Listen to a story about this object.
Welcome to the storage room, where Tulu farmers kept their most precious treasure — seeds for the next planting season!
Imagine you're a farmer. You've worked hard all season to grow pulses and vegetables, and finally you harvest it. You save some seeds to plant next year. But there's a big problem: tiny worms and insects love to eat stored seeds! If your seeds get destroyed, you can't plant next year, and your family might go hungry.
So what did Tulu farmers do before chemical pesticides and fancy storage bags?
The 5-Step Process
Crush coconut shells into small pieces
Mix the seeds with this crushed coconut shell and ash
Put the mixture into a clay pot — a natural, breathable container.
The pot is covered with cow dung and placed in sunlight — the dung seals the pot and sunlight helps sterilise it naturally.
The sealed pot is stored safely. Even after years, the seeds stay perfect — no worms, no rot, no damage.
Why the Ash Worked
Kept moisture away
Worms love damp places — ash keeps the environment dry.
Natural insecticide
Ash contains compounds that affect insects and their eggs.
Sealed environment
The sealed pot kept air and bugs out entirely.
Absorbed extra moisture
Any remaining humidity was absorbed by the ash itself.
The coconut tree provided protection even after it had given its fruit. Nothing was wasted, and nothing harmful was added to the earth.