Mohan, a sculptor, and his wife Rukmini, the principal of a nursing college, nurtured a dream for many years of building a community of like-minded people committed to an organic way of life. Three years ago they gathered together 14 other families who wished a life away from concrete jungles overflowing with processed foods and assembly-line goods.
Together, the 15 families bought two-and-a-half acres of land on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river, each family possessing between 12 and 16 cents of land.
Simple mud or wooden houses, self-cultivated vegetables and pulses, fruit trees, cows, goats and many more domestic animals, a communal kitchen for all 15 families to gather together and share food, and a communal guest house to host visitors, are all planned for the village which is being constructed.
And it perhaps is, since it is the fulfilment of a dream long held by Mohan Chavara and his family, and of a community for people committed to organic living. Built on the banks of the Bharathapuzha, a ten-minute walk from the Mannannur railway station in Palakkad, this village is nestled on two-and-a-half acres of picturesque land.
Simple community living
One year ago Mohan's family was the first to shift into the upcoming village. Mohan, Rukmini and their two daughters – 11-year-old Sreya and 18-year-old Surya –have already built a tree house, while a mud house is under construction.
Before that though, they had to do substantial work on the land. "When we first reached here there was a rubber plantation here. The first thing we did was to chop them all down. Rubber is not good for the soil. Then we planted fruit trees and vegetable gardens," Mohan says.
"One more family will move here in another six months, and the others will move in gradually. Here we follow an organic culture, pure natural living," Mohan explains while watering his vegetable garden. "Last year the yield from the vegetable garden was unexpectedly high," Mohan says.
Mohan says that his family decided to build their village after many years of urban living with all its luxuries, when they realised they were still dissatisfied. "For some years we also lived with all facilities, house, car etc… But there is no point to it. We should have a community to live healthy. Children should grow up loving nature," he explains.
Mohan says that he finds the culture of spending lakhs and crores to build concrete houses in urban centres untenable. "People take huge loans to build house and spend rest of their life repaying them. Better to build a comfortable home to stay peacefully close to nature," he says.
full article in the link below
http://www.thenewsminute.com/a
Posted by: Ravi Narasimhan <ravi.narasimhan.in@gmail.com>
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