The Organic Farm

From Amritsar, I came north to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh to visit my friend Ramesh on his farm outside of town. I also wanted to visit some folks I met at a local community health organization called Nishtha. Ramesh lives on a 14 acre organic farm that he started 3 years ago. He is experimenting with different crops and growing methods, and is trying to preserve some of the traditional local crops. He went up into the villages in the hills to find the old seeds, and is now growing the traditional black rice from this region. He’s also got five cows which he uses for milk, curd, and paneer. He’s hoping to set an example for the local people to show that they can earn a good living without pesticides, and wants to show the value of preserving traditional ways. The traditional culture here is quickly being lost as people start eating western foods, smoking western cigarettes instead of beedis, drinking soft drinks instead of jal jeera (a really cooling mixture of water and spices) or lassi (blended yoghurt drink), and buying packaged chips and cookies instead of snacking on the traditional chaat (fried salty snack foods usually bought from roadside dhabas, or food stalls). These habits are usually considered a sign of status, because they cost money, so people can show off by being seen consuming these western products. It’s not all status, though. There is definitely a convenience factor here, especially if you are not from a family wealthy enough to hire a full time cook.

It’s a remarkably peaceful place here. A beautiful farm settled in a valley next to a river, with the Dhauladar Mountains rising up to the west and mango and banana trees covering the hillsides. Neighbouring farms and villages have covered much of the hills with terraced plots of rice and wheat. Unfortunately, Ramesh has been caught in a drama with a local man trying to expropriate his land from him. Dealing with it has become his full time job, leaving him less time to focus on the farming and working out his ideas for helping the local people get involved in some small-scale value-added food processing ventures. Hopefully things will work out in Ramesh's favour soon so he can get back to focusing on the reasons he is there: the land and the local community.