People with disabilities gear up to host annual garden fair

Bengaluru: People of all walks of life have been taking keen interest in horticulture, gardening, and floriculture because they know their significance. Greenery is essential in today’s circumstances where pollution levels have created a lot of difficulties for all. In this regard, the Association of People with Disability (APD) is set to organize its annual garden fair and orchid mela from December 13 to 22 at the APD Horticulture Training Centre in Bengaluru.

In this event the achievements of persons with disabilities (PWDs) will be showcased. They were trained under the association’s horticulture training programme. This initiative provided a three-month course about horticultural therapy with skills training to the people with physical and mental disabilities. All the trainees were from Karnataka, receiving job-based and soft-skills training in sustainable agriculture and horticulture.

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Since the start of the plan, more than 4,500 individuals from the state got training in sustainable agriculture, landscaping, floriculture, and related fields. In fact, after getting practical knowledge, 80% of trainees have been employed and become self-dependent. This must be considered a big achievement by the handicapped people.

The 10-day festival will display a huge collection of plants, including orchids, cacti, palms, fruit palms, and decorative flowers. Visitors will get a chance to attend workshops and learn about different herbs and home gardening. They will get an opportunity to explore stalls offering garden tools, seeds, saplings, and eco-friendly products such as coco peat and manure. Profits from the event will be spent on APD’s training programme, providing livelihood opportunities for rural PWDs.