Wholesome Living at Hamsah Organic Farm

soulturtle (55) in homesteading • 7 years ago (edited)

This post is about my experience during a three month stay as a volunteer at Hamsah Organic Farm, located near Bangalore.

Around midway through 2015, I realized that the daily grind of working for a mainstream design company was leaving me drained and unmotivated. I had a good life in the city with amazing friends and a great neighbourhood, but still felt hollow inside when I didn't feel any passion for my work. I knew I wanted to leave, but didn't know what I could do to navigate life's rough seas. I didn't have much in the form of savings or experience, with most appealing new jobs requiring at least five years of experience in the field. I was contemplating my choices when a friend suggested I get in touch with a local farmer called John Fennessy who runs a 5 acre farm on the outskirts of the city which is also part of the WWOOF network. The acronym stands for willing workers on organic farms. Volunteers and hosts are both part of the network where volunteers help with farm work in exchange for food and accommodation provided by the host. No money exchanges hands, yet both parties benefit from it.

I wrote to John, telling him of my situation and how I was looking to make a lifestyle change. He sympathized with my plight and graciously offered to host me at his farm for a few months while my soul got some much need detox.

After serving my notice period, and moving out of the apartment, I finally arrived at Hamsah in October of 2015. I got there expecting to be shown to a room, but was instead directed towards a small bag containing a tent that I would have to set up anywhere within the farm. I chose a spot by a cowpea field that was close enough to the community space and next to a structure that was used for storage.

My humble abode at Hamsah.

The structure was built by residents at Hamsah previously and was used to store mattresses, trunks and other community equipment. I kept my clothes and other belongings in the structure and retired to the tent at the end of every day. I later brought along a solar panel assembly that was part of an earlier design project in an effort to be just a little more sustainable. I used it to charge my phone as well as led lights to read by night.

Living in the city, I never realized how much of my time was spent surrounded by four walls in a micro environment. Here, I pretty much only used my tent to sleep in, with the rest of my time spent outside on the farm. I felt connected to my environment and the subtle beauty to be found in simple things. It's quite amazing how much is happening outside those walls.

Coming from the city and used to certain luxuries, it took me awhile to adjust to life on the farm. I had to get used to cold showers, compost toilets and learn to make do with the available resources. Sacrificing these bodily comforts was worth it though because I finally had peace of mind.

The compost loo offering words of encouragement.

There was no routine as such, as work changed according to what was needed at the time. Having nothing to plug into by night, I found myself sleeping and waking up earlier. Mornings were beautiful and worth being awake for. I've never been a morning person in the city, but I found myself enjoying them. We got work done before and after breakfast and lunch, winding down as the sun set. Evenings involved communal gatherings where we started having bonfires as the nights got chillier. I also took some time to read books from the library and doodle in my notebook before dinner time, shortly after which I fell asleep, eager to meet the next day.

This may actually be sunset, but mornings were equally beautiful.

Doodling in my notebook while drinking tea and enjoying the view.

When I arrived at Hamsah, John was on vacation with his family. I didn't have any one to tell me what to do and had to figure out how to spend the days while I waited for him to return. While exploring the farm I stumbled upon a beautiful area I later learnt was the ashram or temple/meditation spot of the farm. It looked like it needed a little cleaning up, and I decided the first thing I could do to contribute to the farm was spruce it up. I didn't have anything else to do and spent my first few days at Hamsah working on this small project. I took my time with it, working alone at a leisurely pace. It felt good to work with my hands after so long and I found the whole process relaxing.

The ashram how I first found it.

Cleaning and decorating the ashram.

Eventually, John returned to the farm and was able to guide me on what was happening around the farm. I had arrived after the planting season was done and before harvest time. There wasn't a whole lot needed to be done in the fields, but we still found work to occupy us through various activities around the farm.

Mulching and Preparing Beds

We reused old thatch material to mulch vegetable beds.

We also prepared raised beds for the next season, that would get irrigated by rainwater.

Tilling and Planting Fields

John had recently acquired a new tiller making it easier to cover more ground in a day. At the time, the two farm cows were eating most of what the farm was growing. We also planted more corn, legumes and amaranth in the newly tilled fields to keep up with the voracious appetites of the cows.

Using Farm Produce & Saving Seeds

The farm also has several fruit trees with a large mango orchard. The mangoes weren't in season at the time but we had plenty of guavas that could be collected. We also had a few plants like rosella known locally as gongura that were flowering. On slower days, we utilized this farm produce through activities like harvesting the rosella petals to make jam. Collecting all those petals, and preparing them for the jam was a fairly tedious task that took a long time to do by hand. The end result was an interesting jam with a unique flavour I hadn't come across before.

Young rosella or gongura flower petals.

We also collected mature plants that had produced seeds, and dried them out to save the seeds for the next planting season.

Collecting seeds of plants like amaranth, peanuts and sunflowers.

As there wasn't much field work to be done, I spent a lot of time at Hamsah working on infrastructure around the farm. John was pretty open-minded on how I could contribute, and I thought that I could use my design skills to build something of use. We needed a bonfire circle for our evening gatherings and I wanted to build a communal space for them.

Community Fire Circle

Location of our fire circle

We chose this spot as it was close to the community space and kitchen and was ideal for having evening bonfires. John used his tiller to clear up the space and mark out the circle. I started by making stone walkways leading to the kitchen and path to the community space.

Initially I placed the stone pieces on the ground, packing them together with just mud. They stayed intact when it was dry, but washed away with the first heavy rain. I re-worked the pathways again using a mud and lime mortar that was more permanent. A german volunteer had also joined us, and helped me by reinforcing my paths with granite pillars and transplanting trees and plants to make the space more lively.

All the materials used in this project came from the farm itself with the exception of lime for the walkways. We took around a month and a half to finish this, with around half my time spent on this project. I wanted to make a difference, and was so glad that my work produced something useful. We used the space for our bonfires and the first gathering we had there had me beaming with joy for our little community. I visited Hamsah again this year, and discovered that the space we created is still intact. The trees have grown and the place is still functional. What we made two years ago is still being used and enjoyed by people, and that gave me a feeling of satisfaction in my work that I never experienced through the mainstream.

The community fire circle as it existed earlier this year.

Natural Building

There was a time during my stay at Hamsah where it rained continuously for a few weeks. We couldn't do any farm work and as the fire circle was outdoors, work was halted there as well. Living in a tent during monsoon season is quite the experience. To make use of our time during the monsoon we decided to work on an indoors project by raising the height of a few walls in the community space. To do this we used a unique version of natural building where we used terracotta tiles and mud to build the walls. The tiles were from earlier infrastructure and the mud came from the farm, so everything was local with this build.

The tiles are laid out in a way that they interlock with each other. Mud is then applied between each layer. The final coat is with a mix of mud and cow dung. The space is protected by a roof, so there is no need to weather proof the walls.

IMG_20151117_155411395 (1).jpg

Interlocking tile pattern.

The farm has two cows of a native breed. There were also many dogs and cats with their young ones. They also have chickens and ducks now, but they weren't around while I was there. They added their own charm to the space. It's almost impossible to be in a bad mood when surrounded by faces like these!

Jaaga is a co-working space run inside the farm. It's intended as a self study learning program where people from the city can work, live and learn on the farm. They also have camps on learning how to code and different programs and areas of study. A lot of its participants help out with the farm work and are part of the community at Hamsah. They have their own unique temporary structure made from pallet racks and are even self sustaining with their own solar set up and internet. I learnt the process of making a structure like this by going along with Jaaga students to set up a smaller version for an event. It's almost like giant lego!

John is one of the nicest, kindest and helpful person I've met, and I learnt a lot through him at my stay at the farm. I've covered the basics, but can't begin to describe how meaningful this experience was for me. I felt happy, healthy and that life was wholesome and good. This was the spark that led me to make a commitment to stay away from the mainstream and begin a journey of permaculture through a homestead in the hills. I hope to someday return the favour, and host volunteers myself, showing them that happy independent living is possible.

To know more about John and his farm, watch these short videos about his life.

To know more about Jaaga and their programs,| Click Here |
Visit Hamsah's Facebook page, | Here |

homesteading homesteadersonline life volunteer wwoof

7 years ago by soulturtle (55)

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bitgeek (62) · 7 years ago

Congratulations @soulturtle, this post is the most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a User account holder (accounts that hold between 0.1 and 1.0 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by User account holders during this period was 2339 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $4715.90. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Thank you everyone for all the love this post has got. This was one of the most meaningful experiences in my life, and waking up to see it do so well is the best Christmas present!

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mountainjewel (68) · 7 years ago

<3 Merry Christmas <3 (and thanks for the gift!)

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misterakpan (61) · 7 years ago

Oh well! That was quite an experience! I want to set up a similar farm in my local community. It's puzzling how you find a project that's already implemented but exists just as a concept in your head. I'll bookmark this one for reference ;-)

Good post, tidy use of English. I admire.

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Thank you! The process of converting fantasy to reality has always been a fascinating process as a designer. Arriving at Hamsah was also very serendipitous in a way. I had the intention, but actualizing it was a unique process. The German volunteer also added his own energy and creative process to the design I started to bring it to completion. I wanted to do cobb pizza ovens and benches too, but couldn't manage it because of all the rain! I did however get exactly what I sought out through this experience which I'm very grateful for.

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goldendawne (69) · 7 years ago

WOW! I can almost feel the calm.. the serene ambiance.

What a fabulous experience!

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Yes! It felt like detox for the soul which slowed me down and enabled me to discover parts of me that I didn't know existed. If you ask me, an experience like this is much more beneficial than any anti-depressant pill.

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idyllwild (48) · 7 years ago

I can relate to your journey in so many ways! I too left my previous life feeling lost and a lack in depth and purpose. I moved to a farm in Santa Cruz where I spent over a year and had a really similar experience to yours in terms of unplugging and reconnecting with myself and nature. It is a kind of spiritual experience - some called it deprogramming or cleansing. I don't know what to call it, but it felt amazing and I realized what it is that humans are craving and missing, what that hollowness inside so many of us really is. It's a call back to our roots, our true selves, our nature. Those who answer that call is bountifully rewarded...and continue to be. I feel grateful everyday. Following the Santa Cruz experience, I went to Asia for three months and went to place called Mindful Farms in Thailand: http://www.mindfulfarmers.org/. Your story about Hamsah reminds me a lot of that farm too. There's so many people doing great things!

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Wow, what beautiful places. Yes, it's incredible how many people are doing amazing things. I think once you have the intention the Universe works in mysterious ways to connect you to people, places and things on the same frequency. You're also right about this being a return rather than something new. I think the key is finding a balance between the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors and the progress of technology. Even finding steemit and all the wonderful people here who support each other to live sustainable lives is a sign we're moving towards an optimistic future. Glad you made your way here. I've read your introduction and our journeys have indeed been kinda parallel. Hope you stick around and continue to share inspiration.

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minismallholding (69) · 7 years ago

It's great to see how that space you created has settled in two years later. I had the opportunity to do a few days of wwoofing with my daughters a couple of years back and I wish it could have been a bit longer. My girls still cherish the memories though and the couple who owned the place were just the loveliest people, so sharing of their knowledge and home.

I'm curious, what did you do when it was time to leave, having given up your job and apartment?

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago (edited)

That's good to know. I think how good a wwoof experience is depends entirely on the host. I was lucky that mine was wonderful which really made an impact on my time there.

So yeah, I didn't have a job or apartment to get back to, so I went back to my hometown to stay with family for awhile. As for what I did, and where I am now, I'll eventually post about the succession of major events and experiences.

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minismallholding (69) · 7 years ago

Looking forward to reading about it. 😊

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bushkill (57) · 7 years ago

Wow, it takes guts to quit a job and give up your apartment not knowing what is in store for you. Sounds like it was the right move for you. Great post

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Well, I did confirm my place with John before quitting and moving out. Yes, it was hard giving up everything I've ever known but it set me off on what I think is a path of truth, love and beauty. This was like a turning point in my life where I discovered myself and how it's possible to live without the structure, format and rules society has been telling us are necessary to be successful.

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wallpaperflower (50) · 7 years ago

I will be in south India in January. Hopefully I will pass through John's farm & contribute. Your pictures are vibing high. I can feel the space. Thanks for sharing your brave experience of transcending the system to live a happier, healthy & wholly life.

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Oh, nice. If you're in or around Bangalore, you should definitely visit as his farm isn't that hard to get to from there. You can book an uber straight into the farm. If you're around for awhile and don't mind more adventurous travels I'd also suggest visiting Kodaikanal, where my homestead is going to be! It's a beautiful place that I instantly fell in love with. Feel free to message me on discord if you have any other questions or anything you want to discuss. I have the same username as here.

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wallpaperflower (50) · 7 years ago (edited)

ok thanks soulturtle. I will be flying to Bangalore beginning of January & will travel south for the next 4 months so yes an adventure! I will find you on discord :)

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mountainjewel (68) · 7 years ago

What a beautiful experience! Looks like a cool place. I am so surprised at the red color of the soil! And irrigating in trenches like that! how cool... I always love low tech solutions...

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

Thanks! The red colour comes from the predominantly laterite soil of the area. John's been at it for nearly a decade now, and the soil has been well cared for in all that time. He's pretty much experimented with various techniques and found the ones that work best for him. There have been some water scarcity issues with them being so close to the city, but he's learnt to overcome them. I didn't get too involved with farm work because of the timing of the season, but there usually is a lot of diversity on the fields and a whole bunch of low tech solutions used in creating it.

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