Mangaluru: This cafeteria serves fresh juice using fruits grown on its own organic farm. The eatery in Puttur of Dakshina Kannada district also uses other ingredients grown organically there.

Sowgandhika Canteen in Kumbra, about 56km from here, is attached to a farm that grows various fruits, vegetables, spices and medicinal plants on the Mangaluru – Mysuru state highway. It serves various kinds of tea and juices of various fruits, besides chaats and other local food items. More than a dozen fruits including rambutan, sapota, passion fruit, birinda (kokum) and guava are grown on its farm.

The idea of inviting customers to the farm and allowing them to choose the fruits for juices is the brainchild of nature lover Chandra (in pic), popularly known as Chandra Sowgandhika.

He said he developed an organic nursery two years ago and later started the cafeteria. “Travellers between Mangaluru and Mysuru visit my farm and pluck the fruit they want. People from distant places also visit my eco-friendly canteen. They also visit my farm to see fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers that my family grows,” Chandra said.

He said bamboo tea is very popular among frequent visitors. “It’s a special concoction prepared using leaves of bamboo and spices. Many customers visit our shop only to have it,” he said.

Chandra is also a green activist who conducts workshops and awareness campaigns to protect the environment, especially the flora and fauna of the Western Ghats. “I’ve been participating in various green initiatives,” he added.