Organic Food and Herb Gardens :) Lets all just do it...

[ajay mahajan]

wrote this a coupla months back... mailed to just a few friends to sound them out.... and got a tremendous response from them and beyond... what do you feel... ? are you ready...

we (beej bachao andolan and vividhara) introduced this idea in our recent biodiversity organic food mela...and had a organic native seeds section with seeds tried out in delhi over last few winters ... the idea generated enormous enthusiasm.... many of us have started a winter spring organic food herb garden, a few hundred in just delhi, in this last month...few joining every day... now looking at keeping up the momentum and facilitation...

also need some support for that..  

more on that in another mail...

ajay  

 

If all of us were to grow an organic food and herbs garden..... on farms, at homes, in schools, colleges, work places, neighbourhood spaces..... 

howsoever big or small as contexts and other possibilities allow.... for farmers it cld be substantially sized (again depending on  contexts)

in cities and towns it can be small home gardens, or rooftops, balconies... even a few pots n pans... with food plants and herbs... or neighbourhood parks and community farming! 

 

it will connect us to the earth, nature, life, farming, food and health... 

and ourselves, culture, each other and spirituality if you like... 

This is real hands on action, positive, constructive, energising... rich in meaning, symbolism and can make a a real difference for all of us and the planet..... it also connects and sensitises us to the struggling forgotten alienated farmers...

this can be a huge answer and counter to dangerous chemicalisation, corporatisation and corruption of our food and health....and lives

so, even as we variously engage with or ponder over the many big issues confronting us as a society.... 

practical, constructive hands on work is invaluable.... for a people and movt to gather strength... that is what Gandhiji did most of the time.... during our freedom struggle..  the movement/agitation phases came only when enough strength and conviction had been gathered and unity built from long years of constructive work....

 

as a friend suggested... these organic food and herb gardens could in our present times be like the 'charkha' was to our freedom struggle... 

connecting and uniting us all to a larger cause, in meaningful constructive action.... 

to save our food, farmers, environment and ourselves.... this can be a very big small step

even as we resist Bills like BRAI, wanton mining, mega dams, displacement... climate change.. corruption, corporatisation.... 

this can be one of the ways to connect us all and take the wind out of the sails of bills like BRAI...  and other such misadventures....  

 

lots of peace love nature and farming

 

ajay

 

    

      

[nandita]

Dear Ajay,

This is a wonderful initiative and integrated with tree walks, tree census and star gazing, meditations in nature  and soulful music can be a way of life, so I feel we need to integrate all these.

Also, a monthly step by step gardening what-to-do would be a great help for budding and converted gardeners!

treeloveandpeace!
nandita

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[ajay mahajan]

Dear Nandita, 

Yes! OMG! Thats quite the way the integration has been proceeding in my mind... the tree (nature! :) walks got integrated yesterday... 

and it took you and sunny some minutes back to bring all these other aspects together.... 

sunny wrote a lovely poem on this idea and then wrote of how poetry has to be regenerated along with growing... will fwd you his mail after this.. 

to bring integrate these aspects... like soulful music... needs people like you... your mail indicates a readiness...! i can bring the nature and garden in sehejli and sharings... and enthusiastic learning for the rest... padma and perhaps others can bring some walks in.. like she wonderfully did last year... kids will bring the wonder n joy, photography is In now n then,  the poetry will doubtless flow... nature meditation nature will and we can..,

am looking at what info wld be most needed by organic gardeners..

so working on a brief crop specific guide for the seeds we're sharing this winter

have you seen my simple one pager invitational winter spring organic garden guide with keys to growing a healthy organic garden?  

and pl hear the pete seeger garden song if you havent already... (if you like it ...a few times please... for then you'll know it... :) 

its so like a Thay song for the garden... 

i'm enthused and committed to facilitating organic gardens across delhi this winter...

looking for financial support (and then a tiny team maybe) 

so can do it deeply and widely

and you've so well already 'integrated' what you wrote in.. (can i still say.. my) 

treeslovepeace!

ajay

[ajay mahajan]

dear greenhorns and all :) always good to be one:)

how do you propose this monthly garden calender

as crops plants that people grow can be so different.... 

ajay

On Sun, Oct 30, 2011 at 2:07 PM, AM <anj...@sharppr.net> wrote:

 

 

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Subject: RE: [Delhi-EAN] Organic Food and Herb Gardens :) Lets all just do it...

 

Yes I agree monthly calendar will be helpful as we are all greenhorns ! A.