As soon as you talk about food,
you have to talk about farming as well
This is the mistake we have made in our society
that we have started looking at food and farming as two different things
Food means "Solutions
Farming means "Problems
If agriculture is not a priority then, food can't be a priority, health can't be a priority.
What we've done here, we've adopted techniques
that are in sync with earth, water, and air
as these three affect us and we also affect them
the techniques are called Permaculture
i.e. permanent culture
harvesting the rainwater
no machinery to plow the land
growing crops according to seasons
growing multiple types of crops at the same time
these 3-4 things you do then you will see results in 4-5 months
I feel permaculture is the need for today
because it takes care of the health of the three elements
air, water & land
I like Permaculture techniques for this reason only
 
I will show you around
This whole place is a mountain
when you roam around this place you will realize
below 4-5 inch depth, there's no soil, only stones
the slope of this place is nearly 40 degree
but still trees & shrubs now grow so profusely that we need to cut them
How did it happen?
We have never plowed our land using a tractor, the destroyer of nature
Now you'll say, I've understood the theory enough
but how do we do all this
I tell you it is not rocket science. It is very simple
Don't think it is something very very difficult
Let the water percolate down under the earth
It is called rainwater harvesting
In every village of India, even from Iran till Sri Lanka
in each village, there used to be artificial lakes according to Vastu
Observe, 5 meters away from this point till..
... till here it is stone
It is all hilly stones.
If you dug little deeper under the earth after 4-6 inches there's no soil
Total soil depth is just this much length of my hand
This place has turned green because there's rainwater that's allowed to percolate down
How the rainwater percolates down, I will show you
wherever you put your hand it is all stones
Look.. it is all stones & pebbles
So, what we should do, we should conserve water
dug wells
make ponds to conserve rainwater
for 1-2 years you've to maintain and then it can sustain on its own
200 meters ahead there's a borewell
from 10-12 years it was dry
for 4 years rainwater percolated down the borewell got recharged
there are 3 rules for water to percolate down under the earth
first, slow down the flowing water
let the water spread
then let it seep under the earth
if the water runoff speed is high then it doesn't seep inside
such water takes away upper fertile soil & causes erosion
when water is slowed down, it spreads & seeps through small holes & cracks
it will refill the aquifers under the earth
and next time more & more water will percolate down
when more water seeps down..
.. then this jungle comes up automatically
when you go around this place you'll observe how we've made the trenches
the runoff rainwater flows in multiple directions because of the slope of the mountain
water goes in all directions
but, we've designed the trenches that all the water flows into them
stones & objects are so placed that the speed of runoff water slows down by the time it reaches the trenches
water spreads then slows down &  then sink into the earth
this trench is 3 feet deep
the soil from this trench is put on the downward edge of the trench to prevent overflow of water
we've 12 such trenches
whatever greenery you see around,
grasses, shrubs, jungles
all this came after October 2013
This is the 5th year after adopting permaculture. We experienced 5th rainfall this year
if it rains heavily for 3-4 hours continuously then this big trench fills up till brim
and water remains in the trench for like a month
the last monsoon water was there for 20-22 days in this trench
it means that there's more empty space under the earth for water to seep in
this is the result of 4 years
4 years of patience, that plants started to grow on stones also
Gravitation indicates Soil
It is called "Living Soil".
In a fistful soil, there are living organisms more than human beings on earth
These living organisms make the soil fertile
When we press the soil hard, all the organisms in the soil die
a soil without living organisms is like cement
Do not burn anything in the farm
Do you know how brick is made?
Soil is processed and it is burnt in a kiln, then it becomes brick
If you put water & fertilizer in brick will a plant grow in it, it won't
Every year after harvesting your crops, like wheat & cotton etc
if you burn down the residue
then organisms living up till 4-5 mm depth die
Every year farmers burn the residue 3 times
After burning residue, farmers put water. They think it is potash
Then they plow with tractors. The deeper soil is brought on top
Farmers harvest in this soil & then repeat the same crop burning & tractor plowing
When you repeat this process 4-5 times, know that 1 foot of soil has become like a brick
Soil would have become brick in the first time, but tractor's pressure breaks it
Now they put urea & other chemicals to make the soil fertile
But can plants grow there?
Another point of the Permaculture technique is..
grow multiple crops that are seasonal & local
Farmers say, what about the pests that infect the crop
My dear! Talk about health first. Diseases can be discussed later
if you're so scared of diseases, then notice in earlier times marigold used to be planted next to field
Marigold flowers act like mentors
They take all the pests (problems) on themselves
so that pests don't infect the crop
Plants like marigold are also called pest attractor
Instead of pesticides, plant pest-attractors
80-90% of pests who were going to attack main crops like cauliflower would go to the marigold
Look, it is marigold
On the boundaries, marigold has been planted
Marigold hardly took 1/2 inch space
When marigold matures more pests from surroundings will come on it.
Or else plant Tulsi (Holy basil) around your farm
Plant onion or garlic. They take 1/2 inch space
Have you ever observed insects in onion or garlic plants?
No insects, why? Because these plants release a foul smell that detracts the pests
We all know these small tricks but still, we don't practice.
No insects are found in Tusli (Holy basil)
Why, because, 24 hours Tulsi plant releases oxygen
That's why in Indian tradition Tusli plant is worshipped
There's a plant called Chives. It smells like garlic
nothing grows in roots, unlike garlic
but, leaves give same smell as garlic
Aloe vera, Grihtkumari in Hindi.
Plant aloe vera. The name, Grihtkumari, itself is so beautiful
Aloe vera also releases a lot of oxygen
thus doesn't attract pests
We've experimented all this on our farm
If you roam around in our farm you'll hardly find any pests
If you do find pests then know that earth was never bereft of pests
Before Rama was born, Ravana was already
If 80% of your crop survives, then I feel it is a success
See, we have put ginger next to this big plant
Now this ginger plant is growing from everywhere
This "joint family", so many plants are growing together
Here is Basella alba, Millettia pinnata, Ginger.
And look from this less than 1-inch space 3 ginger plants are coming up
The roots have not gone down. They spreading horizontally
Small-small roots are all spreading horizontally
See, curry leaf tree
Here we've planted Papaya recently
This is Gongura. Andhra people like it a lot in their curries
That's how we plant multiple plants together
Like that multiple crops should be grown together
Life grows when you take care of the earth
Whatever you grow, you should save their seeds
There are 12 elements in Permaculture
It includes the things I spoke about
Make your own fertilizer
Save your own water
Save your own seeds
Waste nothing
Don't burn crop residue
Listen to suggestions what other experts give
This sustainable infrastructure is called Permaculture in English
In a jungle, the big plant survives and small plants also survive
Chameleon lives and a lion also lives
They live healthily
Big trees are happy simultaneously small trees are also happy
That's how the structure of a society should be
I will be able to explain to you better at this place
See, this is a mango tree
Its shade is coming till here
The area under a big tree, called guild, generally goes waste
as nothing grows under it
But, here we've grown ginger successfully
Our farm should be like this
That we've have multi-layered farming
Meaning what under bigger trees grow, middle height shrubs, then grow small plants & creepers
Farm residue becomes compost within the farm
After harvesting has been done, cut the plant & leave there itself
the uprooted plant  becomes compost
The nature is such that within 108 days any crop residue decomposes
In our farm, we've made compost of all the dried leaves
It decomposes and becomes a fertile soil
The soil underneath is very cold. It'll remain this cold for the next 10 days
Because we've put a layer the dried leaves and twigs like a blanket
This prevents the sun rays to reach the soil & the soil doesn't losses its moisture
keeping the soil cold
Plants require water in the form of moisture & that's why plants here don't require much water
If you need to give water to the plants
Then gently water the plants
If you cover the soil with dried leaves then moisture stays for the next 10 days
when you put cow dung water on this, then the dried leaves decompose quickly
...within 108 days
even if doesn't rain for the next 10 days or you don't water even then you'll find the moist soil
This is called mulching
Once you know the value of dried leaves, twigs & crop residue
then you won't burn them
we burn them because we don't find them useful
But, here we consider them very important & after 1-2 months we're going to put next batch over this one
This plant has taken 30% of the nutrients from the soil
After the plant dies if we leave the plant there itself, the 30% nutrient goes back to the earth
That's how we maintain the soil nutrients level
One American said "Chop & Drop"
i.e. returning what was once part of the soil
See, from here till there it is all garbage like farm waste, kitchen waste
This is wild grass from the farm
Below this  is cow dung
In between, there's grass, some dried up leaves
A layer of green, then a layer of dried leaves, then cow dung
This will decompose into compost and we'll use it as fertilizer
There are different ways to make compost.
But, I feel this is cheap, easy and sustainable
If we had not used this garbage here, somebody would have burnt it
Our farming should in a way that it doesn't badly affect our biosphere
There's one saying in India
If you've learned how to drive ambassador, then it becomes easy to drive other cars
Likewise, we've demonstrated farming successfully in this difficult location like this one..
.. a high sloping hill with no soil cover
The deadly poison that farmers put in a crop, all of that poison is not coming to our food
Only 30% of nutrients a plant takes from the soil
70% stays in the soil
this is scientific data
If 100% of the chemicals had gone into the crop then with just first bite the human would have died
with just one fruit the man would have died
But 70% of chemicals earth takes it
Earth is not giving poison back to us
If chemicals were being transmitted to the plant 100%
the creation would have finished, that much chemical we've put in the earth
That's why earth is called Mother in India
It consumes poison and gives out the best fo
Now the water has gone over the head
There's chemical in water in aquifers. Soil has become cement
Please now stop putting chemicals in the name of fertilizers & pesticides
There are thousands of ways to earn your living
Earth is a place to live
It is a place to grow food, grow life
Not a place to grow money
When I come here alone after sunset I get goosebumps
Tears well up in my eyes. I have this land as completely barren
If even one plant or one flower would grow
we'd take out camers & iphones to click pictures
To show to Gurudev that a flower has blossomed. A little one
 
