Food for Thought – Vivasayee's Life

What we eat will decide if we need to find another planet to grow our food

Much is said about how organic farming is much less productive than industrialized forms of agriculture. For people who have been thinking about organic farming as one of the many solutions to the apocalyptic mess we find ourselves in, this argument of productivity in a debate with friends and family becomes a speed breaker. While…

Obituaries of the Wild around Vaanavil

~ 10 minute read Trigger warning : couple of photos in the blog include pictures of dead animals. We keep posting a lot of happy stories about the farm life and the domesticated animals we rear. But the complete picture is more uglier than the image social media prods us to create. We want to…

My thoughts on Natural Produce Costs and Pricing in Tamil Nadu

ஏன் இயற்கை விவசாயத்தில் விளைவிக்கப்பட்ட விளை பொருட்களின் விலை அதிகமாக உள்ளது? மேலே உள்ள கேள்வி ஒரு சாமானியனின் கேள்வியாக உள்ளது இதற்கான விடைகாணும் பொருட்டு ஒரு இயற்கை விவசாயியாக இதை ஒரு சாமானியனுக்கு புரியும் வண்ணம் எடுத்துரைக்க இந்த பதிவு. நீண்ட பதிவிற்கு மன்னிக்கவும் சற்று நேரம் ஒதுக்கி படித்தால் நம் வயிற்றிற்கு இடும் உணவு நல் உணவாக அமையும். பொதுவாக விவசாயத்தில் விலை நிர்ணயம் என்பது விவசாயிகளால் 100% நிர்ணயிக்கப்படுவதில்லை!!! பின் யார் விலை…

Can organic farming be profitable?

Palm Jaggery – King of Sweeteners

In the first 17 years of my life in Bombay, I used to wait for Taadgola every summer. I vividly remember the vendors who used to sell Taadgola in the corner of the road 100 metres from our house in the suburbs. I used to coax my mother to buy some whenever we used to…

Can natural – organic – sustainable – regenerative farming feed the world?

A lot of people agree that sustainable ways of farming are good for the ecosystems, humans and animals. But they don’t agree that it will be able to feed the world. The yield of individual crops have known to be lesser in sustainable farming than conventional agriculture. But rarely are the systems compared in entirety….

Farm Bills and Stone Age

A common argument that we hear against the simple lifestyle that Noushadya and I are trying to lead is that we are going backwards from the common narratives of progress and development. The comment that we usually encounter is that we are heading towards the stone age. While it is known or can be intelligently…

Cold pressed oils : Fad or here-to-stay ?

Oils labelled as cold pressed oils have started appearing in supermarkets, kirana stores, exclusive oil shops all around us. They are being sold in both packaged and loose forms. In Tamil, it is called Sekku Ennai; or pronounced as Chekku Ennai by people of southern Tamil Nadu. The manufacturers are both domestic as well as…

The Wilting Flower

The wilting flower is a joy to behold too. It had lived a great life of sunshine and breeze and petals that showered pollens to the flirty kisses of bees. It had seen the wondrous growth of forests and touched the bellies of small squirrels standing inquisitively on their hind legs. It has played its…