This 14-Acre Tamil Nadu Farm Lets Your Child Live a Farmer’s Life for 24 Hours

“I remember someone asking my daughter where milk comes from,” says Kiruba Shankar. “She said it comes in a tetra pack.”

At the time, it felt like a passing moment. But it stayed with him. Growing up in a farming family, Kiruba had always known food through soil, animals, and effort. That answer revealed how far that understanding had shifted.

Across many urban homes today, food arrives without context. Milk comes in cartons, vegetables in neatly packed trays, and meals with a tap on a screen. Somewhere along the way, the connection between what we eat and where it comes from has begun to fade.

For Kiruba Shankar, this gap is not an abstract concern. It is something he has observed closely over years of working with both education and agriculture, and it ultimately shaped a very unusual learning space in rural Tamil Nadu.

Moments like his daughter saying milk comes from a tetra pack stayed with him, and over time, became part of a larger pattern he began to notice in everyday conversations with children.

“At that time, we laughed it off, but it stayed with me,” Kiruba says. “I come from a farming family, and I realised how easily the source of food is disappearing from a child’s understanding. It was not just funny, it was worrying.”

That concern became the foundation of ‘Vaksana Farms’, a 14-acre working farm in the village of Rettanai, where farming is experienced rather than explained, through a structured and immersive 24-hour stay.

From a forgotten land to a living farm

Kiruba’s connection to Rettanai is rooted in family history. Both sides of his family came from agrarian backgrounds, but like many rural households across India, the next generation gradually moved towards cities for education and employment. Over time, the family land itself was left behind.

“When I came back to the land in 2011, it had been untouched for nearly three decades. There were no active farming systems left, and it was completely overgrown,” he explains in a conversation with The Better India.

The change that followed unfolded slowly as a process of rebuilding that took time to materialise. The initial six acres that were revived gradually expanded as more land was reclaimed and restored. Over time, it grew into a 14-acre ecosystem combining crops, trees, animals, water systems, and learning spaces.

“Rebuilding the farm was less about restoring what was there before, and more about understanding what the land could become again,” he explains.

The name Vaksana, meaning “fertile land with lush greenery”, reflects that intention more than its past does.

Step into a farm that feels like a classroom

The shift from farming to experiential learning did not begin as a business idea. It developed slowly as schools began visiting the farm, and children responded with curiosity and surprise to common agricultural processes.

“We realised that children were not just seeing farming,” Kiruba says. “For many of them, it was the first time they were interacting with it in any real form.”

By 2021, after years of informal educational visits, the structure of a residential learning programme was beginning to take shape. He introduced the ‘Farm Camp’ in September 2021, after extensive planning around safety, flow, and age-appropriate activities. The first full interactive residential experiences began in May 2022, marking the beginning of what is now a structured 24-hour farm stay for children and parents.

“It took time to design it properly. We wanted it to be real, but also safe and meaningful,” he explains. The idea was to create understanding through participation.

Arrive and ease into the rhythm of the day

The experience begins at 10 am on Saturday. Families arrive at the farm and are welcomed into an orientation session that sets the tone for the next 24 hours. There is no formal staging or performance; instead, expectations, safety guidelines, and the philosophy of participation are explained. 

“We are very clear from the beginning that this is not a tour but participation in farm life, where children experience a full day on the farm and live the life of a farmer from the time they wake up at five in the morning to the time they retire at night,” he explains.

The first impression is designed to shift the mindset rather than provide information. Children are encouraged to observe, ask questions, and prepare for direct involvement rather than passive observation.

Walk the land

A guided walk across the 14-acre farm follows the introduction. Children move through different zones, including crop fields, animal spaces, and water systems, slowly building an understanding of how the farm functions as a whole.

“Most kids do not realise how interconnected a farm is,” he explains. “This walk helps them see that everything depends on something else.” This phase provides spatial and ecological context before children begin working on the land.

Get your hands into the soil 

Late morning moves into field-based farming activities. Children begin with soil preparation, ploughing, and understanding how land is prepared for cultivation. Tractor rides are often the first highlight, offering both excitement and physical engagement.

“The tractor becomes an instant favourite among children, who warm to the experience,” Kiruba says. “But the real learning happens when they touch the soil.” 

They are also introduced to traditional ploughing methods using oxen, which slows the experience and makes the effort behind farming more visible.

“Modern tools make farming look uncomplicated, but traditional methods show how much effort it actually takes,” he adds.

Children then move through sowing seeds, weeding, and preparing fields, experiencing different stages of the agricultural cycle within a compressed timeframe. “We try to give them a full crop cycle in a few hours,” he says. “So they understand where food begins.”

Pause as the day slows down.

Lunch is served on the farm, often using ingredients grown within the same ecosystem. The meal is followed by a structured rest period. “Rest is part of farming. You cannot separate work from pause,” he says.

Children rest in shaded areas, mirroring the natural cycle of agricultural life during the hottest hours of the day.

“We do not rush them into the next activity,” he adds. “They need time to absorb what they have already experienced.”

Spend time with the animals on the farm

The afternoon begins with interaction with animals that live on the farm. The ecosystem includes around 14 species, such as cows, goats, sheep, horses, camels, ducks, geese, and turkeys, many of which have been rescued and rehabilitated. “Animals are not separate from farming. They are part of the system,” he adds.

Children feed them, observe their behaviour, and learn how they contribute to the broader functioning of the farm.

“When children take responsibility for feeding an animal, something shifts in them,” he says. “They begin to understand care in a very direct way.”

Play, create, and learn together

As the afternoon light softens, activities move into shaded spaces on the farm, including areas surrounded by bamboo and trees. Here, children are introduced to traditional village games and creative exercises.

“These games, including bambaram, tayambas, kitti pul, and uriyadi, carry memory. They naturally connect generations, because they were once a part of everyday childhood in villages,” he explains.

Younger children, typically aged between four and seven years, work with natural materials such as flowers to create colours and paintings through safe, guided activities. Older children engage in group tasks designed around cooperation rather than competition. 

“The focus is not on winning or losing,” he adds. “It is about enjoying and learning together.”

Step into the water 

As the day moves into early evening, two of the most anticipated activities take place in the water. The first is swimming in the farm’s irrigation pond, and the second is bathing under the pump set, where water flows directly from agricultural systems.

“Water removes hesitation. In those moments, children shed all self-consciousness and become themselves,” he says. Parents often join these activities, stepping away from defined roles and engaging alongside their children.

“That shared participation changes the dynamic,” he explains. “It becomes a family memory, not just a child’s activity.”

Harvest your dinner

When the day settles into its later hours and the heat begins to ease, a calm spreads across the fields, setting the stage for one of the most important parts of the experience. Children walk through the fields, harvest vegetables, and decide what will be cooked for dinner.

Cooking is done collectively with parents and facilitators, turning food preparation into a shared activity rooted in earlier farming experiences. “When they cook what they have harvested, everything comes together,” he adds. “The circle becomes complete.”

Gather for stories under the sky

Dinner is served outdoors under the open sky, followed by a bonfire and storytelling session. The environment is informal, allowing conversations to flow naturally.

“That is when families begin to open up, and before you realise it, stories are being shared freely, without anyone having to ask,” he explains.

By 10 pm, they settle into accommodation within the farm, concluding the first day.

Wake up before the sun

The second day begins at 4:30 am, reflecting the natural pulse of farming life. Children experience early morning routines such as animal care, observation, and light agricultural activities.

“Farmers follow the sun, and we want children to experience that life, even briefly,” Kiruba adds. 

Breakfast is served soon after, bringing the programme to a close by 10 am.

“They leave with tired bodies, but a different understanding of food and effort,” he says.

Learn in small groups

Each camp is limited to 10 children, supported by 11 staff members and family participation. This guarantees safety, attention, and personalised learning throughout the experience. “Small groups are critical, because every child must be seen and heard,” he adds.  

Parents are encouraged to participate but are asked to allow children to lead their own experience. “Children learn best when they are allowed to try,” he explains. “Even if they make mistakes.”

How to plan a visit?

The farm camps are conducted across April and May, with upcoming sessions scheduled for:

• 9-10 May
• 16-17 May
• 30-31 May

Each programme runs for 24 hours from Saturday 10 am to Sunday 10 am.

The fee is Rs 6,000 plus taxes per child, with optional parent participation at Rs 2,000 plus taxes per person. Bookings are available through the official Vaksana Farms website, vaksanafarms.in.

You can also reach out via call or WhatsApp on 98415 97744 for enquiries and bookings.

Carry the experience home

For Kiruba, the value of the farm camp is not in the activities themselves, but in what children carry forward from them.

“Children will become future parents. What they experience now will shape how they think about food, nature, and responsibility later in life,” he says.

At Vaksana Farms, children learn what it actually takes to grow food. If your child had to explain where their food begins, would they know what to say?

All pictures courtesy Kiruba Shankar.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thebetterindia.com