Mice in my hair

Last night I woke up to a mouse in my hair. I don't know what it was doing, but it had somehow made its way under the mosquito net and into my hair. This encounter with the mouse of the house has helped make our decision to vacate the jungle house earlier than planned. We will be heading into town, Kumily, today, after just two nights in the jungle. The farm here is not what we expected and there is not really any work for us to do. On top of that, the owner left the same day we arrived, so we have been alone in her house, on the farm, supposedly looking for work to do. Of course, neither Hannah nor I have experience in cardamum or coffee cultivation so without direction, the work we can do is extremely limited. In terms of research for my thesis work, the owner is an ex-pat from Germany and is married to a woman from Tamil Nadu, and they export to Germany, so the community development side of this organic farm really has nothing to do with India and its development. As for HAnnah's interest in organic farming, there was a man spraying pesticides just near the house...we are unsure of where the property ends, but cross contamination seems inevitable if it isnt their land he was actually spraying. So this, added together with the resident mouse, has helped us decide to pack 'er in and head to town.

From town I think we will visit the nearby wildlife reserve and see some elephants and tigers!
We will be staying in a tree house! That will be neat!! Hopefully there will be internet nearby and we can spend some quality time doing research and writing for our projects.

We came from Munnar, which is an area of vast, green, tea trees that don't grow taller than our thighs. It was beautiful and quite chilly up in the mountains. We visited the tea museum and the processing plant and wandered the hills with trees and met some of the women pickers. We learned how white tea, green tea and black tea are made, their prices, and their history. This is all black tea, just oxidized, and sifted differently.
We also saw many pesticides being sprayed on these trees. We visited the "welfare" project of the tea plantation, called DARE. The entire area of tea plantations is owned by one company, TATA, who also makes cars and electronics, among other things. They have owned the plantations since the early 20s. They have a welfare centre where "differently abled" children attend classes and then are given jobs dying fabrics, or making jam or paper. Although it is neat to see such an old initiative, of what we now know as "CSR, Corporate Social Responsibilty", it was disturbing to see how many physically disabled children and young people are living in the tea plantations. This made us wonder why, is it because of the pesticides?
The interesting thing about the towns in the hills is that they are communes, funded and set up by TATA to house, school, and provide health care for the workers and their families. So everyone lives, works, and grows up together under TATAs care. Those who are disabled end up at DARE. The men seem to spray and process the tea, and other care for the trees, and the women pluck the buds for processing. Anyway, more research into this concept of commune living and abundant labour needs to be done.
Needless to say, we didn't purchase any tea from the outlet. We are in search of some small plantation or locally owned grower to sell perhaps some local, organic tea? We'll see if that is possible.

This is the amazing backwaters tour that we did in Cochin.
Cochin was probably my favourite stop so far. We spent the first two nights couchsurfing at a guys place about half hour from Fort Kochi. Then we moved to town when we played his music all night long and we didnt sleep well. We did some shopping and took a spontaneous tour of stores, a woman's cooperative, a ginger processing plant, and a candle making shop. Our tour guide was a rickshaw driver who sang the Barbie girl song, called his 3-wheel Baja a Ferrari, and bahhed at the goats on the road.
The next day we took the back water tour up the back waters nearby. It was a 7 hour trip on a boat with about 15 other people. We were punted up and down the cannals. It was very peaceful. We also stopped to see a Lime powder factory where they make lime out of a shell they extract from the river water. Then we stopped to see a demontration of twine making from coconut. Then we had lunch. It was relaxing and peaceful.
On Sunday, we visited the oldest church in INdia, St. Francis Church in Fort Kochi, but the english service was cancelled so we tried at the Basilica (KErala is a highly Christian state), but no english that day either. I went back and sat through most of the Malayalam service at the St. Francis church which was interesting. Later that day we visited the oldest synagogue in India. It is located in a neighbourhood called Jew Town in Fort Kochi. We arrived COMPLETELY soaked!! It poured possibly the hardest rain we've seen on the ride to the synagogue, and the roads were all flooded. Then we had a snack and brushed paths with the manager of the Australian cricket team who was in town for a match, but was rained out.
That night we went to a show of Kathakali, a traditional dance drama from Kerala. The make up application takes longer than the show!
Oh, and we found a great cafe that served real coffee!

Hannah and I have yet to find an organic farm or organization that integrates community development, gender equality and sustainable agriculture here in India. Yesterday we pondered the idea that maybe all that is incompatible...or maybe we are looking in the wrong areas. Anyways, we will keep searching...we have some leads of offices in Delhi we will visit once we are back up north...and we might have a week or so to visit some other places up around Uttarakhand as well.

So we are travelling alot...we are in Cochin, couch surfing again...and off to Munnar, tea plantation region in a couple of days. Before that we will go on a backwaters tour here in Cochin, along with some sightseeing.
We spend about a week at an organic farm near Bangalore. That was very nice. They had 2 litters of puppies and one litter of kittens! So we played lots. We also harvested a whole bunch of Rosela, or Jamaica, staked tomatoes, prepared a new bed for lettuce, weeded carrots, harvested cherry tomatoes and Chikoo fruit. The farm is comercial...small, family owned, but meant for earning money small scale, a different idea than Navdanya, but we learned some techniques from them.
We did that through WOOFing, and will do that again, woofing, after Munnar, in Kumily.
Our host here is a fish exporter...not organic haha.
We visited JewTown today, the old Jewish quarter of Fort Kochin. We also saw the St. Francis church...and will try to get to mass on Sunday. Kerala has a large Christian population, and so it should be intersting to go to a service. I wanted to go see the Franciscan church, for Uncle Dave is a Franciscan friar, but also because it was the first church built in India! It also had Vasco de Gama's remains for a short period of time. The basilica is also impressive, although we didnt go into it.
Hannah really wanted to see the synagogue today, but it was closed, so we might try to go on Sunday afternoon. It has only a few open hours a day and has an entrance fee...so must be good! haha
Our plans for the rest of our travel time is changing slightly, and we are reconsidering the 3 day train trip to get back to Haridwar...we are a bit tired of trains...especially sleeper trains. So we are looking into flights.
We have to take a short ferry back, and then a half hour bus ride to our host's house...which is waterfront!! we've really been lucky with our couch surfer hosts!!

Goa

We are couchsurfing here in Panjim, Goa. Our host is very accomadating and kind. We have been staying at his riverside house with a couple of other girls who are travelling. We have our own room and private bathroom. Its been much more than we expected! Daniel, our host is also a mango biodiversity conservationist. He has grafted several varieties of mangos from the Goa region onto his trees on his property, and intends to increase his collection. He also has a large variety of fruit and nut trees on the property.
We have tried to see the city today, but haven't been very succesful, maybe this evening. Tomorrow we are going to check out an organic Spice Plantation nearby. Hopefully get to interview and chat with the owners. We've planned our trip around visits to organic plantations and farms, and hope to get a larger, wider perspective of what Organic Farming and food sovereignty is like in India and be able to combine that with what we have seen with Navdanya.
Some things still need to be planned, and we are squeezing in visits to the beach and to the temples, etc. as well.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon on a beach in North Goa, where we "hiked" to a fresh water swimming hole and mini waterfall. The night we arrived we went to a beautiful beach right near Panjim, and cooked a fish that Daniel and the girls had caught earlier that day. We stepped into the water just a bit. Goa has been a sigh and gulp of fresh air for us in terms of no-stress travel. Nobody harasses us or even approaches us while walking or travelling. People are very helpful and calm. Even the streets are calmer and quieter! We can't tell if this is from the beach or just a Goan trend. Whatever it is, we like it!
Our stopover in Delhi went fantastically with friends of Hannah's from UPeace. They showed us the city, took very good care of us, and let us in on some Delhi secrets. We plan to meet back up with them just before I fly home. We didnt make it to Agra, because our day that we planned it, Friday, it isnt open to public...silly us, so we will have to get there just before I leave.
Amritsar was amazing! The golden temple was just gorgeous and so peaceful! The history in Amritsar is so rich and really made it feel special to be there. We went to the Wagha Border ceremony and that was interesting. I dont think I would go again...it is a lot of men yelling and showing their testosterone is running, but it was an experience. Such a change to be in the south!
We are trying to plan and book the rest of our time in India to make sure we see and do everthing we want and need to; get to farms, organizations, interview people, visit offices, see the sights, meet up with friends and have fun!
I hope to be able to visit an SOS Children's village in the north after Diwali. I will spend Diwali with Meera and we should be able to solidify our arrangement. I also hope to be able to hold some sort of workshop for the children while we are there. We hope to be able to go to Rajastan with Abhyudai as well, but we will see how that pans out. Our next 2 months will be super busy, but I think everything will work.

Chandigarh

We have found the most organized and clean city of India I believe! Chandigarh roads have lines on them and the cars, autorickshaws, cycle rickshaws, buses, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes and pedestrians seem to obey their lanes and the lights! The streets are lined with large trees and green grass and there are many parks and gardens. The city is divided into Sectors that are 1km squared blocks that were thought to contain everything for living. The city is one of the first or the first planned city of India and it shows! There is less caos and although the city is more spread out, it is more peaceful.
Yesterday we spent the day at Sukhna Lake, which has paddleboats that we didnt ride. Then to the rock garden/amusement park and then to the bougainvillea garden. We were pretty pooped after all that. We ate an amazing meal at this really fancy Italian restaurant. We kinda blew our budget on that, but I think it cost us each 6$, so a relative splurge. Today we went to check out the Tagore theatre, and it was a nice, wooden building, but unfortunately there are no shows on tonight. Then we went to the rose garden and smelled the roses and took lots of pictures. We had planned on going to the city museum and the art gallery, but both are closed on Mondays, so our not so well planned plan was ruined.
Tomorrow we head up to Amritsar. We hope to arrive there fairly early and be able to go to the border closing ceremony at the border with Pakistan. Then on Wednesday we will visit the Golden Temple, and Thursday morning we are off to Delhi. We fly to Goa on Saturday. We had thought of going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal on Friday, but it is closed on Fridays, so we will just sightsee in Delhi and catch the Taj on the way back up.
I got my sandals fixed from a shoe maker on the road and today we bought umbrellas. I forgot my raincoat at the farm, so I am without rain protection from the monsoon rains (which were supposed to stop on the 15 of September but dont seem to be letting up much).
Today we ate lunch at a Food Stop outside the Art College and our table was overrun with young students who "secretly" took our photos while we ate. We have contacted 3 farms down south. One in Karnataka, and 2 in Kerala, and it looks like we will be able to visit all 3 if we plan our trip right. 2 are organic farms, one of which is a spice and coffee farm, and the third is a Shakti farm. They grow their organic produce within the jungle so as not to deforest but rather reforest the jungle. That will be neat to be able to compare with the work that Navdanya does.
I'm still hoping to hear back from a few other gender and womens focused NGOs about possible visits, but haven't heard anything yet.

The past week...

So I haven't written in awhile...and there is lots to tell. I dont have the photos with me right now, so that will have to wait.

Krishnas Birthday was last week. We celebrated it at Sheela's house. We went there first thing in the morning, had chai and some snacks, and then walked to temple. We sat and listened to chanting and waited for people to arrive. Then we did the walk through to "greet" Krishna's statue. Then it was time to eat. We all went outside, like at a church picnic, and had a wonderful meal!

Then there was dancing, and then we headed back. We were some of the few people who danced, but everyone expected us to!

I went to Rishikesh the next day. The others stayed back for the course that was being held here. I spent the weekend relaxing at the Ashram where Meera works, and visiting with her. Nina, Hannah, Rachel and Matt arrived on Monday and we stayed in Rishikesh until yesterday. We came back for the Sunday market at Mona's.

Nina and I have been ill...Nina has been to a doctor twice now. Once for a diagnosis, and once to change the antibiotics that she thought might have been too strong for her. I wasn't as sick as her until yesterday. We went to a couple's house for lunch and afterwards I fell really ill. I made it back to the farm with Vanessa and Rachel, with only one emergency stop. I took some of the antibiotics that I had brought with me, and slept, and this morning I feel much better.

It was really nice to visit with Meera up in Rishikesh. We also saw Elivan, a visitor to the farm. It was Meera's brother's birthday while we were there and him and his wife and daughter drove up from Mussepor for dinner with us all.

Hannah and I were supposed to go to Piyusha's farm yesterday, but due to the circumstances, we have postponed that. I'm not sure if we will go at all because of how I am feeling. We have promised Mona we will be at the Sunday Market again next sunday, and then that same day we plan to take a bus to Chandigar, then up to Amritsar, then Delhi, and on the 25th we have a flight to Goa! We'll spend about a month down south...hopefully visiting other organizations and projects, but also to see the sights and the beaches!

Most interesting day!

Today was the most interesting day! Hannah and I went to Dehradun first thing in the morning, expecting to meet Piyusha at the farmer´s market. It took us over an hour to arrive, and when we did, it wasn´t anything like we expected! Piyusha hadn´t made it, but we were welcomed by Navid, who showed us into this house. Inside was a woman, Mona, who is a 75 year old jewish woman from Florida who runs this market from her house! There was a man selling apples, some onions and potatoes, and inside, there was a whole lot of organicly grown products, like rice, soy, tumeric, spices, breads, etc. We spent the whole morning just chatting with Mona and experiencing her market! She fed us baked samosas and homemade veggie burgers. We learned lots, she intrigued us to return, and I have agreed to help tutor a young woman who works for her in computer skills. She wouldn´t tell us how she had arrived in India, but she is very wealthy, and has lived here for 27 years now! She is such an interesting and funny woman!
I´ll go back this week, with other interns and to help out some. Maybe learn how she got here!
I will go to Rishikesh on the 3rd,. maybe earlier, spend some time with Meera and talking of our projects as well as doing some yoga. Hannah will come up on the 6th and we will spend a week up there, yogaing and stuff. Then off to the Punjab!
We are having some difficulties here at the farm, so we are looking for other ways of learning about the organic and sustainable agriculture/sustainable development movement throughout India. I have some things I still want to do with Navdanya, but I think this might not be the time.
So we will take a break. Meet new people, new projects, new places...then return.
Good night!

Nina and Abhyudai walking down the river to the road to catch the bus. The same river I walked Raquel down to catch her taxi that never came.

Since yesterday I didn´t add any photos to the blog, I thought today that I could.


This is Abhyudai hanging out of the bus as it passes the overflowing river. We later got off the bus because it couldn´t get up the hill and caught an auto-vikram into town. The bus was packed, this is why he is outside of the bus, and he seemed to enjoy it.

We had rain again last night, but not nearly as much.
It´s looking pretty bad for Pakistan though...good to see that the Canadian government is matching donations to the cause...at least through the Humanitarian Coalition...maybe others?
It´s Rakhi tomorrow...another festival!
Here are the rice paddies, looking good! They have labels now...I helped paint them! And to the right is Sheela, weeding in between the rice.