Ragu's blog
Principle#4 - Natural Farming Means Nature does the Farming
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 14:47 — RaguNatural farming means nature does the farming and you take care not to allow anything unnatural to enter the farm
Principle #3 - No Two Farms are Alike
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 14:29 — RaguNo two farms are alike, hence the principles may remain the same but the practices are likely to differ
Principles #2 - Agri-Culture, not Agri-Business
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:44 — RaguPractice Agri-Culture, not Agri-Business
Principle #1 - Farming is a Way of Life
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:35 — RaguFarming is not a profession but a way of life
Farming is one of the few endeavors that can address human needs at all levels – physical, mental and spiritual.
So we decided to embrace its potential at all levels. Practically, this means a few things:
Trenching
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 04:53 — Ragu
In recent times, many folks have asked us the secret sauce for planting a lot of trees in a short period. If there is a secret, it has to be in those trenches!Not all farms require trenching though. The decision to dig and the pattern in which they are dug depends on the contour of the farm land, water supply and irrigation method. Our farm is located in a hot, tropical region (south India) with unpredictable rainfall. So we decided to have trenches and trees (in those trenches) as the main infrastructure.
Digging trenches in the farm serves multiple purposes. They serve as rain water harvesting pits, prevent wind from carrying away moisture, allow only partial sunlight to enter (and hence protect the seeds and saplings planted in them), prevent soil erosion from rain, serve as compost areas and a safe place for drip tubes and create a design pattern for other crops to be planted in between.
In pictures: Trenches then and now.
Trees in our Farm
Mon, 05/04/2009 - 06:08 — Ragu
Over the last five months, we planted around 8500 trees in our farm.
We could not have done it without Fr.V, Isha Foundation, Nandi Nursery, Siruthuli and all the labourers who helped us. Here is the list of species:
A Taste of Gift Economy
Sun, 05/03/2009 - 16:41 — Ragu
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 in our farm, he showed up a few times. Each time he would just ask a few questions and mostly listen. We covered a lot of topics and one of them that particularly intruigued him was gift economy.
I then came to know that he had another farm nearby where he is growing organic rice using the SRI method. I mentioned to him that we have been looking around to buy organic rice and requested him to reserve one gunny bag when he harvests it. Couple of days later, he called up and asked whether he could drop by our place as he is passing through. He parked his car, opened the boot and lifted a bag of rice, carried it into our house and placed it in a corner. Nisha and I were smiling wide. Nisha admonished him for carrying it himself. Then I asked how many kilos it was. He shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't know".
Gita in a Pair of Gloves
Sun, 05/03/2009 - 15:35 — Ragu
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.
I found one of the pairs somehow lying beside a pocket book of Bhagavad Gita on the shelf today. Ha! I exclaimed to myself - what a concrete way in which happenstance is suggesting that the Gita can be better understood with a pair of gloves!!
Thank you Jean, you never know what your gift can mean to the receivers.
Fr.V
Thu, 01/08/2009 - 09:43 — Ragu
In the past few months, Nisha and I put our heads and hearts together many times in the hope of coming up with a good design for our farm. Yet, whatever we put on the paper did not look convincing. We decided to wait.One day in October 2008, a new friend, Natarajan who is the Farmer-in-Chief at the local Chinmaya International Residential School had come home. We got talking about the design and at one point, I told him that when mature, our farm should resemble a forest. His eyes lit up and he said, “I know just such a farm. It’s called Muthu Pannai and I will give you a magazine that has an article about this farm.”
We got the magazine a month later. The article was written by Nammazhwar, a veteran natural farming evangelist. Along with super inspiring details about the farm, it had the contact number of Venkatasalam, the owner of Muthu Pannai. I called Farmer Venkatasalam (Fr.V henceforth) and asked him whether he has a few minutes to talk. He said, “I have all 24 hours, go ahead.” We had found our mentor.
Green Links
Fri, 12/05/2008 - 04:07 — Ragu
When we started the blog, Ragu and I had agreed that we'll not publish
any "about" stuff. But we came across couple of web sites that helped
us a lot at multiple levels and decided to make an exception.
PointReturn is the awe inspiring journey of 60+ years old DV Sreedharan of Good News India to be the change he writes so well about.
