I went to Vasuda ni Vadi, home of organic farmers Purviben and Rajabhai at the end of November and stayed until the end of December. A nice solid month at the farm. So this farm was only 40 km from Ahmedabad in the District of Kheda, and it was a bit of a haven for me. I felt like my month there was almost like a retreat; I spent time outdoors sowing, harvesting, weeding, but then I also had time to read, learn, talk and reflect. Because this was a little while ago, I shall insert some diary entry extracts- you have been warned!
During my first week there I helped with planting the chitted potatoes. So the whole process involved weeding the area- using tools I'd never used before- a sort of horse-shoe shaped blade attached to a wooden handle, and then working the organic home-produced compost into the existing soil, then making the rows, then planting the potatoes. So all in all that was a fair bit of work, spread over a few days. When all was done, we left the chitted potatoes snug in the Earth, wiped the droplets of sweat of our brows and then turned in for the night. But alas! In the middle of the night there was a bit of a ruckus. The following morning revealed the potato patch to have been ravaged by wild boars! You win some you loose some...
So that was one of my first of many lessons learned on the farm. It's difficult to do everything according to a fixed plan, because you never know when a wild boar or a monkey might just come and mess it all up. And it's not just the wild life that complicates things. This year there was some unseasonal rainfall in October/November, which to me was a refreshing break from the sweltering heat, but to the farmers was a pain in the back side. You see, that time of the year is when people like Purviben and Rajabhai were harvesting their rice. So they had begun to cut down and bundle the rice, and then leave it in the sun to dry off. And then it rained. Bad news. Very bad news. The rain caused the bundled grain to start growing again, thus hindering the drying process. This meant that the quality of grain yield from that year was significantly lower.
You just can't know what's round the corner. And yes I know that applies to all aspects of life whether you're a farmer or not, but I feel that back at home we have more control, especially in a work environment. That's all I have time for now, but there's much more to tell about farm life. Peace out.
