On our second day at the organic farm in Navadarshanam, we started our day early listening to beautiful birds sounds and very calm peaceful morning. Our host, Murthi, offered us a yoga session that started at 6:30 a.m. and lasted for about an hour.
After yoga, we had a nutritious, fresh breakfast that was made locally from the farm. Meanwhile, the students and locals were chatting and laughing and learning new things!
After we finished breakfast, Nurthi walked us to the neighboring village where most of the people who work on the farm live.
After about 10 minutes of walking, we reached the home of one of the farm workers who welcomed us to his house and was willing to show and teach us the way how they live. One thing we learned is that people who are fortunate enough have more space in their houses tend to have room for their cows in a well-ventilated space that mostly has open ceilings. Also, we learned that they mostly cook and eat what they grow.
At the end of the day before leaving Navadarshanam, we talked to Perapa, another farmer who has one acre of farmland in Tamil Nadu. He grows spinach and millet. He usually buys his water for the farm if it doesn’t rain. And once it’s harvest time, about 10 people from the villages come together and help him to harvest (and vice versa), and he sells the harvest in the Bangalore. One of the biggest things we learned from this village is that their community is very bonded together.
-- Mazen A.
