A Day Visit to Tamarind Valley Collective
8th July 2023, Saturday
The day started at 6am. A team of 20 people from Biome embarked on their journey to Thaggatti R.F., Tamil Nadu for a day visit to the Tamarind Valley Collective. The place was 2.5hrs away from the main city of Bangalore, situated in the green hills of Tamil Nadu.
We reached the TVC at exactly 9:30AM. After a small walk through the greens (guided by our four legged friend Coco) we finally arrived at the New Lunch Hut. Here we were greeted by our host Madhav who graciously welcomed us with fresh lemon juice and a delicious breakfast of Idli and Sambhar. While having breakfast, he introduced us to Tamarind Valley Collective where we had an interactive discussion of what it is and how it functions.
The TVC Lunch Hut
TVC is a community of individuals who share a common vision of embracing a sustainable way of life. Their main objective is to develop and refine a concept of sustainable living. Within this collective, they actively engage in practices that promote sustainability, particularly in the realm of agriculture. They grow crops and cultivate them using methods that prioritize ecological balance and minimal environmental impact. At present, the initiative boasts a membership of 52 families, all of whom are dedicated to this cause. Recognizing the alarming degradation of our planet's natural resources, the TVC community strives to combat this issue by experimenting with a lifestyle that emphasizes reduced consumption and the integration of naturally supported cyclical systems.
TVC's journey towards sustainability takes place on a 100-acre farm, which is collectively owned by the participating families. However, upon their initial acquisition, the farmland was severely degraded due to exploitative farming practices. Undeterred by this setback, the community rallied together and decided to employ permaculture principles as their guiding philosophy. Over the course of the past three years, they have diligently implemented these principles to regenerate the farm's fertility in a natural and sustainable manner. By nurturing the land and working in harmony with nature's cycles, the TVC community is steadily transforming the once depleted farmland into a thriving and resilient ecosystem. TVC only owns one cow and a calf to help them in plowing and other farming activities but is still debating whether to use cattle for farming as maintenance is an issue as of now.
After the discussion, the tour of the farm started. We started off with looking at multiple farming practices followed to grow pulses, paddy, tamarind, banana, papaya, ragi, etc. TVC looks after such crops only for the initial few months and lets it grow organically for the rest of the months. TVC only owns one cow and a calf to help them in plowing and other farming activities but is still debating whether to use cattle for farming as maintenance is an issue as of now.
Paddy Farm
Other than such pulses, TVC has also started apiculture. Currently there are 3 such bee hives to observe the bees and see if this venture has a potential to be beneficial for the crops at TVC.
The Three Bee Hives (Bee Boxes)
We viewed the premises of the collective, which is where the living fence now stood. Earlier there was a bamboo fence there, which was weaker and would not last long due to termite infestation. Their shift to a living fence was necessary due to the constant threat of wild animals e.g. elephants, monkeys, boars, etc. grazing and destroying their harvest. During the farm tour itself, we were informed that monkeys had come onto the farm, and they burst firecrackers to scare them away.
The Three Tiered Living Fence
This fence consisted of 3 layers of different types of plants, with the innermost layer being made of sitaphal and jamun plants.
The collective also planned on diverting the nearby stream on the property to stimulate natural irrigation.
Site Where The Water Will Be Diverted
Another interesting fact that we learned was how minimum was the waste production. The green waste like dried leaves etc are used to replenish the nutrients back into the soil. TVC tries to use minimum plastic as well. They have to use some for their nursery but they try to reuse it as much as possible. The nursery hosts plants that will be planted on fertile grounds in the TVC area and will be left to grow on their own after the initial two summers.
The Nursery
On our way back from the tour, some of us climbed a tree house that is used to keep an eye out for wild animals entering the farmland. Soon after that it started raining, so we started walking back to the Lunch hut where we drank tamarind juice which was followed by a spread of local food. We had tamarind curry, ragi mudde, etc.
View From The Treehouse
This was followed by a refreshing hike from where we could see the whole area of Tamarind valley Collective in all its glory. We stayed at the top for some time, took some beautiful pictures and finally headed back home after thanking our generous hosts.
A Happy Ending :)
As of now, the permaculture agriculture method is not financially profitable for the collective, which is why they also host a number of workshops along with stays in their bamboo tents. The farm hosts hikes for their visitors as well.
TVC is planning to expand its residential space by allocating 8 acres for the development of a village. Here all the 52 families can stay together and take care of the land easily. Biome will be assisting TVC in this project to help them plan the village.
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