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,
Recently, a friend asked me what my mission was with respect to the farm. Had never thought about it in that way. Usually, the “mission statement’ comes up at the start of an endeavor. I had the advantage of being asked this seven years after living on the farm. I mentally looked back at what
When your cup is full, it overflows. When a family’s needs are well met by a farm, generosity springs up naturally. There was a time when sharing a farm’s surplus was the norm. It was not only gifted to the needy, it was also part of the payment for all kinds of services that a
I befriended Gunasekaran when I volunteered with a bunch of friends at Athmas (a local group) to work in his organic farm. On and off we met at a few gatherings and when work was happening in full swing our farm, he showed up a few times. Each time he would just as a few
When Jean Yao came to know that we are moving to India and take up farming, she gifted us two pairs of garden gloves. After we started farming, we have used them so much that at one point it was fully covered with mud. But I never took the time to thank her. Until today.
In late 2007, as we were preparing for our move back to India, Nipun and Guri tagged us with free tickets to an awesome but expensive conference on sustainability – The Bioneers. With Aum in tow, Ragu and I took turns to listen in person to many great folks that we had only read about.
Mr. Palaniappan is a spirited 70 year old elderly person that takes care of the farm on which our current home is built. He lives away from his family but that doesn’t stop him from cooking great meals for himself. On a laid back afternoon, Aum and I were sitting on the porch and chatting
We have a bunch of $5 bills given by friends with the loving mandate to do some things nice and small. It has inspired us to buy meals for janitors at the airport, pay forward the hotel rent, sponsor tabla classes for students that we haven’t met and a few other things. And those small acts have
