At last the Himalayan farm! The moment I arrived on the top of the path, I was greeted by the current volunteers. At the moment there are six people all together, but some newcomers are supposed to arrive the next week or two. Ideally there should be four long term volunteers and ten to twelve short term ones. Right now there are only five short term volunteers and one person, who has been living on the farm since March. The main reason for the low numbers is the monsoon.
The place got started about 18 moths ago, when the now owner of the farm bought the land and the abandoned house on it. He had an idea of starting a permaculture farm on the Himalayas. It has been visited by many volunteers and they hosted a Permaculture Design Course in May-June this year. There were over thirty people living on the premises at that time.
The living quarters is the old farm building that had been abandoned for 15 years (picture). The past eighteen months a lot has happened. Two other buildings have been built out of clay from the premises, the kitchen and common room and the villa, a living area for the long term volunteers. In addition to that, there are two composting outhouses and two showers. The electricity for lights is provided by solar cells on the roof of the oldest building. The water comes straight from the mountain stream and is completely drinkable.
The kitchen is very basic (picture1, picture2, picture3, picture4). It has an oven heated with wood and enough pots and pans for cooking for at least twenty people. The dishes are washed with the ashes from the oven and the bigger chunks of coal are used for composting. Next to the kitchen is a pantry for dry foods like beans, flour, chopped wheats, sugar and spices.
The common room is located in the same building with the kitchen (picture1, picture2, picture3). That's where we eat most of the time. The work on the far is basically weeding, sowing, harvesting and collecting mulch and firewood. Yesterday we planted some coriander (picture) and today we'll do another patch from a different sort of coriander. There are also potatoes waiting to be planted.
In all its simplicity, I'm really enjoying the farm so far. The relaxed atmosphere and the amazing nature and sceneries (picture1, picture2) make me feel very much at home here. There are a few things that I need to get adjusted to, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons so far.
I haven't felt very well today. A bit dizzy and low on energy. Maybe it's the altitude (about 1500m), or maybe it's the weariness from the hard two days of getting here.
The place got started about 18 moths ago, when the now owner of the farm bought the land and the abandoned house on it. He had an idea of starting a permaculture farm on the Himalayas. It has been visited by many volunteers and they hosted a Permaculture Design Course in May-June this year. There were over thirty people living on the premises at that time.
The living quarters is the old farm building that had been abandoned for 15 years (picture). The past eighteen months a lot has happened. Two other buildings have been built out of clay from the premises, the kitchen and common room and the villa, a living area for the long term volunteers. In addition to that, there are two composting outhouses and two showers. The electricity for lights is provided by solar cells on the roof of the oldest building. The water comes straight from the mountain stream and is completely drinkable.
The kitchen is very basic (picture1, picture2, picture3, picture4). It has an oven heated with wood and enough pots and pans for cooking for at least twenty people. The dishes are washed with the ashes from the oven and the bigger chunks of coal are used for composting. Next to the kitchen is a pantry for dry foods like beans, flour, chopped wheats, sugar and spices.
The common room is located in the same building with the kitchen (picture1, picture2, picture3). That's where we eat most of the time. The work on the far is basically weeding, sowing, harvesting and collecting mulch and firewood. Yesterday we planted some coriander (picture) and today we'll do another patch from a different sort of coriander. There are also potatoes waiting to be planted.
In all its simplicity, I'm really enjoying the farm so far. The relaxed atmosphere and the amazing nature and sceneries (picture1, picture2) make me feel very much at home here. There are a few things that I need to get adjusted to, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons so far.
I haven't felt very well today. A bit dizzy and low on energy. Maybe it's the altitude (about 1500m), or maybe it's the weariness from the hard two days of getting here.
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