I wonder if we've ever written on this blog about some farmland we share with some friends. Next week, we're packing our stuff (including our baby) and heading to Panchgani, a small hill town about 100 km away from Pune. We plan to stay on the land, which has no electricity, but has some water and a small room for shelter. During our stay there (Dec 4 to 13), we'll experience what it is to live, sleep, cook, bathe and work on a farm. So far, we've only been visiting it for a few hours at a time. We also hope to do work like digging trenches, making vegetable beds etc.

We're inviting people with enthusiasm, who are OK with roughing it out, to come and experience this, and help us work there. About 7 others have responded (we had initially circulated this invitation only to known friends). We have place for some more... so opening this up to people we may not know via this blog. If you would like to be part of this, do write back to us at shirishkher@yahoo.co.in

More details below...

"Working with Hands and Heart" : Meet to restore eroded land December 4-13, 2012 at Panchgani near Pune.

 

Hello all,

We are a group of friends who own a 2.5 acre piece of land near Panchgani town, 100 km from Pune in Maharashtra, India. There's a nice view of the valley below and hills beyond that. Occasionally, a hare, langurs and eagles come here. We always feel rejuvenated whenever we visit this place. We purchased this land so we could go and live there and experiment with things like renewable energy, water conservation, farming organically, community living while experimenting with pottery, education in the outdoors etc. Now that some basics are in place (a room, a borewell-handpump for water and a fence), we would like to start developing this place. For us, 'developing' has a modest meaning ... grow trees and shrubs, restore soil fertility, bring back small animals - in essence make it a 'green' paradise. This monsoon, we've planted bamboo, nirgudi and drumstick, and it is encouraging to see almost all of them alive, 2 months after planting, as we write this in October 2012.

 

This land is almost totally barren right now. It is very windy here, which stunts the growth of plants. There is also very little topsoil due to exposure to sun, wind and heavy rain over the years.... the land is strewn with rocks.So greening the place will take effort and plenty of time too. 

 

At first glance, work seems to involve some of this:

- Dig trenches, to recharge groundwater and prevent topsoil runoff.

- Plant more saplings

- Create temporary shelter for saplings (its a very windy location)

- For irrigation, think of a good arrangement (surface channels? Pipe? )

- Rearrange boulders, or re-contour land to create places to sit and relax.

- Create a windbreak to shelter us while we work (The bamboos planted as a windbreak will take time to become effective)

- Start a composting pit

- Do something creative and fun with the rocks and boulders which dot the land

- Start vegetable beds

- And there's planning work too ... deciding where to plant, what to plant, fetching saplings and digging tools, running around for miscellaneous stuff.

 

There must be other things that can be done, which we haven't thought of ....

 

 

We think it would be so much more fun if we had more people to help us with this. Help with ideas, help with the physical work. This December, we are happy to invite anyone willing to visit Panchgani, stay there at least a few days, and help. Entire families are welcome, so are individuals who like working with hands and don't mind the sun for a few hours every day. We would like to accommodate upto 15 people this time.

 

We're thinking of a day-schedule which involves about 4 to 5 hours of physical work spread out over a day. But we're not too particular about everyone working for a fixed number of hours... we are quite happy to accommodate people who may wish to work more or less than this. A typical day may look something like this... We could work on the land for a while starting at dawn. Then have breakfast at the neighbouring farmer's home or cook it ourselves, and rest a bit. Work a little more, then have lunch. In the afternoons, we could chat, teach or learn something or catch a nap. After an evening cup of tea, we could work a bit more till the sunlight fades. After sunset, we could sit around our makeshift kitchen fire, make music, or visit the market. And everyday need not, (and will not) be the same... one could go hiking in the nearby hills one morning. We would appreciate it if everyone shares in work like cooking, making tea for everyone, visiting the market to buy essentials, helping keep the place clean, digging compost toilets, getting organic matter for making soil and mulching etc. The idea is to have a community, which lives and learns together for a few days.

 

Expenses on food, hired bedding etc may be shared amongst everyone who stays. We may be able to suggest a per-day contribution number closer to December, but people are free to pay more or less than this as per their will and ability.

 

We will be happy to hear from people who wish to join us this December. The dates are Dec 4th to 13th, 2012. You are welcome to join any time, although we request you to stay at least 5 days ... this way you may see some work through to completion. If you make a short visit, you may feel that you've barely got the hang of what is to be done, and started doing it, and its time to go back!

 

More details:

To reach the destination, Khingar village, 4 km from Panchgani hill town, off the Mumbai - Pune- Bangalore highway (NH4):

From Mumbai: Buses to Mahabaleshwar go via Panchgani

From Bangalore: Buses to Pune/Mumbai pass via Surur, where one disembarks. Then take local bus to Panchgani (1 hour journey).

 

Access to the land is through a mud path from the tar road, about 5 minutes walk away. Any vehicles need to be beside the tar road.

 

In December, day temperatures are around 20 degrees, and the sun is quite strong (there's no fog here in winters). Night temperatures can be 10 degrees celsius or even lower... the wind makes it feel even colder, so warm clothing and cap are advisable.

 

You can either bring your own bedding  (sleeping bag/ mattress/ blanket) or we will find a place you can hire it from.  Shelter on the land will be basic ... just a hard floor on which reed mats can be spread (people could also choose to stay in Panchgani town, 4 km away. It will be more comfortable, but less fun!)  Depending on how many people are coming, we could build an additional temporary shelter too or people could bring along their tents and sleeping bags. And there's always the option of sleeping under the stars.

 

Food: We will either cook it ourselves or eat at our neighbouring farmer's home ... we would like to restrict it to simple vegetarian fare.

 

We've built a small bathroom. For a bath, groundwater can be fetched in buckets from the nearby handpump. There's no electric or other heater, so warm water for a bath will be difficult to arrange.

 

There's an Indian style toilet too .. a bucket and mug to go with it (no push button flush!). We could dig additional pits in the ground too, for a dry-composting toilet... will make good manure for the next season!

 

Thank you.

Shirish, Vanaja and baby Bharat; Kapil and Rajni; Shantanu, Aditi and Meghan; Mukul and Anagha