This is the story of cultivating plants and vegetables in a desert land and bringing out flowers and fruits for attracting birds, butterflies, dragon flies and thereby making a paradise.With determination, we can make paradise anywhere in the world. it is based on my own experiment.

1. A PARADISE
IN THE DESERT MAKING
DR.RAJU M. MATHEW

2. MY EXPERIMENT IN DESERT FARMING
• Till the beginning of 2008, life in a desert or near an oasis, leaving
my ever green land, Kerala, blessed with rain for more than six
months was quite unimaginable for me. In Kerala , there was not a
single day without seeing the humming honey bees, butterflies
and dragon flies of diverse colors and sizes and enjoying the songs
of a fleet of parrots and other birds.
• In the UAE, I started my academic life in Abu Dhabi while staying
in Al Ain, for my wife has been working there as the head of a
school. Here, what I could see is the rushing of the new model
cars, the unending lines of date palms on the sides of the road
and occasionally grazing camels in my daily journey through the
four lane and well maintained road.
• But I was sad, for I couldn’t see fruit or flower gardens filled with
sweet honey and fragrance; the dancing honeybees, butterflies
and dragon flies and the singing lovely parrots and the other birds
near my home in Al Ain. For me, these beautiful things make the
Paradise. So I decided to make my own paradise in my residence.

3. NO FRUIT, FLOWER OR BUTTERFLY

4. OUR FIRST ATTEMPT IN DESERT FARMING
• We planted a beguine villa plant, a small muringa
(drum stick) tree and two plantains near our home
and watered them in the morning and evening and put
manure regularly. In the compound, we also planted
some cassava or tapioca plants.
• It took nearly two years to come out the red flowers of
the beguine villa and the white flowers of the muringa
tree. Thereafter , some honeybees came and the little
birds made their nests on the tree. It became lively and
lovely. It took more than a year to get the crop from
the cassava.

5. THE FIRST ATTEMPT

6. RED AND GREEN

7. FLOWERS ADD BEAUTY TO OUR LIFE

8. DESERT LOOK
• The land was dry and hard even without any
grass before we planted there. It took several
hours to clear a small plot of land for
cultivation, as nobody had cared to plant
anything there for the last several
years, sometimes thousands of years. It was a
part of a desert before it was developed as a
residential area about 20 or 30 years ago. I had
to fight with some thorny desert plants to clear
the land for cultivation, that made my bone and
muscle hard and strong.

9. DRY & HARD LAND

10. FACING THE MERCILESS SUMMER
• Summer is always hard and cruel in the UAE. In the
scorching summer, heat rises above 50 degree Celsius
that I could not bear. I eagerly wait for setting the sun
to clear the land, plant seeds , water the plants or put
manures. To protect the plant, I make shades over the
plants by erecting some long poles, fixing iron or steel
wires and putting dry palm leaves on them. Then they
grow fast; even creepers like long beans, soya
beans, ash or bitter or snake guards climb over them.
Under the shades other plants start to grow; all these
create an air-conditioned effect even on mid summer
days.

11. DURING THE HOT SUMMER

12. BEANS, ASH GUARD AND LADIES FINGER

13. MAY 2013

14. DESERT THRONE

15. NEAR THE DATA PALM

16. JULY 2013-BETWEEN THE THRONE
PLANT AND DATE PALMS

17. THULASI

18. ROSE & TURMERIC

19. CASSAVA OR TAPIOCA OR KAPPA

20. SCHOOL BOYS & OUR CASSAVA

21. FRUITS & FLOWERS

22. VERY LONG BEANS

23. RED CHEERA & POTHINA (MINT)

24. THE LOVER & BELOVED

25. BEANS, THUVARA& MURINGA

26. ASH GUARD

27. HIGH YIELDING CASSAVA (QUINTAL KAPPA)

28. LONG BEANS FLOWERS

29. THE HUMMING BUTTERFLIES

30. BUTTERFLY

31. LADIES’ FINGERS (OKRA)

32. YAM ALSO

33. THE LITTLE BIRDIE

34. BITTER GUARDS

35. SOYA BEANS, LONG BEANS & ASH GUARD

36. PADAVALAM (SNAKE GUARD)

39. LONG BEANS

40. BITTER GUARD

42. RED CHEERA

43. SOYA BEANS,LONG BEANS, TUVARA
BEANS & DRUM STICK TREE

44. YAM & ASH GUARD

45. A PARADISE IN THE MAKING
• We can build up our own Paradise anywhere in the
world with slow and steady little deeds rather than
waiting for the paradise after death. It gives joy and
satisfaction besides a new meaning to life.
• Birds come and build up their nest in the tree; in the
shades of the tree, new plants start to grow; their
flowers attract honey bees and butterflies; parrots
come to eat tender beans. Fresh and organic
fruits, roots and vegetables add our physical, spiritual
and mental beauty, strength and health. We can play
our own little role in solving the food crisis too.