“I am an urbanite that turned into a farmer in due course of time. Somebody who spent the first 28 years of his life in a city like Mumbai and now enjoying the perks of much better and a simpler lifestyle in a village since the last 6 years.
The region where we live is called Konkan. The bio-diversity and the way of life over here is very inspiring. The abundance of nature in our surroundings and the inherent simplicity is what inspires me to be self-sustainable in whatever capacity I can.
We are based in a village named Talavade, in the state of Maharashtra, India and we are very close to Goa. We are fortunate enough to have a farmland of around 14 acres. We grow paddy, legumes, leafy vegetables, indigenous veggies and local exotic fruits like mangoes and jamun.
Nature always works in a beautiful symbiotic manner. There is a healthy relation between what our friends in the farm eat and what we consume. We grow food for our farm animals and for us. One thing that we follow here is that we don’t burn anything. All the bio-matter that is generated in the farm, leaves, twigs, crop residue, fodder wastage, everything is composted and put back in the soil. With all the animals in the farm we have a rich source of manure, which we use for fertilization and pest management.
Fortunately in the rural area where we live people know the importance of indigenous varieties. So we source all our seeds from the local area itself. Only this year we have started to share seeds and saplings of some of our produce with fellow aspiring farmers.
There is no hurdle as such when it comes to farming. If there is a problem to do with the changing climate pattern, we think planning is the solution to it. But the undercurrent of commercialization/mass production of each and everything is what bothers me. We all need to understand that as we grow big in population the real answer lies in micro management of things. Looking at everything with an industrial scale will only increase the problem in that magnitude.
The biggest reward is the satisfaction of creation. One puts a lot of efforts in farming and when you reap the harvest, the sense of fulfillment is simply outstanding. There is so much that nature has to offer us, and that too literally at no cost. Only if we know how much to take and what to take. Try to understand this balance and it will be a better place for everybody.”
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