Real People Real Stories

Meet the farmers whose resilience you support and see how your donations protect livelihoods

Manu Krishnan

Age: 26

Farm Size: 1.5 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured + Tier 1 Loan

Originally born in Doha, Qatar, Manu and his family moved to the Thrissur region when he was in first grade. After completing elementary school, Manu was forced to end his education there and began working with his father on the farm. When he is not in the field Manu fishes with his younger sister Aadhira, age 17, for extra money. In 2024, Manu took out a Tier 1 loan to repair and improve his storage sheds in order to protect and retain more of his yield.

Arjun and Lakshmi Devika

Ages: 32 and 56

Farm Size: 1.2 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured + Tier 2 loan

Born and raised in Thrissur, Arjun had dreams of pursuing electrical engineering in college. Unfortunately, after his father died of pancreatic cancer, sixteen year old Arjun was forced to stay home and help his mom deal with his father's medical debt. Along with working on the farm Lakshmi works as a part-time maid while Arjun works at a nearby grocery store. In 2022, heavy rain destroyed over 70% of the Devika family's crop. Fortunately, an insurance payout and 2 loans from KeralaCropFund not only prevented the farm from going under, but strengthened the farm viability by allowing them to build a drainage system.

Ramesh, Suma, and Vishnu Kumar

Ages: 85, 79, 53

Farm Size: 2 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured

The Kumar family come from a long line of Kerala farmers. Unfortunately, during World War 2, Ramesh's father, who owned a 10 acre farm, was wrongfully forced to join the British army where he died during his service due to disease. His farm was then seized by local officials and Ramesh and his 5 siblings were forced to moved. Many years later Ramesh was able to buy back a portion of his farm which he has been cultivating with his son Vishnu for over 50 years.

Mathew Cherian

Age: 41

Farm Size: 1 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured + Tier 1 loan

Orginally born in the Ernakulam, Mathew moved to Thrissur at age 23 during his arranged marriage process. Once married, he took over operations from his elderly father-in-law's farm. Unfortunately his farm's finances took a heavy hit during the blast crop disease outbreak in 2015. He was forced to take out high interest loans to prevent collapse and has been one step away from for-closure for years. He took out a Tier 1 loan in 2024 to help payoff his high interest loan to prevent his monthly payments from increasing even further

Janardanan P.

Age: 52

Farm Size: 1.2 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured

Janardanan was born and raised in Thrissur. He never received a formal education but learned to read and write through his father. He has worked on the farm all his life and also manages a convenience store in the center of town. He is a huge cricket fan and still plays with his son when he has the time. His son is currently in high school and is on track to be the first person in his family to graduate highschool.

Janakiamma Paravur

Age: 63

Farm Size: 1.2 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured

Janakiamma or "Jana" for short, has spent her whole life in Thrissur. She has worked as a caretaker at a nearby elderly home since she was 20. in 2017, her husband faced a premature death and Jana was forced to take over as head of the farm. Although she had lived on the farm for decades she had little to no experience running a farm and had to learn all the nuances on her own.

Paily Lonappan

Age: 54

Farm Size: 1 acre
Current Benefits: Fully insured + Tier 1 Loan

Paily is another Thrissur native. He took over his father's farm when he was 25 and has recently broadened his horizons to rubber farming as well. He splits his time between the rice and the rubber farm and when he isn't working he enjoys watching soccer or volunteering at his church. He has one daughter who lives with his brother in the city while she is getting her education. In 2025, Paily took out a Tier 1 loan to purchase equipment for his recently acquired rubber farm which will help diversify his income and give him stability during the down years of his rice farm.

Roshy T.

Ages: 23

Farm Size: 1.3 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured

Roshy was bron in the Idukki region but moved to Thrissur when he was young. He runs the farm with his uncle and also works a phone repair store. While he is from a family of farmers Roshy aspires to eventually leave the agricultural space to pursue a career in tech

The Chinchurani Family

Ages: 7, 76, 78

Farm Size: 1.2 acres
Current Benefits: Fully insured

At just 2 years old Lucy became a orphan when her parents died in an automotive accident. After the death of her parents Lucy moved from Bangalore to her aging grandparent's farm in Thrissur. She is enrolled in a local elementary school and is learning the ways of the farm in her free time. Despite the tragedy she has experienced she continues to keep her cheerful attitude and thrive in school. Her favorite subject is science and she dreams of becoming a doctor one day.

Sreenath P.

Ages: 57

Farm Size: 1 acre
Current Benefits: Fully insured + Tier 1 loan

Sreenath used to own a farm in the Malappuram region. After floods completely destroyed his farm in 2019 he moved to Thrissur to work on his brother's farm. In 2023 his brother fell ill and Sreenath stepped in as the head of the farm. He immediately took a Tier 1 loan to add raised platforms that lessen crop damage during floods.