Consultancy Project number 1: Goal Articulation for Roopa's land

September 4th 2010
Day 2
 
This morning I ate papaya, cheeko (a sweet tropical fruit which looks like a potato on the outside, works like a kiwi to open and prepare, but tastes and looks like fruity, stringy brown sugar), banana, crackers and cake.
Rico, Ameli and I took a taxi to the first permaculture consultancy farm project. Roopa (the lady who owns the piece of land) Made us fresh watermelon juice and a wonderful lunch!
After lunch we discussed the goals she had for her 1.6 acres of land. She has a beautiful piece of property bordering the Cauvery river (which the locals describe as the sacred river of southern India). Currently more than half of the property is planted with marigolds, tomatoes and other crops. The land closer to the river has rosewood, jamoon, neem and achokra trees (pardon my spelling).
The physical structures Roopa wishes to see on her land include:

a home, structures for guests/teachers/therapists, yoga hall, Ayurvedic treatment rooms, alternative therapy rooms, alternative power (mostly solar, maybe some wind/water), all food from the land, organic vegetables, fruit and flowers. She wants to build a small organic shop, where she can sell crafts, produce and perhaps clothes as well. She also wants recreational spaces, such as a swimming pool, treehouse, table tennis, perhaps an art room or a library.

(Pictures above are from Roopa's land)

We checked out the property to see what we were working with.

While exploring the property we saw an otter in the river--I had no idea they lived in the tropics! And apparently there are crocodiles and many snakes, the locals talk about cobras with no tail, because they have 2 heads, one for each end!

A bit about Indian Culture

The culture and the history here is very rich! Many stories are passed down about the land and the gods that used to live among the people. I've only had the chance to hear a few stories, but one of the stories takes place on Chamundi, a small mountain near Ameli's home, where the goddess Durga slayed a massive demon. Many people come to visit the area, at the top of the mountain there is a temple and a statue of the demon in honor of the event. Because of this event all of the jungle on Chamundi and hundreds of acres surrounding the mountain is sacred. But now development has been clear cutting these surrounding areas of wild jungle. People who have heard the jungle come down, told of the screaming birds who could be heard for miles.

Pretty depressing to see the empty jungles.