Back To The Basics

AT A GLANCE

CAUSE & CONCEPT –

The idea is to set up self-sufficient farm communities in order to demonstrate the principle of “Simply living & High thinking”. The intention is that such communities become beacons lights for the society that is moving rapidly towards artificial and destructive lifestyles. Modern civilisation with its thrust on maximising worldly pleasures has simply intensified the struggle for existence.

The question of survival and livelihood has become very complex issues in the present day. Traditional economics provided for self- sufficiency of varying degrees at various levels from the individual household, through the individual village up to a cluster of villages and sometimes over larger distances as well. The desire is to revive such model economies in order to curb the nuisances of the present day illusory economics.

The modern economic model is progressively corroding the self-sufficiency of social units, making them more and more dependent on the external, unconnected forces and situations. Indeed in this age of globalization and so called free trade, individuals and social units are becoming enslaved rather than free. In this complex web of artificial interdependency and control, events at one place drastically affect the situation and destinies of people in distant places whose perilous implications are visible throughout the world.

MERITS OF THE TRADITIONAL LIFE –

The traditional model of living by promoting self-sufficiency at the local level insulates a region from the disturbances in the other regions. It gives man an honourable measure of control over his life and destiny. It nurtures and facilitates the spirit of Co-operation rather than Competition, of Hard work rather than Indolence, of Sensitivity to one’s environment, humane & nature rather than Callousness, of Sharing & Giving rather than Grabbing, of the Refinement & Upliftment of the human spirit rather than it’s Degradation. The benefits are numerous.

ROLE MODEL VILLAGES –

With the traditional village fast disappearing, there is a crying need for self-sufficient villages that can serve as role models to inspire a faithless population that is much allured and captivated by the glitter and glamour of modern technology & lifestyles.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PROJECT –

ORGANIC FARMING –

Strictly avoiding chemical fertilisers & pesticide,

Restricting heavy machinery like tractors, tillers and so on,

Denying biologically manipulated seeds.

COTTAGE INDUSTRY–

To supply the needs of the community & thus help in achieving self-sufficiency,

To serve as a source of livelihood,

To generate some income for the project, if possible, especially in the initial years.

ETHICAL MANAGEMENT OF INDIGENOUS LIVESTOCK–

Protection and preservation of native breeds as per documented standards and usage of their by-products (dung & urine) as manure for the land,

Milk and milk products,

Engaging bulls and oxens in agriculture as well as in other activities like pressing oilseeds, in manufacture of lime mortar, jaggery making, etc and also in transportation, all in the traditional & ecological fashion.

WATER MANAGEMENT–

Ensuring all around availability of water by creating various kinds of water bodies like tanks, wells, etc.

Recharging ground water through afforestation, rain water harvesting, contour binding, etc.

Traditional methods of water lifting.

CONSTRUCTION –

Using only locally available materials like mud, stone, wood, bamboo, straw, lime, etc.

Using only traditional, environmental friendly designs and pattern for individual dwellings and for the overall layout.

OUTREACH PROGRAMMES –

As the years go by and the project exemplifies & develops expertise in various fields, the aim is to reach out to the villages in the region and beyond to attempt a holistic, total transformation.

PRESENT STATUS –

At present the project is merely an idea and the concept of developing a self-sufficient society awaits funding from merciful donors who would like to see it succeed. The prime need is of LAND and because of the incapability of purchasing the measure of land that is required, the idea of crowdfunding from like-minded citizens came in, in order to support us with this noble and honest way of life. Developing this design is an imminent need for the society, after all how long do you expect mother nature to fulfil our unworthy insatiable demands, otherwise somehow or the other, either this generation or the next, we will be forced to dig into our roots back to the rudimentary ways of life. Then why not now ?. In the absence of machinery, work might be slow as nature does not like to be bull-dosed into supplying our needs. We would rather go slow than compromise our basic principle, BUT depending on time, place and circumstances some modern machinery can be used which can be abandoned at a later stage.

THE SUCCESS FORMULAE –

The needs will be met by following as an ideal & yet profound articulation of the principle : “ Use only what you can produce & Produce only what you need ”.

Therefore the overall project will avoid the use of electricity and thus all the modern household gadgets and equipment that depends on it.Indeed anything that is the product of modern industrial set up for which we have to depend on someone or something external to the community will be avoided. Instead the attempt will be to revive various forms of traditional technologies to meet our simple needs.

No doubt, a 100% self-suffiency will not be possible to achieve immediately and particularly in this generation and neither do we desire to remain fanatic with our approach and idea, but we will strive to work towards that ideal and move closer to it as the years go by.

In order to keep this presentation short but meaningful, I have not discussed in all the details. For those of you having any queries, may mail me at vrindaaranyam@gmail.com.