Deepak Suchde and Natueco Farming in Bajwada, Madhya Pradesh

Deepakbhai (DB) is a master farmer, who has worked on organic farming for around 40 years now.

Every time I meet him, I learn some more about farming. Here are some quick highlights of what I have learnt over the years (Go here for a good talk by Deepakbhai):


Basic Theories behind Chemical and Organic Farming

- In inorganic farming (as in most of science), you try and remove (kill) all variables like microbes in the soil, earthworms, insects etc. Then you add the chemicals you believe the plant needs. Then you add specially produced hybrid seeds, you water the plants/hope for rain and collect the yield. You then burn the rest of the plants that are standing in your field to prepare the field for the next planting.
- Unfortunately, most biological systems aren't ever that simple. Plants, microbes, worms, insects, birds all grow in an ecosystem where they support each other. A plant doesn't only take 3 or 10 elements from the soil - it takes a whole host of them - some that we might not have figured out yet. Since the chemicals only reflect the elements we know of, we can't do much about the unknown. Also, there is often a lot of complexity behind the form(s) in which elements need to be present for a plant to be able to absorb them...

What Deepakbhai proposes is beyond organic - farming without any pesticides at all, with yields greater than you get through inorganic and with zero external inputs (=> no costs other than labor)

Plant physiology

• Tilling your soil exposes your microbes/carbon to the sun, which kills the microbes/produces CO2 and loss of organic carbon. You don't want to till, but dig a small hole whereever you need to plant (or in some cases, just scatter the seed on the soil, if it is rich enough.
• Pruning is an important part of yield control - if you don't prune, you are wasting the plant's energy in the upkeep of non-productive branches (there are some great rules around pruning that I am skipping)
• Feeder roots of plants are within the top 1-2 feet for most plants - this is the only part that can absorb elements from the soil - this is where you want the nutrition
• Most of the edible produce we want from plants are from carbohydrates - after harvesting, take the remaining part of the plant (if it is an annual), chop it up and let it decompose to enrich the soil - don't burn it/uproot it and throw it away - burning will just release more CO2 in the atmosphere and cause you to burn away useful elements. It will also hurt the microbes in your soil.
• Organic pesticides are not okay. Pests tend to destroy weaker plants, which will automatically allow the stronger plants to self-select. The nutrients in the weaker plants will go back to enrich your soil.

Water

• If you have larger amounts of organic carbon in your soil, it allows your soil to absorb more water from the atmosphere and so need less water
• Plants don't need a lot of water. What they need is moisture around the feeder roots, to allow easier ion exchange between the roots and the soil
• Rice doesn't need a lot of water to grow. The only reason farmers flood rice fields, is because the roots of rice plants can breath even when water logged, whereas the weeds can't. It is a way of doing weed control/labor saving.
• Feeder roots are most active on the periphery of the plant - ie. around the canopy of the tree/bush - where the plant would direct most rain water. Don't water at the trunk of trees, but at its canopy.
• Mulching around your plant is critical to weed control and water loss and root burn prevention.
  

Trees and their benefits

• Trees play a critical role in having a healthy farm
• Around every few acres of land, you should have a row of trees
• Trees reduce the micro-temperature of the farm - preventing burning of the plants and reducing their water needs
• Trees take water and elements from deeper in the soil and bring them up/make them available
• Trees anchor your soil
• Trees provide shelter for birds
• Trees provide biomass - both for firewood and for create new layers of soil
• Trees break strong winds to prevent erosion or hot winds destroying crops
• And obviously, trees can yield fruits and/or wood for consumption/sale.

Birds and Bees

• Birds help in seed dispersal
• Bird poop is a great fertilizer
• Birds are a good natural pest control mechanism - will control rats, snakes
• One interesting way DB told me to figure out if a farm is organic - see if you can see a lot of butterfly around the farm - if there are, the farm is organic. Otherwise they aren't.

Marginal farmers
There are two models that DB promotes:

• A 10 Guntha Model
• 10 Guntha's is one quarter of an acre. Most farmers have more than that much land.
• Using DB's techniques, 10 Guntha's can produce enough to house, clothe and feed a family of five and have savings left over
• A 1 Guntha Model - Gangama Mandal
• This is a model for a mother to keep her children fed even if the family has no other source of income. It should at least help get rid of the problem of death due to malnutrition that is still common in India

Ok. That was a pretty long post. There is a lot more that I could write and a lot more you could learn if you spend some time listening to DB's video (link at the top of my post)

Unnati - Bangalore

One organization I had the pleasure of visiting while I was in Bangalore was Unnati.

They have the following model: They take in new batches of students every 3 months. Train the students for 90 days and then place them in corporate jobs.

Anyone can qualify - there are no educational requirements of entrance tests. You only need to be over 18 and poor. This includes people with physical or mental impairments.

Jobs are pretty decent paying - between Rs. 4000 - Rs. 13000 per month.

They place people in a few areas where they see enough demands - these include BPO jobs, hospitality, security, etc.

Training, boarding and lodging is free for the candidates (it costs Unnati Rs. 12,000 per student).

The skills the kids are taught are: English, Computers, Life values and Business skills

A little depressing, but if you want to do well in India today, you need to know some English. The kids they pick up frequently come from rural areas and can't say a word in English when they start. I got to see a class of kids who had just started their training. I can testify that it was hard for most say 3 sentences about themselves in English.

While access to computers is still hard to get in India, if you have decent computer skills - even simple data entry, you improve your earning potential dramatically.

In Life Values, they try to teach you about the right values in life - I don't have their full list, but it included things like punctuality, helping others, etc

In Business skills, they include topics like interviewing....

The first question I asked Rameshbhai (who is the brains behind this), was whether the companies were hiring these kids as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and he was quick to respond - "Absolutely not". Companies are looking for employees who have these skills and are happy to pick up these candidates and keep coming back for more.

Trip to Rajgurunagar

Trip to Rajgurunagar - Part I

Went to visit a project at Rajgurunagar - a taluka place near Pune (used to be called Khed).
The project is run by Bombay Mothers & Children Welfare Society. It works on integrated rural development. In and around Rajgurunagar, we saw the following:

1. Their hospital - they treat patients at a reduced rate. Also have specialists visit from Pune and see patients once a week. Have a pretty good operation theatre and dental chair. Power is a big problem in that area, so they have a diesel power generator to deal with the frequent power cuts. A hospital forms a pretty good base for any charitable organization, because it gets them instant credibility.


2. Went to see a primary school in a village near the place. The principal and teachers were very dedicated and wanted to do the m0st they could for the students, but you can quickly see that kids in villages have way less exposure to the world than even street kids in Bombay.


Here are some photographs of the school :
Kids doing a prathna for us. They were sitting on the hard stone floor for at least 30 minutes while we were there - and that on a Sunday morning!
The principal and a village elder. Note the charts on the wall. The teachers have created these charts to match their lessons and create new ones periodically. Unfortunately, no paper charts that can be created once and pinned up every year (not sure why - possibly cost and material issues).


This is what most of their classrooms look like. Note the walls full of charts and the absense of any tables or chairs. Guess where the kids sit!

Conclusions drawn: Kids in villages, even with very dedicated teachers are at a huge disadvantage compared to kids in cities. I am teaching at a couple of shelters in Mumbai, but the kids there seem a lot more fearless.
That said, one of the kids from this town topped the 10th standard exam statewide!

Volunteering In India

I am an Indian techie, who has been working in the US for around 20 years. Have taken a break
for a few months and am trying to volunteer in India and see what folks are doing here.

In this blog, I plan to write up my experiences to let others know what I have seen.

A quick background on me:
Born and bred in Mumbai (Bombay). Went to Cathedral and John Connon School, Jai Hind College and IIT Bombay (Computer Science and Engineering).

Went to UCSB in 1987 to do my MS in Computer Science.

Have been working in the US since then. Most recently, was VP Engineering at Cenzic, Inc.