The next entertaining journey was on a Nepalese local bus, where Lucy and I tried to stand in the narrow aisle wearing our huge backpacks as all seats were occupied. We held on for dear life as the bus weaved around the winding roads. Unfortunately, because of the mountainous landscape and a lack of funding, the transport network in Nepal is particularly poor, especially when I contrast it with my experience of coming from India, as the only way to get around is by bus on terrible roads that are always prone to landslides. However the squashed, tiring journey was worth it as the locals were very friendly and it took us to our next exciting destination where we met a family that turned out to be truely inspiring.
The next month of our travelling adventure was spent on an organic farm called HASERA (
http://www.organichasera.org/) situated 40km from the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu in the Kathmandu Valley. HASERA is so much more than just a farm - it is a centre of learning and research and a meeting place to unite the local community. From my stay there I gained so much new knowledge. Their work is funded mainly from the courses that they run on Permaculture, Sustainable Living and Organic Farming but they also educate the community, volunteers and any visitors interested about organic farming about why it is so important. Their women's group empowers local females to participate in organic farming enabling them to benefit from an increased income as well as protecting them from the ever more prevalent health issues associated with chemical farming. The scope of the women's group continues to increase as they now also begin to educate them about women's health related issues as it became evident that there was a demand for this.
My ridiculous luggage! A big rucksack (with fleece & yoga mat attached), small rucksack & guitar
Watching the women's group, with my own two eyes, meet every Saturday for workshops, experiments on the farm and the farmer's field school, really restored my belief that there are good charitable projects that are successful and are sustainable. Unlike the school that I volunteered at in Jharkhand, the farm's projects are sustainable because they have the community support and they are run by a local family who truley understand the local people and their needs. I loved my time at the school but sadly without the overwhelming support of the locals it is hard to predict whether it will remain open as many of the parents would have preffered their children to work at home and the project constantly battles with the issue of finding someone to co-ordinate it. Yet learning about what HASERA do was very inspirational and I love how proactive Govinda (the dad of the family) is, he always seems to be busy organising, teaching or welcoming new visitors.
Mitto and I preparing the tea leaves that we'd picked the previous day
The Nepalese people as a nation are truely welcoming and I was incredibly touched by how at home the family made us feel. This was great as learning about farming and agriculture is such a new experience for me and when I first arrived I felt quite out of my comfort zone. Yet almost immediately both Lucy and I were given Nepalese names, Santi (Peace) and Basanti (Spring) respectively as is customary for every new volunteer which immediately makes you feel a sense of belonging. The family is led by Govinda, a bubbly, funny, charasmatic, clever Nepalese man who has vast knowledge on organic farming and really allows projects to happen because he is so driven. Mitto is the lady of the house who is a fantastic cook and is so kind and caring but who likes to force you to eat more when you are already oocus moocus (the Nepalese word for absoloutely full!). Lastly there are the 16 year old twins who are already extremely intelligent and fast witted, I don't doubt that they will go on to do great things. They provided us with much evening entertainment by playing Hindi music that they'd enthusiastically sing along and dance to.
Lucy and I participated in the twelve day permaculture course which teaches you how to create a living space, whether that be house/farm/balcony/garden, which meets your personal needs as effectively as possible whilst being environmental and community friendly. Some of the main principles of Permaculture are about being sustainable, making use of local resources, engaging the community, clever use of space, being self sufficient and maintaining diversity of species. I really enjoyed being a student again, learning about something completely new and having a mix of theoretical lessons and practical classes outside on the farm. In particular I liked the practicals where we learnt how to make our own organic compost and fertiliser, how to take cuttings, how to save seeds and how to make our own clay bricks. I can't wait to try everything I have learnt out in practice. My main aim of taking the course was to be able to grow vegetables and fruit back in England as I love cooking and think it would be so rewarding to do this with your own fresh, organic produce.
The Permaculture Group with our certificates at the end of the course
We had a nice small group as there were only seven of us - Lucy and myself, a Swiss guy, a Mexican girl, a Nepalese lady and the twins who also joined in as it was the school holidays. Having grown up on the farm they were easily the biggest SWOTs yet Lucy and I enjoyed the fact we were encouraged by Govinda to ask as many questions as we liked which we certainly did. We were also fuelled by vast supplies (literally endless) of milky, sugary chai and great homecooked food. I really enjoyed sitting on the floor and eating together in the kitchen for every meal and using my hands to eat, my table manners are now pretty atrocious as I literally find it hard to use a knife and fork! Every evening we would finish the day with some more learning as we would settle down to watch a documentary. It was a long day but very rewarding.
Dinner time on the farm
I found the Permacourse really interesting and it certainly challenged me in a completely new way because our task for the last three days of the course was to redesign one of the local farms so that the land could be use more effectively. This made me feel quite nervous as I took the task quite seriously as I wanted to make suggestions that could really improve the farmers lives and enjoyment of their land. However I felt no where near qualified enough after twelve days to be making such recommendations having never lived in a temperate climate where the types of plants they have and the food they grow is completely different. However the idea was to apply some of the theory we'd learnt and for this it was very useful. In order to redesign the farm we had to go there and survey the current landuse and visit the village to learn about the community in which they live. We also conducted interviews with the family to asses their needs, find out how they live and what is important to them, what issues do they face, what areas for improvement are there. It was such an amazing opportunity but I really wanted to make constructive, helpful suggestions and could have spent days, weeks, even months on the task. But all we had was three days! Luckily I was paired with a lovely, chilled out Mexican girl who was so ridiculously laid back about everything that it was hard to really worry. I'm really proud of the work we did and what we eventually came up with as we identified some really easy, simple changes that could make a big difference.
My plan for the redesign of the local farm
One of the great things about staying at the farm and doing the course was that we were able to visit local villages, close to one another yet with very different customs and cultures (different religions, dress, some would eat meet and drink alchohol but the others wouldn't). It was really interesting to contrast the two. Also, as the farm is a hub of activity, there are locals dropping by regularly to say hello or to attend a meeting, so you feel like you really get to interact with the Nepalese people. I enjoyed the simple life of rising and going to bed early, eating food grown on the farm and learning about agriculture and farming, the seasons and weather and how much these affect millions of farmers across the world on a daily basis. I also like just helping out around the farm with jobs like weeding and tea picking as there is something so satisfying about working outside and seeing the outcome of your work infront of you.
The Permaculture Group planting seeds in a practical session on the farm
I felt honoured to be allowed to accompany the family to their paddy fields, around a km walk down the slope, on rice planting day. It was incredible to watch the locals climb down the steep rocky paths in just flip flops carrying heavy baskets on their heads effortlessly as we struggled in the day time heat, sweating it out despite having proper walking shoes and no heavy loads. I find it incredible when I think about how important it is to the farmer that these crops are succesful, otherwise they simply won't have enough food to feed their family. For me, this idea would make me feel under a great deal of stress but the farmers have turned the rice planting into quite a commuity event in which they work extremely hard but also seem to have fun, singing as they prepare the terraces and plant the seedlings. The women even wear nice clothes and jewelry as this is a special event and we shared a lovely packed lunch with around twenty of us. Lucy and I joined in with picking the seedlings from the nursery and transporting them to the terraces. We even had a go at planting, standing in the water logged field, squishing around in the mud barefoot which was strangely satisfying, although I had the feeling that the old lady behind me probably felt that we were slowing the whole process down! We watched as the ox was whipped constantly to make him plough the terrace ready for planting and as the different families helped one another out. I have so much new found respect for farmers as it is such a hard job which requires excellent stamina and strength. We were completely exhausted by the time we'd returned to the farm after lunch, yet the family didn't even return until after 9pm when it was dark.
Women in the paddy fields picking rice seedlings from the nursery to plant
I'll always remember the HASERA family with great fondness as I think it's wonderful how they welcome so many people to their home. When I was really sick at the farm, they cared for me making me special food, taking my temperature regularly, letting me sleep in their more comfortable bed and telling me that I'd be fine and that I am in good hands. I admire how much they are involved in improving their local community and promoting the Organic Farming movement in Nepal. As for the farm itself, it was great being surrounded by all of these different fruit and vegetable plants which fed us each day and I liked having the animals like chickens and cows to give us eggs and milk. I hope that HASERA will continue with their great work and now I can't wait to start applying all my new permaculture knowledge back in England!
