kitchens as possible – poison free! “Further to this agonizing thought, I also felt an acute urge to give it back to my environment, culture, and nature that had nurtured me and was so close to my heart.” Ramnik and Iqroop started with farming on their small farm so as to ‘clean’ their own family’s kitchen and consumption. This was followed by putting up small markets at various places. One thing led to another and it wasn’t long before the whole idea turned into a passion. That acted as a huge catalyst and today Khaalis takes pride in being associated with several farmers – all with the same ethos of clean farming for providing clean, healthy, unadulterated, organic food.
They have a retail store in Sector 8-C, Chandigarh which stocks a wide range of products – both packaged and non packaged. Not only is their own farm certified organic but they’ve also helped and guided several other farmers to go organic and also get certifications. The ones who are oblivious to the whole system of certifications are encouraged to send their water and soil test reports to them which is followed by a farm visit by the team thereafter. “If there’s a will, a sense of pain about the harm we are causing to mother nature and ourselves, a sense of responsibility, there’s definitely a way”, chips in Iqroop, who is as enthusiastic and passionate about ‘making clean food available’ to all and sundry as her husband Ramnik. “Whilst we have helped some with our knowledge, we’ve also learnt lot from several veteran farmers via their best practices. We are fortunate to have two senior mentors who have 15 years of experience of organic farming. Should there be any farmers who share the same ethos as us, wanting to reach out to the consumer in the Tricity with their produce, we are just a call away”, says Ramnik. In that sense, this husband-wife duo is quite an evangelist of change.
Khaalis, besides edibles like fresh vegetables, organic pulses, flour, cereals etc. also stocks hand made paintings, hand crafted vanity products etc. Our philosophy is that whatever has been made by hand by the community ought to reach out to the customer. “Organic is not just farming sans pesticides or chemical fertilizers. It is a lifestyle choice, a way of life”, says Iqroop with a smile. We agree, we definitely do! It is heartening to see that farmers as well as urban individuals are adopting organic farming practices and reaping more benefits. After all, the more organic and natural the produce, the safer and healthier it is for us and for the environment.
