Why This Lawyer Decided To Build An Organic Farm in Noida

#organicfarming #naturalfarming #goodfoodmovement
In 2014, Aparna Rajagopal, a lawyer, moved from city life to soil, and started on a journey to build Beejom, a regenerative farm and animal sanctuary on the edge of Noida, Uttar Pradesh. At Beejom, farming is circular: indigenous cattle anchor the system, dung and urine become manures and inputs, and planting leans on heirloom seeds and diversity rather than hybrid seeds and monoculture. The result is a working landscape where animals, soil, and people co-create resilience.

Spanning over 20 acres now, Beejom has developed on firm pillars: natural farming techniques like intercropping and mulching, a living seed bank that safeguards indigenous varieties, and a thriving food forest where dozens of fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants grow amidst a sea of sugarcane fields. Dung too plays its part, closing the loop between cattle and soil. The farm produces over 1500kg of dung every day which is then converted into value added products or manure for farming.

Beejom also nurtures a community: women farmers run Strijan, a collective that supplements livelihoods through value addition and crafts. The farm also hosts open learning spaces and a restaurant that bring urban eaters closer to the land.

This is the story of how privilege can turn into purpose, and how rethinking agriculture can reshape the land and the lives around it. Across fields, forests, and cattle sheds, one is led to ask: what happens when we let nature take the lead? The answers are practical—healthier soils, rich biodiversity, local livelihoods—and replicable across farms.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction
01:33 The Beginning
04:00 Pillars Of Farming
06:22 Indigenous Seeds
08:06 The Food Forest
09:23 Diversity & Dung
11:36 Power Of Community
13:40 What Is The Good Food Movement?