Vitthal Rukhmini Greenhouse

Out here in Lonar, things are pretty quiet compared to the bigger towns. Our greenhouse is right at the Post in Buldhana, where the soil is good and the air stays clear most of the year. Vitthal Rukhmini Greenhouse started because we wanted to grow things properly, protected from the harsh winds and the bugs that usually eat everything. It’s mostly family running the place. We spend our mornings checking the temperature and making sure the irrigation pipes aren't clogged with sand. It’s a lot of bending over and getting your hands dirty, but it's peaceful work. My wife handles the delicate seedlings while I look after the structure and the water pumps. We’ve got rows and rows of green plants that seem to grow an inch every time you blink. It’s not a high-tech setup with computers and sensors; we just use our eyes and touch the leaves to see if they need more water. Sometimes the plastic sheets get torn during a heavy storm, and we have to spend the whole day patching them up with tape. We sell what we grow to the local markets and sometimes people drive all the way out here to buy directly from us. There’s no big sign on the road, you just have to know where to turn. It’s a simple way to live, working with the earth every day. We don't have many visitors except for the occasional neighbor or someone looking for a bit of advice on their own garden or a small plant to take home.