Farmin'

I’m sure that many of you are wondering what I am actually doing here. That is probably because I haven’t posted a thing about it and have been focusing on writing and publishing photos about my travels, culture, etc… Nonetheless, we broke ground! Finally!

After being here nearly a month we started to farm the plot of land that was given to the organic farming interns by the organization. It was actually quite a hilarious first go at farming in India. In order for you to understand why it was so entertaining first I must give you a brief history lesson in Bhullar genealogy. The man who manages the ViKAS centers name is Baljinder Bhullar. He was previously a pilot in the Indian army who decided that he much rather work doing seva (Shik word for service or volunteerism and is a major guiding philosophy in the religion today) than flying fighter jets. This is when he began an alliance with EduCARE India and started opening up ViKAS centers (where Jav and I work) around Punjab. Anyways, we affectionately call him “Mr. B” for short. Currently I am living in “Papa B’s”, Mr.B’s father’s house, in Sotla. Papa B is also the owner of the land in which we are farming and is a farmer himself. He is a very knowledgeable man but has not quite been convinced on the pluses of organic farming; even so, he has left the plot of land that we are farming pesticide free for almost two years so that Mr. B’s dream of spreading awareness about organic farming can be peculated throughout the rural community of Sotla then eventually to the rest of Punjab (Punjab is considered the bread basket of India). One day about a week ago Papa B took Jav and I out to survey the land and to see what we had to work with. We discovered that the land is a perfect size and has a good amount of sun and shade exposure- the only down side was that there were several other crops that Papa B had to harvest. He did however give us a strip of land running down the middle that we could get started with right away. So after a couple of days, after we had wrapped our heads around what we had to work with, we woke up around 6:30 AM to farm! We only had one hoe and the head was broken so we needed to visit Papa B to see if there were any more available. Papa B proceeds to walk with us to the plot of land- we conversate about our plans for the land and what we envision this doing for the community. Once we get to the land he asks us how long we plan to work. Keep in mind that by the time we reached the land it was already 7:30 so we say around 1-2 hours because it is already around 80 degrees at 9 AM. We get down the business- I start hacking away at the weeds and trying to aerate the soil and immediately I am told that I am doing it wrong by a man whom I am guessing is Papa B’s employee and proceeds to show the “right” way which is EXACTLY what I was doing! We clear a good amount of land but the other hoe we have is broken and the head keeps flying off every 5 minutes. After we worked for about an hour we had to call it quits. It heated up quickly and I had to be at the center to teach a morning class. So we decide to pack up our things. As we are packing we heard Papa B’s voice out of nowhere. We soon realize that he had been in the small shed watching us the entire time we were working! When he came out he lectured us about how we were working the land and was upset about how long we had spent there (only an hour) and made comments about how he knew we wouldn’t last long out there- but the funny part was he was right! I kept trying to imagine what was going through his mind. He is an older man probably around 65-70 who has lived his entire life in a farming community and has made the majority of his wealth from working the land. Then a couple of youngsters from the US come to his village to do organic farming. It must seem preposterous to him. I know that he has a wealth of knowledge to share with us and I am excited to learn more about the farming community through him. He also has quite a presence in Sotla which I know will help me in the long run when I try to do some local outreach through farmer field schools: http://www.farmerfieldschool.info/. All in all I would say that our first farming experience was a success!

I have also been involved with other things at the center like teaching English classes daily and taking over the migrants program from a fellow intern who recently finished her internship. The migrants program works with children from migrant camps on the outskirts of Dosarka (where the center is located). They live in sugarcane huts and have no running water. They mostly work for the farmers in the area doing field work and often their children will help in the fields as well. They are considered the community outcasts- sometimes I am in need of a local volunteer to come with me to help translate at the camps but it is very hard to find someone who is willing to be seen in the camps. Migrants are seen as dirty and you are seen as dirty by associating with them. What the migrant program aims to give the children in the camp some basic English skills while teaching them basic math, reading, and writing. Because the children spend a lot of their time working with their parents they do not attend school- the migrant’s program is there to give them a sort of release from their normal routine. I have found that the children are extremely mature but more loving than anything else. To say the very least, I have already fallen for them…