Varanashi Farms Living 👨🌾 ☀️🌴 Workaway in Adyanadka, 🇮🇳
After our short time in Hampi, we took an overnight bus to Mangalore (a much better experience than the train ride…) to connect to a bus that led us to Adyanadka. We arrived on January 2nd to the pleasant welcoming from Siddh and Zamie. Siddh, 25, is the workaway coordinator for the farm. We followed him through the depths of the farm and left our bags at the dorm, which would be our home for the next four weeks.
Varanashi farms is located between the foothills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. It is a heritage farm that has been going on for five generations over the past 400 years. They are one of the first organic farms in India. The Varanashi family has been producing their own organic manure and bio fertilizer being the main provider for several farms around the area. They work very hard on developing, maintaining, and sharing a life focused on self-sustainability.
The farm sprawls across 60 acres of land. When one thinks of a farm (or at least how we think of it), we think of open fields of crops. Varanashi Farms is 60 acres of high rising palm trees, plants, flowers, and countless species of birds. The palm trees are home to areca nuts and coconuts, while pepper, cacao beans, and bananas are seen throughout the farm. You can also spot many wild fruits like star fruit, milk fruit, papayas, pineapples, star apples, to name a few. They also produce their own rice and are leaders on water harvesting. Along with these crops, they consume their own eggplant, spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, and the list goes on!
One of the greatest things is that 50% of the farm is untouched forest. They focused on living off of this incredible land without taking it all, respecting nature and its own natural cycle. Therefore, once you step in through the gate you can start breathing the unique fresh and clean air, along with the sound of the several species of birds and wildlife.
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We have had a wide range of tasks here from harvesting peppers, landscaping, gardening projects, and carpentry, to performing a waste management program at the local school.
Besides the great amount of learning about farming through the volunteer work, this has been an intense experience for personal growth. Everywhere you go there will be new people, new things to learn, and new things to adapt to and to respect. There are a few things that we noticed, neither good nor bad, simply observations that are very interesting and new to us. In particular rules and customs that we had yet to come across about the Indian traditions.
The Varanashi family is of the Brahman caste, the highest caste in the Hindu system. Some try to claim that the caste system is now non-existent, but it is still prevalent and respected. Those of lower castes are not able to certain things around the higher castes. For example, a person of a very low caste is not allowed to enter the house of a Brahman. The workers were the workers and the owners are clearly above them. There was a constant subtle gap, you could call it a respected and noticeable vibration, whenever the workers interacted with the owners. The knowledge of the caste system and their rankings was almost as day and night in certain situations. Sometimes we weren’t sure where we, as western volunteers, fit in the system.
In this sense, this is a great opportunity to practice soul consciousness. As everybody else looks through the eyes of the body, you look through the eyes of the soul. They are all souls, no matter the costume. It is a great chance to look without judging, labeling, categorizing or criticizing. As much as we say and talk about avoiding this, there are still some leftover old habits that make you forget who you are. The ego, the false me, takes over and puts on the bodily glasses. It just means we still have some polishing to do until we become a pure diamond once again.
Another interesting practice was at meal times. The dining table is a very respected and sacred part of the home. When there is respect and sacredness, along comes rules. At the table, you have two hands – one right and one left. Each has a role to play throughout the meal, but those roles change throughout. Follow along:
When you are given your plate, both (clean) hands can be used. On your initial serving of food, you can serve with your right hand as you assist with the left. Go on filling your plate with all the yummy spicy food.
:) Now the fun begins – the eating! Dig it, with the right hand! :)
The left casually waits its turn for some action. Now once you have placed your plate at the table and started to eat, the plate must not move from that spot – so choose wisely!
Nom…Nom…Nom
Time for seconds! Here’s the tricky part - with many dishes in the way, you need to only grab and serve with your left hand. Luckily, you have friends at the table who understand the struggle, so they can help you out with their left hand as well. However, be careful that the serving spoon does not touch your plate. Just plop it on there! Wah-lah, you now have your second serving on your plate ready to be enjoyed! :)
This was the first time that we had no other option but eating with our hands and like anything else you adapt. Honestly it was very enjoyable, just sometimes a little tricky and messy. Oh… the toilet situation is a whole different story. We will leave that one for your imagination and for our private conversations... :)
Eating off banana leaves :)
We greatly appreciate the hospitality that the family has provided us, along with their understanding of health issues (Masé's knees). We have been able to learn new things by experiencing them, witnessing them, and feeling them.
As for the workers, they are incredible people. So curious, so respectful, so courteous, always wanting to ensure that you are feeling great. The language barrier was definitely real, but through gestures, facial expressions, and big smiles, we all got along great. Pradeep, one of the farm’s carpenters, invited us to his house for a “small function”. He made sure we knew the details in his broken English:
“Small function. 50 people. Sunday. 1:00 o’clock, you come?”
We made sure not to miss this small function. We went with our fellow workaway volunteer, Priya (from Tamil Nadu, India), and experienced the naming ceremony for Pradeep’s baby nephew. It was a quiet and peaceful function. It was beautiful to see their family spending time together with no alcohol being drank or cigarettes being smoked, just relaxing time together. We were served food on our banana leaves in three separate waves of people. The efficiency of the meal time was incredible, it was honestly a spectacle to see. Everyone knew their part, no one argued. There were those who set up the times first, then served the food. Next wave, next servers – new set up, new food. Then the final wave to finish. Pradeep made sure to tell us that we were the first Westerners to be with his family, also again in his broken English:
“First Westerners, my house. Me, full happy.”
In this situations we feel extremely humble. It is always those who have the least that want to give you the most. They constantly thank you for visiting their “small house”, they want to make sure you are comfortable and at all times “FULL HAPPY”. These are the type of interactions we want to focus on.
Usha was the maid in the house, having a maid is something quite common here. She was usually a little angry and would never smile to anybody. Since we got here, Masé made it her primary goal to make her smile and give her love and acknowledgment through the eyes. After some time Usha was calling Masé “friend”, which according to the family was a big deal. One day, Usha invited Masé to go to a nearby village for some shopping. It was such a unique experience to see the world through Usha’s eyes.
At the end of each step of our journey, we give time to reflect on the experience. The moments we remember most are the subtle energy exchanges with others, the helping hand someone provides in a moment of struggle, the smile and head nod from a person who doesn’t speak your language but understands exactly what you are trying to say, the spontaneous events like stopping at the top of a hill to play volleyball with a group of kids that seemed to be waiting all day for a Jeep full of Indians and foreigners to jump out and say – “wanna play??”
This experience was greatly impacted towards the middle of the month after we had to take a trip to a knee specialist to look at Masé’s knees. He prescribed full rest along with physio sessions. At one point we were considering going back to Spain to take care of it. However, with the support of the Varanashi family, the workers, the other volunteers, and our mental focus, we have been able to adapt to the situation without having to leave. We are so grateful of how accommodating, supporting, and encouraging the Varanashi family has been. With lots of determination and patience, it seems like it might be fully recovered soon.
We are now heading further south to teach at a Montessori school, where we will be able to also get proper rest at the school’s campus until our next move which comes at the end of February.
Namaste and lots of love to you all,
M&M Times