‘Earn while you learn’ Microgreen Salads: Taste with Fresh
“Earn while you learn” education combines earning an income with acquiring knowledge and skills simultaneously. The approach allows students to engage in apprenticeships, internships or part-time jobs while pursuing the education and often associates with programs that offer hands-on experience and financial support to students.
Microgreens have gained increasing popularity as food ingredients in recent years because of their high nutritional value and diverse sensorial characteristics. These are edible seedlings including vegetables and herbs which have been used primarily in the restaurant industry, most commonly as fresh in salads, soups and sandwiches. With high nutritious demands and low production costs, the microgreen farming is highly profitable and suitable to concern as an ‘Earn while you learn’ programme.
In the present aspect, 3rd Semester M.Sc. Botany students of PG Department of Botany, KAHM Unity Women’s College, initiated ‘Microgreen Farming’ on 26th September 2023 together with the curriculum. As an extension activity of the farming, the students were organized a Microgreen Salad Fest on 03rd November 2023 to aware the significance of nutritional sprouts in healthy life. Various fruit and vegetable salads mixed with microgreens were prepared, priced and sold by the students themselves enthusiastically to the teachers, students and administrative staff of the college. The fest received a good response from both teachers and students, in turn created the awareness of healthy eating habits and provided the knowledge regarding the usage of microgreens in the diet as a major source of concentrated vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Deepa P., Assistant Professor Adhoc, PG Department of Botany and Ms. Sufna C. of Third Semester M.Sc. Botany.
