Deepa Mareena Googoolye-Ramchurn: Organic farming

Deepa Mareena Googoolye-Ramchurn left her burgeoning career in Europe to come back to Mauritius. An eager beaver lady, she epitomises hard work, determination and willingness to achieve greatness. She reveals her success story. 

32-year old Deepa Mareena Googoolye-Ramchurn is the co-founder and manager of The Downtown Farmers Market (DFM) specialising in the production and sale of organic flowers, fruits, honey and vegetables since 2014. Despite being a professional in CV writing, with academic and professional qualifications, she started a career in agriculture knowing it would entail hard work. She left her permanent government job in Europe with the perks and job security to come back to her homeland. Her goal was to accomplish her vision and live out her dreams and go for organic farming.

“I came back to Mauritius in 2013 with professional training in CV Writing and started to work as freelance CV Writer for Hex Direct Ltd. Passionate about agriculture and health, I did intensive research in this field and started to practice bio-farming as soon as I set foot here. With the support of my husband and team members, I co-founded my farming boutique which was officially launched on 14th October 2015.”

She believes that in Mauritius, farming is still a man's business, but with the support of her team and family, she is giving it a fight. “The rewards for me have been great so far. I am making tangible impressions on my customer’s lives, doing a job and creating a life that feels natural. I am trying to clear the misconception that farming is only for uneducated people with little education.”

Deepa started her professional career at Telecom Plus (Mauritius Telecom) as Customer Advisor in 2004. She then moved to Ireland in 2007 and was employed as Supervisor Medical Admin Staff in Ireland's Health Services (Ministry of Health) office called D-DOC – North Dublin's GP out of Hours Service. Simultaneously she worked as Freelance Interpreter and Translator for Dublin City University.

Why bio farming?

Upon her return from Ireland, she found that the problem when it comes to agriculture in Mauritius is that youngsters are not willing to join the sector while farmers were aged 50 and above. “Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are overused since there is no proper regulations governing their usage. The produce of conventional farming is not tested prior to it hitting the market. The amount of people getting sick after eating these products is phenomenal. That’s why I decided to venture in organic and bio farming.”

She believes that with the challenges of global climate change, it has become imperative that we do as much as possible to reduce the impacts of our activities on the greenhouse effect. “Harmful emissions are released into our atmosphere during the manufacturing of these chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides that have been linked to global warming. Conventional agriculture relies heavily on these chemicals which further harm our ecosystem when they seep into the soil and contaminate our water supplies. My team and I try to stay close to nature; sourcing materials from own farm wherever possible and conserve nature by using low-impact techniques, such as mechanical weeding. Our organic farms use production practices with environmental benefits such as water management practices, no-till or minimum tillage, habitat maintenance for beneficial insects and vertebrates, and biological pest control. These ecologically protective practices contribute to enhanced ecosystem services and benefit water quality, soil health, and biodiversity.”

She is targeting the broad public as she wants to promote good health and her products are reasonably priced. “Producing bio and organic vegetables, fruits, honey and flowers is in itself a speciality. Since organic farming involves plenty of manual work, I use vertical agriculture and use mulches which reduce the workload and at the same time, these methods help in maximising yield.”

The company offers various services and products. Some of the main products include Oregano, Fennel, Red Basil, Lemon Balm, Multi-Coloured Swiss Chard, and Italian Spinach. Besides, she also offers free advices and coaching to youths and women who are willing to join farming as well as educate customers about consuming bio and the health benefits. Moreover, unsold vegetables and fruits are given free of charge to needy and poor ones in the vicinity of the farming boutique.

“ I am making tangible impressions on my customer’s lives, doing a job and creating a life that feels natural. I am trying to clear the misconception that farming is only for uneducated people with little education."

Challenges faced 

According to the young lady, bio and organic farming is an innovative and new concept in our country. “Some people are already conscious about what conventional farming is doing to them while others ignore this fact. It will take a while for everyone to know the importance and opt for bio products. People have the misconception that bio products are expensive but gradually, we are changing their mindset.”

There were three main challenges the businesswoman had to cope with. Firstly, organic farming is a manual job.  Secondly, educating people about organic production and it is hard to get people who are willing to join this field. “The cost of organic food is usually higher than conventional food. However, at our farming boutique, we sell our vegetables and fruits at the same price as conventional food. This is possible because we use mulching technology, intercrop and irrigate with natural water which minimise our cost of production. Our products are more nutritious, tastier and last longer on the shelves. They also look more attractive.”

Despite the challenges, Deepa says she won’t quit. “Currently, my team and I are working on expanding our apiculture farm at Chamarel. We aim to venture into organic agro-processing in the near future and organise free educational tours on our farms.”