About 8km away from the heart of the Longkong Village in Mokokchung District, around a 9 hectare farm waits to unveil a package of nature, landscape, hard work, talent, dedication, passion and most of all, a successful farm and a farmer.
Owned and managed by Mr. Imnatoshi Longkumer and his wife, Mrs. Sentila, the journey of Eco Camp began as early as in 2010 but has continued to expand, develop and enrich and is still continuing to do so even today. Currently, Eco Camp is an example of a successfully integrated farm, an adventurous place to camp out day and night in groups or in singles; a place for learning and a place truly worth for recreational activities.
Eco Camp has been declared as the ‘Farming School’ by ATMA Chuchuyimlang Block in 2021 and is identified as the first and only ‘successful Mahseer Hatchery’ in the entire North East of India so far, which was a project in affiliation with the Department of Fishery, Mokokchung.
Toshi has also managed to become self-reliant in power as he successfully set up his own mini hydro project using the waterfall in his farm as his source. The waterfall, locally called “italatzü”, is claimed to be about 200 feet tall and is considered to be one of the longest waterfalls in Nagaland. However, because the water often dries up during dry seasons, Nagaland Empowerment of People through Energy Development (NEPeD) provided him a ‘Hydroger Turgo Impulse’ to keep it running throughout the year.
Hydroger is commonly called watermills. Based on the applicability in Nagaland, NEPeD coined the term ‘Hydroger’ (derived from the amalgamation of Hydro and Generator). Impulse turbine requires higher height and lower volume and is suitable for hilly areas.
Having fixed the problem of shortage of electricity, using his creativity and scientific knowledge, Toshi used the Hydroger and designed processing machines for tapioca and maize and tool grinders and sharpening machine; all of which runs by the mechanical forces generated by the water force.
Speaking about his journey, a contented Toshi appealed to the unemployed youth and the civil society in general to stress more on farming. “We really need to give importance to farming and increase the money transaction in the town,” he suggested.
“Dimapur is a commercial district while Kohima is a ministerial district but Mokokchung is a district that depends on salaries alone. And even the salary, it goes out to other districts and states because there is no locally produced goods in Mokokchung,” he expressed in disappointment.
“Farmers ought to rear more pigs, fishes and chickens. Look at our consumption rate and the amount we import, it has heavenly differences,” he lamented.
When asked whether he felt the need of intervention by the government in the Agri-allied sectors, he boldly expressed how the government funds and the schemes have never reached the real farmers.
“It’s tragic because help rarely reaches the real farmers. In fact, most farmers are unaware of what scheme, sanctions or project has been launched for their benefits. I really wish the people in the higher tops be sincere about investing in real farmers and make sure certain grants and benefits reach the grass-root level and uplift the real farmers,” he urged, and added how subsidizing his own ‘Poly House’ was approved only after submitting more than three applications.
The poly house right now has healthy cabbage, beet roots, green mustards and tomatoes. “I had to bring in sandy soil from the river side such as Dikhu and use the pig manure in making sure the soil is appropriate for such vegetables to grow healthy. This Poly House I have now is subsidized 75% by the government and 25% by the farmer,” he informed.
Of all the various opinions he has, he said his biggest achievement so far is the “successful Mahseer Hatchery”, locally called as, Süpen.
“Mahseer, the State fish of Nagaland, cannot breed unless the water bodies are shallow in depth, with slow water currents, and despite many attempts, it has failed to successfully breed in many other states. So, I’m honored that we were able to successfully breed it,” he said.
Apart from Mahseer hatchery, Eco Camp has piggery, fishing ponds and poultry farm. Along with it, there are badminton and volleyball courts and a mini-children’s park which they have plans to develop further. For more recreational activities, the Eco Camp plans to offer rock climbing once they engage with an instructor. Currently, a 2 km trekking route is provided to explore the wild surrounding the farm along with a changing room for those who wish to camp out near the waterfall.
The Camp also has a cafeteria cum conference hall along with sleeping dormitories. The entry charge per head is Rs. 100 to be exact and kitchen charges rates in between 1k-2k. However, for a group of more than 20 members, together with the kitchen fee, it can amount to about 5k in total. Regarding meals, they can either order from the camp or cook it for themselves.
