Hello Coimbatorians! What are your plans for this weekend? If you are yet to make any or if there are minor possibilities to work on alter the one that you've already made, we have a little something for you here — make seed balls and take them home. 

Ver Organization, a city based NGO is conducting a mega seed ball festival on Sunday, July 7, 2019. It is a youth initiative and is targetting more than 1000 volunteers. The event starts at 8 in the morning at Bishop Appasamy College of Education, Coimbatore. The entry is free and open to all.

If the term sounds alien to you, here's what it is. A seed ball is made by rolling seeds securely in clay with additives like humus or compost. Once dry, they are ready to be thrown. The advantage of seed ball is that they don't need any maintenance. They grow on their own.

So what was it that prompted this NGO to host this event, we asked its founder Vasanth Jerome. He says, "Witnessing the water scarcity in Chennai, we felt the need to start something like this. Trees are sources of rain and hence we arranged this event." At present, they have more than 500 volunteers have registered with them for the event. 

The raw materials for making seed balls are provided by Ver Organization. The volunteers can make their seed balls and can take them back home. "The main purpose of the event is to spread awareness about afforestation. If we throw seed balls to a greater extent and if at least 10 per cent of them grow, then that is a huge achievement. We are trying to put all those seeds to use," he concludes.