Continuing with the onslaught of pictures and information, this time we'll show you what ourselves and other volunteers have done whilst we've been here on the farm.
Post-monsoon is a busy time in which farmers across the land undertake a lot of maintenance and cleaning and it was no different here on the farm. As mentioned previously, the farm was under-managed during the monsoon period so there was extra to boot.
A lot of the farm was overgrown and needed to be cleared before any projects could take place. After the basics were completed we could get going!
The very first day we arrived, with no sleep, at about 8am. Like normal people usually do, we decided to dig vegetable beds instead of sleep. This one is the garlic bed you saw germinating in the last post!
We planted spinach in this one.
This is the main community building. Our first major project was to spruce the place up. We set about painting the windows and doors on both this building and the small cottage on the other side of the farm.
Four-hundred windows later, blue!
Once the place got a little more settled we began to start smaller, but important, projects. The farm is planning on holding a number of educational courses and camps in the future. A number of aesthetic and structural changes have been made to accommodate this shift. Starting with the basics, here Jon is painting the new welcome sign!
The logo has been received well and has been adopted by the Himalayan Farm Project! The sign is waiting for the Hindi text and a lick of paint on the border.
Another simpler version was drawn up for the website (Check it out in the links bar) and will be replaced by another, more professional version when Jon gets home.
Whilst we're on the paper trail, have a look at this chart that was drawn up to convey the farms ideals/approach. The content is worth a look to get an idea of what is being moved towards.
It's not much good having a farm-come-educational center if no-one can get to it! The labourious task of moving and setting stones up and down the hill was taken on by most of the small team of volunteers. Most of the skilled work was performed by Sandeep, a local mason and a wonderful cook! The path up is about 50 minutes from the road so it wasn't realistic to go that far! The 100 odd meters we created certainly makes arriving at the farm nicer though.
Amidst all this is the good old gardening. Here, Eve is saving the precious coriander!
New beds started popping around the garden. Take note of how overgrown the fields are in the background.
A solar cooker! Akhil fixed it recently. The concave mirrors direct sunlight towards the basket in the middle. If you keep it in direct sunlight you can cook rice for 4-5 people in about 30-40 minutes!
The path up from the road can be a bit misleading at times so Kate is creating signs for the way up.
Michal and Pierrick tending to the strawberries.
The farm has a small workshop filled with tools and materials for general use. Here, Jon is making a wedge to help with his major project.
The most dominant tree here is Pine (Pinus roxburgii to be exact). The British planted it for resources (train lines and export) and since it has taken over the entire area, suppressing other indigenous species, effecting the soil and decreasing biodiversity. The terraces above the farm are utilised and also feature a number of fruit trees. The pine forest is encroaching onto farm land and needs to be kept at bay. Upon arrival at the farm there was about 60-80 pines on the hillside ranging from 2-5 year old whips to 20 year old 'standards'.
The terraces above the farm are full of monsoon growth and to get to each pine a machete becomes a vital tool.
Each tree must be felled carefully to avoid indigenous trees, fruit trees and falling in awkward places where they cannot be processed. The branches are removed and formed into piles which provide great habitat for insects as they rot away. The stems are piled in 'easy to reach' places to be used later.
The views whilst working are incredible.
After a lot of work this small section of the hillside is totally clear of pine. Other sections are much denser. When a section is opened up, small trees that were hidden under the dense foliage spring into life taking up as much of the new found space as possible.
As Jon produced logs they were taken down to the farm area by Pierrick and Adeline who made two pretty impressive structures. This one is the new kitchen compost!
The second structure is this special mound. It consists of a number of layers. A pit is dug and layers of deadwood, earth and mulch are constructed and contained with the pine logs. Afterwards you can plant straight onto the mound providing a nutrient rich, happy home for your plants!
Here they are with the finished article. These guys were fantastic and they worked solidly throughout their two week stay.
More maintenance! Mausajii (It means Uncle!) tackles the white-washing.
The place is looking pretty good! You can see the end of the new stone path as well.
Diwali is a celebration of light, of light over dark, good over evil. However, like a lot of holidays and festivals it originates from farming cycles. The week up to Diwali sees the harvest and tending of fields and preparation for the winter season.
This older photo shows just how wild the fields got, far from organised cultivation.
To change that, we took to the fields! Here we're clearing out the weeds and keeping the old dals for seed.
The dal was left out on plastic sheeting to dry in the sun. Lakshman Singh and Akhil are separating the Okra from the stems.
Working in the hot fields isn't all that bad!
Once cleared the fields could be ploughed! The bullocks belong to Lakshman Singh who lives in the village below. With ploughing comes sowing!
As the field is ploughed for the first time any weeds that were missed are removed.
This is particularly important near the grass verges where the grass will dominate come spring if left. Once ploughed and weeded the field is ploughed a second time and left to rest.
The end product is glorious! We'll never complain about weeding in the vegetable patch again!
After the hard work in the fields is done we can begin to rest and celebrate Diwali! Eve made amla chutney. Marigold flowers are collected from the garden to make festive garlands.
Garland level concentration faces.
In the evening we light lamps to celebrate light itself!
In the day we have to find other forms of celebration. What better way than...
A baking day!
Jon maintained the fire in the trusty clay oven.
Eve got going in the kitchen making the sauce for our first creation...
Pizza! The motion in this picture shows how quickly it was served and eaten!
Next came cookies! The oven is very hot to start off with, suitable for pizzas. As it cools it's cookie time followed lastly by cakes.
Even Beedi got a Diwali treat!
Baking went on into the night producing some pretty tasty morsels (and some pretty sorry looking ones!).
Today is the last day of Diwali, after filling ourselves with goodies we'll make the transition back into work overnight. With only a couple of days to go there are a few loose ends that need tying up. The productivity of our time here has multiplied the special nature of the place tenfold. When we leave we can do so knowing that our time here had a positive impact on the farm now, and as a small foundation for the months to come.
We still have some bits and bobs we'd like to share so they'll be one more pile of the leftovers soon!
We hope you enjoy these posts,
Lots of love,
Jon, Giraffery and Eve.
x
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