Hello everyone! As you might know, we have been raising non-descript indigenous cows at our farm in Vikramasingapuram, Tirunelveli district since 2019. We now have 30 cows in our farm. This is a crowfunding call for their upkeep. Please read on if you would like to contribute. Our average monthly revenue from livestock rearing is…
Home or Un or Farm schooling ?
Biggest problem with the word homeschooling is that it consists of the word home. Homeschooling generally means that parents take charge of the child’s education. It doesn’t mean that the child is going to be bound within the 4 walls of the home. Only conventional schools do that – treat schools like factories, offices and…
Vaanavil Diaries : January 2026
January was a difficult month for us. A lot of positives happened last month too: We have not been regular with posts as much as we would like to be. Hosting guests, homeschooling Vanya, and running our small organic groceries business has been taking up much of our time. So here is a photo dump…
A Taste of Farm Life: Experiences from 2 Hours to 2 Days at Vaanavil Farm & Food Forest
When people arrive at Vaanavil Farm & Food Forest, the first thing they say is, “This doesn’t feel like a resort… it feels like someone’s home.” And that’s exactly what we want it to be. Most people see farms as places that produce food. But for us, Vaanavil Farm & Food Forest is a living…
Stop seeking like-minded people to start living off-grid in a farm
An uncomfortable note from someone who actually lives it. There’s a question I get asked regularly: “Is there land for sale around your farm?”“Is it okay if we buy land near other organic farmers?” Most times, my answer is either no or please think twice. Not because I don’t want neighbours. But because I don’t…
The Hidden Costs of Cheap Food in India
For years, I believed that the “cheapness” of food in India came from external forces — multinationals lowering prices, governments pouring subsidies, aggressive market capture strategies. But that was an illusion. After 7 years of farming and 4 years of running an organic shop, I’ve had to accept a harder truth:Food in India is not…
“Plastic Arisi”
Have you heard people say the rice from PDS (ration shop) is “plastic rice” or adulterated with floating grains? Recently, I heard Dinesh tell Esakki akka to sort out the plastic rice while washing it. Turns out, they were not joking… there’s a story behind it. Okay, lets back up. What’s going on? India eats…
Vaanavil Farm Stay and the Thought Behind Its Rooms!
We are not a resort! We are a farm foremost and the farm stay is our endeavour to share our way of life with you. The only other tag that I would attach is home stay. The room is only one of many aspects of the stay, but it is an important one. While we…
Slow Living isn’t an Escape — It’s a Responsibility
The purpose of money is to remain in constant circulation, not to be instrument for hoarding wealth and power. But unfortunately the modern socio economic system has evolved to incentivize saving at an individual level while collectively destroying ecosystems that guarantee a healthy future for our children. By choosing the lowest priced industrially produced produce…
Karuppu Kavuni Aapam
By now most of us know the history of Karuppu Kavuni – the fragrant black rice that was brought from Burma to Tamil Nadu by the Chettiar community. The first time I learnt about Karuppu Kavuni was a few months after we moved to Tirunelveli in 2018. It looked so exotic and I decided to…
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