tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-251012672012-02-03T16:01:10.291+05:30csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.comBlogger7471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-34162831014478343952012-01-31T13:50:00.002+05:302012-01-31T14:00:27.826+05:30

our experiment with samba wheat sprouted and took off quite ok during the first week. it also received constant rains in december and we had reasonably cool weather over dec - mid jan. however the crop did not show vigourous growth after the rains. the test seeds we planted in the nursery grew at a rapid rate but direct sowing did not have the same effect. we will try again earlier in the season

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-24518838270883237242012-01-31T10:34:00.008+05:302012-01-31T20:01:01.316+05:30

this new year we got a tuber treat from the farm. after our potato growing fiasco, we planted a few varieties of tubers that are known to grow in the humid tropics. these paid off well.elephant yam (senai kizhangu in tamil and suran in hindi)we cut a full grown yam with a sprout into 3-4 pieces in such a way that every piece retains a part of the sprout. we got our initial seed from our friends

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-24535730209981135782011-12-31T13:56:00.003+05:302011-12-31T14:52:00.176+05:30

cyclone thane crossed the coast near pondicherry about 60km from here. we are about 20km from the coast. we had been tracking its movement from monday on imd site and other weather channels and were hoping for some rains for our groundnut crop. what we got was way more than we expected. 20cm of rain and continuous severe gusty winds over 2 days.we lost a couple of papaya trees, few banana and

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-8681902705820854152011-12-13T15:09:00.007+05:302011-12-13T16:05:47.819+05:30

the word termites evokes creepy feelings to most city dwellers. during our recent visit to our parents place in chennai, we were busy cleaning clothes and furnitures that were attacked by termites (yeah its an old house) and spraying all kings of things toxic to ward them off from our house.at pR, termites and earthworms and millions of other life forms are the original residents. we have moved

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-2841885272882053062011-12-01T15:14:00.011+05:302011-12-01T17:58:45.598+05:30

most of you should be familiar with dhalia or broken samba wheat (Emmer or Khapli wheat (Triticum dicoccum) ) that makes great upma. we have had it in the form of kanji (drinkable porridge) in our childhood. it is supposed to have a higher fiber content than normal wheat and a lower glycemic index. we picked up a kilo at nilgiris and was shocked to see the price listed at Rs.100/kg.so, we

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-91226246225658855322011-11-29T18:49:00.005+05:302011-11-29T20:28:45.366+05:30

yes, ragi t3 has beaten the earlier record produce.take 3 was planted adopting the SRI methodology.we raised the nursery in early july and transplanted the saplings when they were 10-11 days old, one sapling at a time, with a spacing of about 8 inches. the saplings were under 2 inches tall looked quite delicate to be transplanted. we noticed the roots were also about 2 inches long.transplanting

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-80248438991885758762011-11-07T10:32:00.013+05:302011-11-07T14:12:15.776+05:30

we had a classic manavari (rainfed) aadi pattam this year - adequate sun with adequate rain.our sowing was timely and so the reaping was not bad. mahesh & sujatha and ananthu & sumathi had come over to help us with the harvesting. it was a lot of fun & banter.harvest update1. foxtail millet - thinai (2 varieties - yellow and red).sowed in patches of 3 cents each. harvested 16.5 kgs in total.days

kpthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11337552182115848706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-55690519167319847282011-09-22T18:53:00.000+05:302011-09-22T18:53:48.145+05:30

the union cabinet has a bunch of ministers who have been guzzling it up, says sainath in the latest scathing analysis. it is quite eye-opening in that standing the midst of such mosquitoes, we do not only have the "i am clean" MMS, but "you have to be ultra thick-skinned" MMS.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-26352538152539780442011-09-18T09:02:00.001+05:302011-09-18T09:06:27.710+05:30

ken robinson's position on education moves me incredibly. his first talk on TED was "schools kill creativity"  and i have been looking forward to his future talks.   watch this animated masterpiece and his latest TED appearance. the message is similar in all the talks, but the presentations captivated me.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-40373079924517704772011-08-20T13:26:00.000+05:302011-08-20T13:26:16.428+05:30

monsanto is scary. the extent to which they will go to dominate world food production, thus annihilating anyone who stands in their path is documented beautifully in "the world according to monsanto". read the review here and watch the video here. monsanto's all pervasiveness in our lives is highlighted in april davila's daring 'month without monsanto'. ananthoo and his friends are on a

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-8054432435630618962011-08-06T15:01:00.000+05:302011-08-06T15:01:34.769+05:30

this is THE month. the tamil month of Aadi. mid july to mid august. the saying goes 'aadi pattam, theydi vithai' - in the season of aadi, just plant anything. we had chosen the well at the place of future 'acre-sized' farming. and in that location, we had cleared up around 1/3rd of an acre (approx). we got it ploughed and ready. this was in addition to the other fields that we have used earlier

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-34083540954224918822011-07-17T14:26:00.000+05:302011-07-17T14:26:35.690+05:30

our obsessive affection towards ragi must be quite apparent to the regulars. 1. ragi - take 1 was planted in april 2010 and harvested in sept/oct 2010. it was a long duration, tall variety from karnataka. 2. ragi - take 2 was planted in jan 2010 and harvested in april 2010. it was a short duration (kulla kar - short variety) sourced from the local village. both were transplanted in the field

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-34583968488284725152011-07-17T11:40:00.000+05:302011-07-17T11:40:35.332+05:30

it had to be something of impact to shake the cobwebs of the almost month-long blogging hiatus. and it happened last night. Rain sweet rain... with camera on the blink, and a series of outages/dial-up downtime, and just one shower from june to date, writing enthusiasm was at a premium. well now, all that is past and behind us. welcome back to Farm, yeah.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-67375566387361211122011-06-19T06:59:00.000+05:302011-06-19T06:59:05.443+05:30

a return to the place from where this journey could have all began - cuddalore. it was a year spent there - between may 1995 and may 1996 - which got me doing two important things - thinking and writing. and as another example of remarkable coincidences, this is the very city of karpagam's childhood and summer vacations and a very lovely and very old grandmother. and we visited cuddalore last

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-49855654847871582342011-06-18T21:33:00.000+05:302011-06-18T21:33:06.055+05:30

the pavilion was built in april 2009. built over just under 3 weeks by a team from auroville, it is our residence, our workshop, our lounge and an iconic part of pR. two years of rain and sun had eroded the coconut thatch (kith), especially the northern face. leaks had developed in around 3-4 places. it was time to replace the kith. the same team which laid the original thatch re-did the

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-32767850736413848162011-06-06T14:05:00.002+05:302011-06-06T14:10:24.360+05:30

start digging a well and unleash the ghosts... so goes a tamil saying which summarises the intense effort and agony involved in digging a well - or getting a well dug. thus many have started resorting to the use of borewells - which take no more than a day to drill and access the deep tranches of groundwater. but, a well is unmatched as the preferred personalised water storage device for a farm

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-708779661903164172011-06-04T11:35:00.001+05:302011-06-05T17:16:22.993+05:30

we had succumbed to the mango temptation last year, gorging on alphonsoes from the neighbouring farm as well as bingeing at the leo farm picnic. this year looked bleak as the neighbours had planned well and sold off most to the juicers with minimal wastage. we just got our obligatory 'friendly' basket. it was like a drop to quench our thirst. we thought that this year fruit quota was already

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-88985203964289897212011-05-31T18:30:00.000+05:302011-05-31T18:30:03.439+05:30

2 very large activities are happening as i type this... 1. a well is being dug (for future agriculture) 2. the roof of the pavilion is being re-thatched. both big tickets items and the latter has temporarily forced us into the new home :-) till we re-settle down, updates are just queueing up.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-27835149352473670922011-05-26T14:26:00.000+05:302011-05-26T14:26:32.913+05:30

in response to the cabbage warning, my friend surio, has come up with this comment which he said (and i agree) deserve main page inclusion. Quote The Internet is our friend. Usually Bioingestion and Bioaccumulation damage is a build up that takes years but manifests quite suddently. Do you remember growing up in 80s India, and reading about mercury / poisoning / through fish consumption in Japan

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-40716680002869816202011-05-25T09:56:00.005+05:302011-06-04T11:53:16.686+05:30

did you wonder when you read the roofing post, "how did all those tiles get up there onto the top?" pretty sure that no one did :-) that is over 6000 tiles - each weighing 0.5 kg - moved up by over 7 feet. around 65 Kilo Joules of energy expended. simple as ready, throw, catch and lay. inviting readers to convert to an animated gif image and send.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-48233401955483217442011-05-25T09:40:00.000+05:302011-05-25T09:40:15.999+05:30

you saw the four faces. just as we finished that post, screeching winds, thunder and lightning woke us up in the middle of the night. like we ran helkter-skelter for the roof protection a month ago, we did the raincoat routine - this time for the walls. we were anxious that the slanting rain would damage the plastering. so here is how it looked in the morning after. well done team pR.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-17524764424205061572011-05-21T19:48:00.000+05:302011-05-21T19:48:35.490+05:30

in an 'i-told-you-so' fashion, my avoid-cabbage warning has been expertly explained here by s kannaiyan. stop eating cabbage - it is nothing but pesticide.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-1621255900237842572011-05-21T17:31:00.000+05:302011-05-21T17:31:28.207+05:30

a diverse story. white pumpkin (real name - ash gourd) is one of the best and easy crops that grow in the summer. full of water, it is a summertime treat. we planted 4 varieties of seeds 3 different locations since mid january. we picked the right season and in fact spread our risk by planting with such diversity in variety and soil type. but NOT a single bud to show for the effort.... no idea

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-32365382427298359932011-05-21T17:19:00.000+05:302011-05-21T17:19:11.975+05:30

here is a close look at the four sides of the house. starting with the front - north face. east face. backside - south face west face

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-75337931312522586972011-05-16T20:04:00.038+05:302011-05-16T21:37:40.806+05:30

as the roof was getting laid, the plastering of the walls was parallelly being done. as the mud walls would need protection from rain spray, we originally thought about a lime-based water-resistant plaster. lime is beautiful natural material for mortar and plaster. but one experiment with hydrated lime powder we procured locally, did not inspire confidence in its quality. hence we decided on a

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-12446235181153712832011-05-14T07:45:00.001+05:302011-05-14T07:45:41.124+05:30

it was past mid-april when we completed the walls. they survived a few rain lashings and we finally started to lay the roof a week ago on may 7th only. refer to the design, the roof had the following specs: 1. approx 12 feet length. 2. a 2 feet drop (from 9 feet at the center to 7 feet at the edge) over this 12 feet length (along the slope). 3. to keep away insects (especially scorpions) 4. to

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-70009857435921337122011-05-05T09:21:00.000+05:302011-05-05T09:21:08.678+05:30

one of the design elements at pR is being off-the-grid. it has been simple and non-controversial to be off-the-grid with human waste management and water. and but being off the power grid has been very simple from the implementation standpoint, it has been a challenge from the ideological and environmental standpoint. we currently have: 1. an installed solar power generation of 1.15KW (20 panels

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-30111421933629694552011-05-03T09:23:00.000+05:302011-05-03T09:23:40.230+05:30

our inexperience in ex-identification and the late development of organs in cats, make it difficult to clearly mark out the sex in kittens. baby ammini, as it turns out, is a boy. we are retaining the name 'ammu'... our desire to give appudu a future mate, has supremely egged our faces and now we will have two boys isolated and looking for female company very soon.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-25554168956340645552011-05-03T09:15:00.001+05:302011-05-03T09:17:08.206+05:30

after many deliberations and delays, we finally got our stray/mongrel - Chokkalingam aka 'chokka'. 2 months old when he entered our home, a week ago. many thanks to 'organic' krishnan and priya nagesh at Theosophical Society for this stunning 'chocolate' coloured boy-pup. all 3 are well adjusted to each other and even eat off each others plates.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-89724491886242547142011-04-23T10:22:00.000+05:302011-04-23T10:22:33.361+05:30

the rains across tamilnadu finally landed at our doorstep just after midnight, a brief drizzle in the wee hours of April 22 and resumed in a earnest blast in the wee hours of April 23 - a total of 2.5 cms to start the 2011 rain counter. we should have been overjoyed at this early gift.... but our mud house did not have a roof and we were, in fact, praying for a deferral when we heard news about

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-23145569220932110302011-04-22T15:09:00.001+05:302011-04-22T15:11:27.115+05:30

its been a month since we completed the foundation and the stem wall and we prepared to raise the walls. now enter the experts. a team of 3 masons(kothanar in tamil), 2 mixers (periyal - the senior man) and 2 lifters (siththal - the assistant) took over the work. the walls were done in 2 installments of 3 days each separated by our brick making frenzy (where we used up 3 weeks), 39 persons days

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-44398571798266277192011-04-19T12:18:00.000+05:302011-04-19T12:18:34.724+05:30

from our effort last year with the groundnut harvest with the neighbours, we were inspired to grow our own. and late december 2010, we planted around 1500 sq feet. it is a 100+ days crop and requires a decent amount of watering (moisture especially is very critical during the nut development stage) and a couple of de-weeding efforts to ensure that the root space is free from encroachment. after

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-52929599015279330302011-04-18T10:00:00.000+05:302011-04-18T10:00:39.431+05:30

ammu, for short, is a baby female kitten, is the latest addition to the menagerie at pR. she, like all kittens, is a bundle of energy and a source of joy to all observers.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-64946677589664440852011-04-08T19:33:00.000+05:302011-04-08T19:33:24.344+05:30

we made 1000 bricks till february end with an initial hunch-based estimate. turns out that we were well off the mark. the actual number required is close to 1700. the walls are half-way done and we ran out of the 1000 in just 3 days of work. so over the last 2 weeks we have been in an frenzied state to complete the balance bricks and get on with the walls. we have no animal power to help this

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-69247491717207030592011-04-07T19:23:00.001+05:302011-04-07T19:28:31.942+05:30

the hindu's haroon habib reports on the tussle between mohd yunus and the bangladesh government over control of grameen bank. the latest news states that the bangladesh supreme court has upheld the government's removal of yunus from the post of Managing Director. good for bangladesh. i am convinced that america+world bank+IMF and their tribe has been grooming yunus to take on senior positions

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-2928376509683786292011-04-07T18:56:00.000+05:302011-04-07T18:56:57.502+05:30

annabhau hazare is an iconic personality. from village swaraj at ralegaon siddhi to a crusade against corruption, he never flinches to take on the powers. he is now on a fast unto death to enact the Jan Lokal Bill. i support him and his movement whole-heartedly. and i salute his strength and desh-bhakti.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-34103145601076868202011-04-03T11:55:00.000+05:302011-04-03T11:55:16.983+05:30

...is brought out in a beautifully written tragic story - food security and basavi. basavi and jadiya are a tribal couple in interior karnataka and the transition in their life through interventions of 'development'  is beautifully written. starting from being landless but enjoying the forest produce to being 'landed' and moving up to cash crops and hence indebtedness to finally becoming an

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-48730725067324167242011-04-02T19:21:00.000+05:302011-04-02T19:21:51.931+05:30

this is election time in TN again. in 2006, i had plumped for lok paritran. they are dead and gone. i had written an open letter to 'captain' vijaykanth in 2006, hoping to see a new start in politics. his performance, impressive as it was, in the 2 elections made it apparent that he was not going to make it on his own. a coalition was necessary for his survival. happy to note that he made the

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-28801076360136426802011-04-02T16:23:00.000+05:302011-04-02T16:23:08.247+05:30

ragi - take 2 was a short duration (90 days) version called kulla kevaru. the major differences from the previous planting were: 1. closer spacing - approx 6" between the saplings. 2. no inter-crop - last time we used cow pea - karamani. 3. and of course - the seed variety is a 90 day crop all of it seem to have worked. when we cut and piled up the stalks, we looked at it with some scepticism

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-86457237940457807512011-03-28T06:39:00.004+05:302011-03-28T06:56:54.183+05:30

our expert artist, siddarth, has calligraphed this scorecard with pR's production data on a 'till-date' basis.all values are in kgs.a more elaborate, detailed version of the data is here.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-63193032609734112912011-03-25T20:07:00.002+05:302011-03-25T20:38:41.182+05:30

2 of our neighbouring farmers planted watermelon in january 2011.WM is a good cash crop, but is a high risk game. in our 14 months, 2 earlier attempts at WM have been resounding flops.WM involves a high level of pest management - both of the insect variety, the animal variety and the human variety.while the insect variety is apparent, it will surprise readers that foxes have a liking to play (

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-52738935435293210482011-03-24T21:10:00.004+05:302011-03-24T21:29:58.427+05:30

now that the foundation and stem wall are up, the wall follow.since it is a skilled job, a team of masons will do the actual laying.to speed up the job and to be a little more involved in the actual house building, we are doing some simple, but heavy work.arranging sieved soil for the mortar and stacking up the bricks near their final location.that is again moving around 20 tons of material over

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-54030851256111838392011-03-24T20:35:00.004+05:302011-03-24T21:05:37.854+05:30

we had originally envisaged a grain processing center with a variety of traditional indian chakkis.the regular aatta chakki had become too smooth and we could not find a worksman to do the roughening.in DV's travails around the web, he tracked down this stand up model - wonder mill - a hand operated grain mill.we have a stand up oil press - piteba, which we have fairly mastered.and this would be

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-32160076302591860762011-03-15T13:24:00.004+05:302011-03-15T14:54:00.738+05:30

the foundation was a pretty simple - just rocks, sand and water tightly packed in a 2 feet deep trench.done as per design,it provides a solid base for the walls of the house to rest upon.but readers may have noticed that part of the trench was still visible, certainly causing some puzzlement. around 6 inches of the trench was left unfilled.two important factors that would need to be further

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-59450512345698859492011-03-15T08:32:00.002+05:302011-03-15T08:47:02.143+05:30

inspite of the very short winter, we have a decent cabbage harvest (cricketball to baseball sizes).and beans has been a winner in terms of ease of growing, uniformity in output per plant and seed to harvest conversion.both are hybrid seeds.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-7283545687421711182011-03-11T14:20:00.000+05:302011-03-11T14:35:23.856+05:30

after completing the strenuous brick making, the planning and execution of the foundation took a month.the design was simple - to dig a trench around 18 inches wide and 24 inches deep along the walls. a total of 170 feet.and this trench would have to be filled with stones and sand upto 18 inches from the bottom.this combination will give a rock-solid base on which the walls will be built.step 1 -

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-11266374813694638862011-03-10T20:43:00.005+05:302011-03-10T20:59:54.240+05:30

with the surplus of tomatoes pleasantly hitting us, we tried our best to use it all up.almost to the verge of stoping use of tamarind.even then we were left with much.then we decided to try DV's suggesting of sun drying tomatoes.here is how we did it and looks like it has worked.the harvestcut it into quartersput it into the solar ovenafter 7 hours in the ovenat the end of the drying.it needs to

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-85628912009544067802011-03-09T20:58:00.002+05:302011-03-09T21:18:16.263+05:30

the man who is running the indian environment ministry - jairam ramesh - is featured in this brilliant cover feature by shoma chaudhury on tehelka.some transitions in his thinking...“Twenty years ago I was a gung ho growth-wallah. Today I’m just a growth-wallah: I’m no longer gung ho. I’ve realised if it is to be a choice between 9 percent growth and negative impact on environment and livelihood

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-74127650004704201382011-03-06T13:06:00.002+05:302011-03-06T13:15:08.786+05:30

the extended rainy season and the shortened winter period put paid to our potato aspirations.one bed was wiped out by the wilt and one bed was lost in transplanting (we planted originally in the wrong place).total planted weight = 3 kgstotal output = 2.5 kgsand we attempted mounding to promote additional tuber development, which also flopped.we have realised that there are other tubers which grow

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-33144421116175835622011-03-06T12:52:00.003+05:302011-03-06T12:59:07.086+05:30

expt no. 2, which was proceeding reasonably well as per this update, has been terminated with nil output.rats got whatever little was growing and as we waited for the grains to form and dry in the stalk, we noticed them 'disappearing'.it was also an issue of low fertility of the soil .so we will wait till july-aug 2011 for the next experiment to kick off.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-61034694183035544062011-03-03T13:53:00.003+05:302011-03-03T14:08:36.436+05:30

you were notified about our vegetable planting.starting early december, we had increased our vegetable growing area very significantly and had moved onto newer methods.and inspite of losses due to wilt, we have already breached all 2010 numbers. Jan – Feb Tomato 19.91 Radish 10.32 Pumpkin 5.4 Okra 1.27

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-89713393708054447592011-02-17T21:07:00.006+05:302011-02-17T21:52:16.183+05:30

the foundation for our house will be 1.5 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep.it will be filled up with rock, rubble and sand.parts of pR are very rocky and while digging the swales, several multi-sized rocks have been laid around for this very use - foundation laying.but these rocks have to be broken into manageable chunks for ease of lifting as well as fitting into above dimensions.enter kumar - rock

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-51113443081275028842011-02-17T13:46:00.005+05:302011-02-17T14:19:18.694+05:30

while making bricks, we relied, in our early batches, on the tribal dance system for a good mixing of the soil and water.but it hits the knees quite hard.and so we outsourced that entire operation out to a local farmer/all-purpose worker - ravi.while it took siddarth and me over 2 hours of huffing and puffing to completely mix 2 piles, ravi would casually mix up 4 piles in over 4 hours.not only

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-81275708122842057142011-02-16T21:07:00.004+05:302011-02-16T21:26:59.086+05:30

...is a superb book about a couple's experiment of living their life over a year without any modern technology.their experiment places them in an amish type community (in fact, a more austere version).their trials and tribulations resonated heavily with what we underwent over 2010.but his analysis of technology and its role in today's world is well worth paying attention to and marks for karpagam

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-79394729372398757412011-02-03T06:26:00.001+05:302011-02-10T12:19:50.634+05:30

gates and buffet have been at the forefront of giving up their wealth....billions of dollars.and they are asking others of their ilk to join in this giving away.and surely many will join in this giving away.while it appears to be a noble task (i agree), the point where this process has given way is how and the speed this money is utilised.invariably these monies will be fed into charities

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-75365846820358830822011-02-01T13:49:00.002+05:302011-02-01T14:06:00.421+05:30

the lovely hoopoe graces our pavilion. it is a hi-res image. so click on the image to see it beautiful crown and lovely black and white stripes.and then there were two :-)so the list we made last month already needs amending.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-88345913995413095402011-01-30T20:52:00.005+05:302011-01-31T13:39:10.521+05:30

a house should and can be built with one's own hands.before the advent of congested cities and the resultant high-density-high-rise models of residences, people and societies have traditionally built their own homes with locally available material and labour.even today, rural folk continue to abide by these ecologically sustainable and low environmental impact (and thus low cost) tenets on models

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-77128307000189580272011-01-30T14:06:00.004+05:302011-01-30T14:41:42.501+05:30

after completing a year at pR, we are now embarking on an exciting new task.building our house.'Our' is used here in a sense to mean pR itself and not merely myself and karpagam, eventhough we are the likely first residents.the construction is going to be documented as a series.part 1 - designpart 2 - making the brickspart 3 - foundationpart 4 - wallspart 5 - roofpart 6 - carpentarypart 7 -

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-90662874948593858852011-01-28T21:10:00.000+05:302011-01-28T21:15:26.549+05:30

deepika and bernard at pebble garden gave us some corn seeds.they were from the western ghats of karnataka.such beautiful colours and combinations...

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-33413843023573289752011-01-28T14:34:00.004+05:302011-01-28T14:46:17.953+05:30

thuvarai - pigeon pea - toor dal is quite a magical tree.these trees were planted in late 2009 (ideal time is jul-august) and in a year this is how they look.all brimming with pea pods.i hear that the processing is quite tedious and time consuming.we have to do it anyways, so anyone who is certain about how to process them, do drop in details on sriramskd AT gmail.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-37100489583594711072011-01-23T10:54:00.006+05:302011-04-02T20:22:05.760+05:30

the first ragi crop was an over-documented story. and gratefully the output was commensurate to the documentation. but more importantly, it was the first step on the move towards fukuoka's 'no-till' farming. coming back to ragi. it remains our most commonly eaten millet. in the summer, 3 out of 4 breakfasts are ragi koozhu. so the math was simple, one crop a year did not seem adequate. we

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-65000791784508394322011-01-23T10:53:00.002+05:302011-01-23T18:35:47.659+05:30

the first rice experiment in the pond did not come through.the second experiment is running and was on a different spin. to grow it in a rain-fed manner and without any flooding.we had planted a 3 monther (variety called gundu) and a 4 monther (variety called thuyamalli).have to say that they look reasonable.the field with gundu...though they are running a bit behind schedule, we realise that

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-4519646059590992832011-01-23T10:07:00.004+05:302011-01-23T10:30:29.136+05:30

our tomatoes are getting hit.by bacterial wilt.there is no treatment...not that we were planning any.the plants wither away over a week and starting from one branch it moves onto the entire plant.till date we have lost around 20 plants.and ouch....many had just started to fruit.oh...it has hit some of the potatoes too.from the high of the planting, we are now down to 2 very decent growing beds, 1

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-40765791547422634392011-01-18T19:15:00.005+05:302011-01-19T14:01:04.168+05:30

it has been a year at pR.in the universal reference frame, it barely registers as a relevant interval.but humans do tend to place a lot of emphasis on this time period.i have had a poor track record with birthdays and anniversaries and much of it stems from my general disinterest in time milestones. and so i record this anniversary with just a little head nod.the year at pR has been wonderful.it

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-41251758105750242772011-01-18T18:23:00.003+05:302011-01-18T19:07:09.308+05:30

we are just around 15 kms from vedanthangal - a bird haven. that means we should be in a bird rich zone and soon as our trees and water bodies become registered on their route maps, we should be updating this current list.residents/regulars1. indian mynah2. spotted owlet3. black drongo4. partridge5. sparrow hawk6. white breasted kingfisher7. blue jay8. tree pie9. coucal aka crow pheasant10. palm

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-78089322065760116912011-01-16T10:37:00.008+05:302011-01-16T14:00:42.753+05:30

here is what is currently growing out here.the winter season will hopefully keep on for its usual course till late february.most of it is self-explanatory.the variety is wide, but some of the exotic/leafy vegetables are in small patches only.1. red long bean - from deepika/bernard (auroville)2. radish-carrot bed (both likely to be hybrid varieties)close up of item 2..3. chakara kumbhala - yellow

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-88424617409638377892011-01-15T10:23:00.004+05:302011-01-15T10:37:14.809+05:30

our first rice experiment....the sequence is as below:plantingsubmersionrecovery and growthalmost through the entire length of oct, nov and dec, the pond has around 3 feet of standing water, i.e., the rice stalks were submerged continuously for this period.during this time, their height was good enough and the stalks strong enough to keep their heads dry and above water.as the water receded, the

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-2703563053358439402011-01-12T21:26:00.003+05:302011-01-12T21:32:47.682+05:30

the same family as No. 5 - the common baron, we have another pretty yellow/orange b'fly - the Baronet.all credit to k for her tracking and photgraphy skills..and this is fresh of the blocks as you would have made out from the date on the shot :-)

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-64488227373369643612011-01-11T11:08:00.004+05:302011-01-11T11:27:03.954+05:30

we maintained (and continue to do so) a fairly exhaustive (but not necessarily well designed) vegetable production database.it is a public document and here is the link.2010 was a real dream start. a total of 130 kgs dominated by cowpea, pumpkin and bottle gourd (approx 2/3rds of total production).and interestingly these 3 toppers are all creepers and are not from our raised beds system of veg

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-20238346767604974522011-01-07T12:43:00.003+05:302011-01-07T12:55:39.237+05:30

and continuing the common series of butterflies, we have a common baron (which may sound a bit contradictory).a beautiful steel grey-blue b'fly - which we found snucking away at the jaggery sack.a better picture than the wikipedia one is here.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-67096904838129470072011-01-06T20:46:00.005+05:302011-01-06T21:05:26.118+05:30

...is our little black ball of fur - appudu.he has first claim on our laps and whatever we may be doing, he is likely to cozy up.appudu was conferred this 'boss-ship' after he beautifully cornered a russels viper one night.this spectacle patterned slinky fella had wandered into our lower floor (probably chasing a frog/looking for warmth).appudu (and most cats) likes strings and he must have got

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-929390106568827292011-01-05T13:56:00.003+05:302011-01-05T14:16:25.530+05:30

we planted in early august and saw it do decent upto a couple of months later.but since december, we were quite in doubt over it.one - there was a certain lack of height and colour in the stalk.two - very few stalks had let out the grain crowns.so, we have as of today,cleared the field entirely after bidding a quick good bye.it left us with some questions to answer.so, there was a lack of

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-38311873355657150082011-01-03T08:02:00.003+05:302011-01-03T08:42:53.374+05:30

you may have seen our plans on scaling up vegetables.it came about as a sidelight to our planning on expanding our grains production.with a few experiments under our belts with ragi, rice, varagu, tenai...we were ready for more.a 100 ft by 100 ft plot was cleared up (by hand) and ploughed once in october.the initial idea was to cover this area up with green manure crops and let them provide cover

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-84040777710543258832010-12-30T20:57:00.002+05:302010-12-30T21:02:01.325+05:30

the inspiring man whose work made india cleaner and hygienic - ishwarkaka patel - physically left this world.salutes to a beautiful person who will continue to light lives.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-82908195417071221522010-12-28T19:35:00.004+05:302010-12-28T19:51:16.666+05:30

sainath comes hammer and tongs at many establishments in his latest salvo - "of luxury cars and lowly tractors."the data point that concerns me is reflected in the title:Tamil Nadu showed the biggest increase of all States, going from 512 in 2008 to 1060 in 2009. Karnataka clocked in second with a rise of 545. And Andhra Pradesh saw the third biggest rise — 309 more than in 2008.this is not to be

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-77264237481341957852010-12-22T20:24:00.004+05:302010-12-22T20:51:33.058+05:30

this guy is a beauty. when we first spotted him in august, we spent hours running after him for a open-wing pic. the one here is only a partial success.Danaid eggfly male - closedDanaid eggfly male - openDanaid eggfly femalewe estimate there are atleast 25 different types of butterflies in pR, so watch this space.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-49088375907826116582010-12-22T20:12:00.004+05:302010-12-22T20:19:18.782+05:30

the small grass yellow butterfly is very small, very grass-yellow and very abundant and very very tough to catch on camera.karpagam's patience was well rewarded with these excellent ones.these are from august 2010.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-84850436010054913982010-12-20T14:12:00.000+05:302010-12-20T15:20:26.479+05:30

in the move towards fukuoka, we had mentioned that we had broadcast one field with green manure seeds.more than 1.5 months later, here is how the field looked.we have agreed to permanently split this field into a vegetable part and a grain part.this post is about the preparation of the former using the trench and mound method.the challenge was how to clear the field.the green manure and the weeds

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-52161333309319589542010-12-20T12:08:00.001+05:302010-12-20T12:13:47.740+05:30

the common mormon is pretty and common.and a beautiful tail at the bottom of the wings.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-42990834667694545572010-12-16T11:53:00.006+05:302010-12-20T15:25:01.705+05:30

after cracking the banana code, papayas are next.we have been planting seeds and saplings since early this year with near total wipe out.we kept hearing that it is best left to nature. just cast the seeds after eating them and thats that.so we finally gave up the attempts and followed the above principle.and that worked from the germination end, but we chose bad areas to drop the seeds and the

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-23695600166808784532010-12-13T20:55:00.002+05:302010-12-13T20:59:07.738+05:30

...is a sun loving butterfly commonly known as common leopard.very friendly and lovely co-resident :-)

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-74572486416647220742010-12-13T20:33:00.003+05:302010-12-13T20:53:32.826+05:30

they say that the arrival of mists indicate the end of the monsoon and the onset of winter.we were totally misted out for 2 hours today morning.so, except for the rare-depression led rains, we are well and truly into the winter growing season.enjoy the pics.the sun is a ghostly galleon...

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-89439001491444954222010-12-13T14:11:00.004+05:302010-12-13T14:25:02.799+05:30

continuing the millet series with jowar, the most popular millet after ragi.in the karnataka/maharashtra regions, it is staple diet.jowar rotis are served as fancy fare in upmarket region restaurants, but it is the source of survival for the dry-land farmers in interior deccan regions.it is certainly the prettiest of all the millets :-)the grain head is the largest among the millet family. and

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-31195219884549037892010-12-12T15:16:00.004+05:302010-12-12T15:38:54.754+05:30

a year ago, on some random push from me, DV planted a (SINGLE) potato and surprise surprise, it was a good output. we had harvested nearly 1 Kg from that single plant.my mail was inspired by the potato tower experiment of Rob (of one straw-be the change)we were certain that we would try one winter crop of potatoes, even though it has never been tried in the local area. except for the hill parts

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-62688783496021824762010-12-11T13:54:00.007+05:302010-12-11T14:55:59.129+05:30

offline, one place i learn about farming/agriculture and general good practices is Krishna from Solitude Farm in Auroville.online, one place i learn about gardening/composting and general homesteading action is One straw- Be the changenot only is the title a source of interesting appeal, but the content of Rob's blog is up there.inspired by Krishna and Rob, here is the trench and mound system of

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-22118455439685747612010-12-09T21:46:00.002+05:302010-12-09T21:50:43.423+05:30

the previous post was proved to be "putting foot in mouth"we have had good sunshine since then and have resumed activity in more than full steam.have created over 800 sq feet of vegetable beds. more on that in next post.thanks for the wishes and concerns.

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-62504858793023512282010-12-06T14:21:00.004+05:302010-12-06T14:34:12.448+05:30

you must have read about our rained in status.as if we have not had enough, here is the latest weather map - Dec 6th 2010 @0800 hrsand add the serious cold in the air (today morning was a jaw dropping 14 deg C).as i type this at 1430 hours, it is still an unbelievable 17 deg C.(yes, yes...our temp gauge works.)add the wind chill, it is quite something. (this wind is what is keeping our power

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-28705110161060927552010-12-04T07:11:00.004+05:302010-12-04T07:38:27.181+05:30

to say that this year has been bounteous with rain would be like the saying that the 2G scam is a just another corruption story.especially over the last week of nov, the intensities have just been raised to almost never before seen levels.the cauvery delta districts have been seriously affected by the rains from 26-28 of Nov.our own rain data is going through the charts. Date Rain

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-3332044274589776852010-11-22T10:53:00.002+05:302010-11-22T11:04:03.972+05:30

over 2 years ago, pitched against the UPA coalition, the NDA prime ministerial candidate - advani - took a direct and headlong strategy of attacking MMS, calling him the 'weakest prime minister ever'.while advani lost the battle, he could not have been more correct in his assessment of MMS.gadkari says it very beautifully - 'PM has given DMK the freedom to loot the country'.i was rejoicing in

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-80623392496934097002010-11-19T19:11:00.004+05:302010-11-20T13:42:42.153+05:30

through all the drama over the 2G spectrum allocation scan, the level of sleaze in today's corporate india has been easily sidelined in the melee over raja, MMS, sonia, swamy et al.is business 'at any cost' the only way to do business today?can no company survive these markets without resorting to such levels of corruption?is the pressure of 'quarter-on-quarter' reporting making our CEOs pop

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-38033614967259340122010-11-17T14:25:00.004+05:302010-11-17T14:41:53.556+05:30

the NE monsoon has been in full flow.here is the rain data since it started. in 3 weeks we have gotten our hearts fill. Date Rain (mm) 21/10 50 23/10 57 25/10 15 27/10 57 28/10 21 29/10 55 30/10 6 31/10 61 3/11 60 6-7/11 105

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-70358913345466054392010-11-01T12:27:00.003+05:302010-11-01T12:47:35.835+05:30

in what is a telling assessment of india's current social imbalance, jean dreze rakes our conscience with this - "the middle-class has lost track of how poor our country is".this is an interview to tehelka commenting on the Food Security Act.he says:I think that the middle class has completely lost track of how poor this country is. We live in a make-believe world that exists only on television

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-65239146871785004172010-10-31T09:12:00.004+05:302010-10-31T09:52:50.334+05:30

four months ago, we spotted the birth of the banana bunch.that was around 8 months since we planted the sapling.so total lifespan of 12 months.of a most remarkable species of tree.here is the photo sequence.name of the variety is karpooravalli. has a lovely taste of camphor.total of 9 bunches and approx 15 bananas per bunch. thats a whole load of carbs from a tree entirely raised with wash water

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-41334816905527486592010-10-30T13:09:00.005+05:302010-10-30T13:29:31.815+05:30

and has been one rain-filled week.we have received nearly 20 cm of rain over the last one week. yes. that is quite awesome because it has been evenly spread out over the week.the pond is brimming over.and there are a few deep ditches surrounding the pond and the windmill and they too are a-brimmin' over.and overflowing out of the property headed towards the little village lake.and the swales are

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-52334188935826991372010-10-26T12:09:00.005+05:302010-10-26T12:32:51.255+05:30

we made our compost piles in early june 2010.now we in end oct 2010. over 4.5 months of composting.during this time, we had good rains (at least 20 days of rain).we did check the piles over the interim and could feel the warmth that accompanies decomposition.also we were in no hurry to use the compost, and so we let it continue to mature.last week, we got our shovels out and emptied out half of a

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-60491382988408398532010-10-23T09:14:00.006+05:302010-10-23T09:55:26.065+05:30

we completed a reasonably successful and highly satisfying ragi harvest.smelling a chance to use this opportunity to convert this patch into a natural farming process, we jumped this chance.simply explained, the NF approach emphasises on 'no-tilling' and 'permanent cover' over and above the 'no-chemicals-no-organic-manure' philosophy.the master, masanobu fukuoka, pioneered this approach and has

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-23576963121301340362010-10-19T07:50:00.005+05:302010-10-19T08:58:45.522+05:30

as promised on ragi-update, we are a month down from that post and bring to you our ragi post-harvest processing post.we harvested the ragi in 3 installments due to differential maturing.this is typically not the norm and is less efficient, but the field was a non-uniform one in terms of fertility, mulch cover and density of cow-pea planted as inter-crop.ragi processing is quite simple and a fun

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-59134058031069597432010-10-18T20:14:00.003+05:302010-10-18T20:30:32.490+05:30

microfinance has come into the news for a new set of reasons - the wrong ones.suddenly the concept that got mohd yunus the nobel peace prize has come under the scanner. read the ugly underbelly of microfinance.i have never bought this idea that microlending could help in alleviating poverty. in fact, it strikes me as completely absurd that putting someone in debt could be a route out of

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-70638469528264687302010-10-18T08:46:00.003+05:302010-10-18T09:06:14.000+05:30

in a brilliant piece on leadership, william deresiewicz - former Yale professor and essayist, links leadership to solitude at a lecture delivered to american army college freshers.(if you can figure out the surname, do drop in the phonetic split)some snippets....who is a leader?Does being a leader, I wondered, just mean being accomplished, being successful? Does getting straight As make you a

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25101267.post-30476036127007768032010-10-18T06:49:00.002+05:302010-10-18T06:58:21.074+05:30

burger and fries must be the most popular meal in the world.fast food system at its very effective best has mastered this meal.and people are lapping it up like there is no tomorrow.but wait, there is something you should see.artist sally davies' science project with the McD's happy meal.photographed over 6 months, the happy meal lives up to its name - 'happy'.for parents who are struggling to

csmhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557461643577046017noreply@blogger.com3