Take a photographic tour around the world's first fully organic state

IN 2016, Sikkim in India became the world’s first fully organic state, with the aim of preserving the local environment, protecting its fragile ecosystems and rich biodiversity, and ensuring a healthier life for its people. All 760 square kilometres of farmland in this former independent kingdom, which is nestled between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, are certified organic, with a ban on importing or using chemical inputs.

Sikkim’s model – based on interconnection, rather than competition, between humans and nature – could lead the way towards a more sustainable future, as climate change forces the world to redefine its agricultural priorities.

According to local authorities, some early benefits of the organic revolution have been an increase in the population of bees and other wildlife and the rejuvenation of Sikkim’s shallow and arid soil.

The change has also led to a spike in tourism in this inaccessible land of high peaks and pristine forests, interspersed with Hindu temples, remote Buddhist monasteries and sacred lakes.

The photos show (from top): the kitchen of a family house in Yuksom, where all vegetables grown in the garden are organic; farmers separating hulls from rice in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gangtok; Buddhist monks in the courtyard of the Tsuklakhang Royal Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Sikkim; an orchid greenhouse at the Hidden Forest Retreat in Gangtok; an organic field surrounding a traditional house in the village of Tingvong; and tea pickers at the government-owned Temi Tea Estate, an organic plantation (pictured below).