With an engineering background, Ashima embarked on a transformative journey, immersing herself in the realm of soils and farming. Today, she proudly embraces the titles of farmer and educator.

Ashima Goyal Siraj is a farmer and educator who promotes local food. She has been working in the engineering and teaching spaces for the last seventeen years.

In fond recollection of her childhood, Ashima cherishes the memories of climbing mulberry trees and delighting in the taste of freshly picked mulberries.

Ashima hails from Jaipur, Rajasthan. She did her BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, followed by studying Social Policy at the London School of Economics. She worked for a company like many others, spending a big chunk of her time in front of her laptop. Ashima later met with the realisation that she should grow her own food, which she considers one of her best decisions.

Talking about her journey in farming, Ashima shares that from the time a vegetable is plucked until the time it reaches consumers, the bulk of its nutrition is gone. On that note, she advises everyone to consume locally grown food and not waste water. Ashima shares that since she started farming, she and her family have been living a healthy, disease-free life. She believes in doing open-field farming, as it helps regenerate the soil.

Discussing her challenges, Ashima says that rising temperatures and a lack of water were major setbacks for her vegetation. Creating market awareness for locally grown produce was another challenge she faced. Following the route of organic farming, Ashima also witnessed pest attacks since no medicine is used in her produce.

Sharing her pandemic experience, Ashima says she and her husband returned to India from the US in 2020. After one year of working from home, they decided not to go back and immerse themselves in the field of farming.

If Ashima could travel back in time through a time machine, she would start her farming journey much earlier and also visit the precious mulberry tree from her childhood, which no longer exists.

Speaking of her achievements, Ashima says that having a fully grown farmland is an achievement in itself for her. Establishing ‘Urban Farms’ and spreading the message about consuming local food and following sustainable practices has also been a winning experience for her. They deal in both native and exotic vegetables, says Ashima, emphasising that organic food should be available and accessible to everyone.

When asked about her role models, Ashima says she draws inspiration from her father, from whom she learned to never go for any experience with a doubt in mind but to learn to trust people. Ashima finds inspiration in the quote, "You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."

Drawing a comparison between education and experience, Ashima says that in the field of farming, your experience is your education. Through her combined venture, Ashima helps people experience the taste of organically grown food and relish in its healthiness.

Ashima advises aspiring farmers that they need to have patience, which is an important quality to have for those in the farming industry. As an educator, Ashima suggests people take their kids out and let them play and interact with nature.