Dada Samant

The Legacy  & Our Pride

Mr. Janardan Raghunath Samant (Dada Samant), 70 yrs. old, from a small remote village, Bhogve-Newale from the costal part of Maharashtra State, India. He is also referred by from nearby big villages like, Parule, Devbag as his village name is not known to many people.

Ancestor Land:

His father received ancestor’s share of property who was successful agriculturist, in spite of a hilly land situated on the back water of Arabian sea. It is situated at the height 500 ft. from sea level. It has no proper road access to his garden.

Those days, they were all primitive methods of grain farming & fruits cultivation. There was no good market facility available. Bad road conditions, hardly any transportation, no electricity, no nearby postal facility, no telephone etc. All the small city markets like Goa, Belgaum, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur etc. were located from 150 kms to 250 kms. The Mumbai market was the most lucrative option but the same was 500 kms. away from his village.

Due to all adverse conditions in the villages & as there was a big job availability, the entire youth form villages started migrating to all nearby cities as well to Mumbai for stable salaried income. That was a sure shot income & was enough to feed the rest of the family at village also. Mr. J. R. Samant, ho was having innovative mind from the childhood & also willingness to help his hardworking father, willingly decided, not to go for a easy monthly salary paying job & lead for smooth living.

Those were the days where industrialization was in good swing & farming was neglected. Our revolutionary leader then, Mahatma Gandhi started a movement ‘ Return to Your Villages’ for those youngsters those went to the cities for job. Dada Samant was motivated by this and decided not to go to the City.

His decision proved to be correct. After fathers active participation, he struggled with great hardship to fight against all odds like natural calamities and lack of proper infrastructure. He focused on horticulture using all scientific techniques blended with his creativity & innovation.

Organic Farming was his Motto:

His motto was to do something Quality, Big & hygienic & suitable to mankind. He did many innovative crops, with the help of organic farming over a period of 25 years and made them successful in that coastal hilly land also. Crops like Alphonso Mango, Coconut, Nutmeg (Jaiphal), Papaya, Sun Flower, Drum Sticks etc.

He was also dedicated for the benefit of other farmers from near villages. Every time, for every crop, after a series of experiments he could reach the crop varieties that could fetch high remunerative prices for all farmers. His dedication was for the nation’s father, Mahatma Gandhi’s, dream of a happy, self-sufficient villager’s country.

He believed & spread through his writing & speeches to the farmers that, the only farming method i.e. the organic farming method, can offer a guaranteed future to farmers. He is practicing organic farming for last 25 years and teaching by my own example, other farmers in his district, named Sindhudurg. He provided free sapling of mango grafts to other farmers. as well as vermiculture manure.

Awards

Award Name	Awarded By	Year
Udyan Pandit	Governor of Maharashtra State	2004
Agrowon	Sakal, Local Daily News Paper	2005
Adarsha Shetkati	Tambe Education Society	2006
Sindhu Ratna	Rotary Club of Mumbai	2006
Maharashtra Gunijan Ratna	Infotech Features, Mumbai	2006
Rashtriya Ekatmata Fellowship	Human Resource Academy	2006
Rashtrachetana Gauravmurti Kitab	Rashtra Chetana Publications	2006
Pride of Nation (National Level)	Human Resource Academy	2006
Akhil Bharatiya Pratibha Sanman Puraskar	Human Resource Academy	2006
Bharat Jyoti Excellence Award	Bharatiya Samaj Academy	2007

New team, New Way

Now Dada’s Son Mr. Mangal and His wife Prof. Manisha Samant has taken initiative to move this legacy forward in their way by inviting guests, sharing this experience with family friends in form of Aryavarta Beach Resort.