2016-2017 was an epic year for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. We faced the worst drought in 140 years. So all around us, drilling for water upto a depth of even 1100 feet has become the norm. Our motor suspended at 500 feet could not pump water any more because water tends to flow
Post the farmers retreat, there was some interest in getting together and working on a local farm once a month. This month’s host was MG Farms in the nearby village of Pooluvapatti. We planted some fruit saplings, Iluppai (Mahua) saplings and had a fabuilous lunch prepared by our host-friend. Also got to know couple of
This year’s retreat of natural farmers in Coimbatore, Pollachi and Attapadi area was facilitated by Nipun Mehta of ServiceSpace. It was nice to share space with 25 plus friends for a day of in the humble community center here. A few friends had come from out of town to join us. In the morning session,
Sulins is a community as well as a commerce platform to promote Sustainable Living in India. A friend asked us to list our non perishable products like turmeric and pepper on this platform. And so we have a little online store. [ http://greenlocal.sulins.org/ ] We ship anywhere in India that the postal system can reach.
Happy New Year! Our good friend Nipun from ServiceSpace asked us to edit a monthly newsletter on stories related to sustainability. It is called Seeds+Transformation and it is sent out at the beginning of each month. The last 12 issues are archived here
We discovered Hooglekulture couple of years back and have been fascinated by its possibilities. According to one definition, “Hugelkultur is nothing more than making raised garden beds filled with rotten wood.” These are our second and third sets of HK beds. We did not want to wait for the decomposing of the wood
Wanted to share a wonderful article passed on by our friend, Suren, that reviews perennial staple crops aka food forests. A food forest is what I depend on when we don’t have vegetables growing in the dry season of Jan 15 – April 15. Of course it is possible grow veggies all the year round
Recently, a visitor asked us a question many people have asked us: How do we plan to grow different crops in between rows of trees in our farm that create shade? I stumbled on a metaphor that seems to answer the question and also provides a way of understanding farm design. Farm design could be
Since my last post Accepting Inefficiencies I’ve been looking at and thinking about the State-of-Unorganized-Labour in India. Phenomena like the breaking down of communities, unraveling of the social fabric etc were vague concepts in the past. Now they are staring at me every day. Many experienced farmers told me about the life of labourers that
