Starting to Feel Like Home

Having finally finished my first week, things here at Mojo Plantation are beginning to settle, and it’s starting to feel like home.  My work entails making bookings for the hospitality sector of the farm and NGO, the Rainforest Retreat, via email, arranging transport to and from the property for guests, accounting for the finances of the Retreat, greeting guests when they arrive, telling them about the plantation, etc.  I feel like I have a good grasp on all my duties and that allows me to spend more time enjoying the place and less time worrying about it!

It’s becoming clear that the four interns here were chosen for good reason.  Everyone has a unique and innovative perspective to bring to organic farming.  Chats during tea are the highlight of my days.  Each talk morphs with the hours, and we generally end them by devising a plan to delve into the issue further.  We are all acutely aware of the amount of time we will be here together.  There is so much time to plan and execute a million projects.  The first few weeks are meant to be spent learning and acclimatizing, but everyone is so eager to start on their projects.  Our days seem full and exhausting, belying their leisurely pace.  The amount of information we receive in a single day is… intoxicating.  I can’t get enough.  I am realizing that every one and every thing here has a lesson to teach.  On Sunday at tea, Sujata came down to tell a guest about the farm and how it started.  The story was an inspiration.  Her passion and enthusiasm was infectious. 

We went into Madikeri, the nearest town, last Friday for Market Day.  It was so fun!  When I first stepped out of the car I was nervous and felt extremely out-of-place.  But with Sujata there to guide us and buy flowers for our hair, and my fellow interns by my side, I soon became enthralled in everything I saw.  An old warehouse was transformed by local growers pedaling their colorful produce.

Everyone seemed happy to see us, and some were even eager for us to sample their food.  My first purchase was peanuts and dried salted soy (I think) beans.  The man selling them had beckoned us over and dumped handfuls of these treats into Erin’s and my hands as we said “No, no, no thank you!”  He just nodded and smiled and tried to give us more.  Partly because of his generosity and partly because they were actually quite tasty, we ended up buying a packet of both.

Outside of the warehouse pavilion we found a seemingly endless market place.  Sujata navigated it like the pro she is, while we shuffled around awkwardly taking pictures of people in their normal lives. 

I think now I will feel comfortable going into town on my own for my needs.  We can call Charlie, the autorickshaw driver, anytime for a ride into town.  I plan to get a few khurtas this week, so I have more clothes to make filthy.

Back at the farm… this weekend Ravi took some guests on a trek into the hills and all the interns tagged along.  The day was alternately sunny and overcast, with a dampness in the air that coaxed sweat from our pores before we’d even begun.  Ravi took us up a road past several small farms until we finally turned off the road and onto a trail.  Most of it was a gradual incline, but at times a few of the guests were overwhelmed by the steep grade.  When we emerged from blinding jungle into a greenscape of rolling hills, covered in Shola forest and grasslands, I literally had tears in my eyes.  The Retreat is so buried in the forest, you never see more than 50 meters in any direction until your view is blocked by the foliage.  Here my line of sight was unending.  The furthest mountains were mostly obscured by clouds and finally a breath of wind cooled our sweaty faces.  I sat silently on the grassy hill, towering over the rice paddies of Kaloor village below. 

My greatest regret of the day was not bringing a camera.  Thankfully Erin and Matt brought theirs, so I should be able to steal a few pics to illustrate the view.

So for now I’m just learning from this place—all the plants and animals and the people.  I’m constantly humbled by new knowledge.  I’ve already sworn off all GM food and will spend the rest of my life trying to eat locally. It’s great to know that your food is good down to the soil it was grown in. 

 

Lauren 9/22/09