The environmental impact of every thing we do at the farm has guided our plans, process and practices. It has been a learning curve for us from lesson learnt on the ground as well as from interactions with those who have paved the path of bio dynamic, organic and sustainable farming practices.

Balancing the negatives of mono-crop plantation with the desire to be a self-sustaining biodynamic farm in the long run has thrown up interesting challenges and lessons. While we are a mono-crop plantation (acres dedicated purely for Capers or Moringa to achieve efficiency of manpower and infrastructure spend), we rotate crops between beds of commercial crop with sun hemp, pulses and millets. These not only help in nitrogen fixing, but also provide the green matter for our compost heaps and also get mulched into the soil. At the outset of the farming journey, we focused on sturdy plastic mulch sheets to trap moisture, prevent evaporation of precious water from the beds and curb weeds. Bio waste from the farm now replaces plastic mulch in the new areas being cropped. This approach has helped us enrich the soil and curb the weeds that come up during monsoon in a more holistic fashion. The health of our plants points to the balance that has been achieved with the environment.

The land we procured in 2012 was berift of trees, shrubs or any avian life. To correct that imbalance and encourage the symbiosis of birds – insects-flowers-trees, we have commenced an afforestation plan. We are focused on planting tress endemic to that region in the hope that the parrots, peacocks and kingfishers that make the nearby villages their home, will soon choose to dwell on our land too. We look forward to their role in pest control so that we continue to be organic in all aspects of our functioning.

The trees (saplings) that are now flourishing on the farm will not only increase the water table in the years to come but will also provide the biomass needed to enrich the land.

We are committed to water conservation and water recharge – a commitment made even before farming operations commenced. This not only led us to identify crops that we would grow but also guided us in investing in state-of-the art drip line systems for irrigation and fertigation. The natural slope of the terrain is being used to our advantage to channelise water in monsoon towards old dried up springs. While we use bore wells, we are delighted to note that our peak summer yield of water has been significantly improving since we started working the land in 2013.

Fertigation is done using only certified organic products with emphasis on time tested formulations made on the farm – cow dung, cow urine, neem , chilly, garlic and other natural ingredients play a major role in our operations to save the crops from pests.