Like many farmers across the East Jaintia Hills district, Kyrsiew Ryngkhlem from Wapung Skur Village struggled to sustain livelihood activities and support her family on account of farmlands becoming infertile because of coal mining.

But after seeing how well it worked, she wanted to expand activities and explore the potential of her homemade organic manure. She bought a plot of uncultivable land measuring approximately 700 sq. meters in 2015. Kyrsiew was convinced that the experiment would in due course result in soil health restoration and water retention. She started by tilling the ground and using limestone to neutralize the acidity of the contaminated soil, and waited patiently.