VAD PERMACULTURE DEMONSTRATION FARM
Established in April 2019, Vad Permaculture Demonstration Farm has been co-created with Vinayak Vad - a marginal and indigenous farmer in Tansa Valley, Maharashtra - and his family.
Location: Dodhadepada, near Ganeshpuri
Palghar, Maharashtra,
India
A one acre farm where we conduct
hands-on workshops to demonstrate Permaculture
and regenerative farming principles in action.
The farm holds a Ganpati-shaped mandala kitchen garden, a micro food forest, a rice field and a fodder patch amongst other growing areas plus a small pond and many deep swales. The design, naturally, is continuously evolving :-)
Cows, chicken and ducks live on the farm, along with Maggy, the Alsatian puppy. We are regularly visited by birds, bees, butterflies, frogs and hundreds of creatures, big and small,
that we are yet to identify!
Workshops are conducted in our training centre which has a training area overlooking the mandala garden, a kitchen of its own for those yummy farm to table meals, a small (and very basic) bedroom for sleepovers and a washroom, for when nature calls ;-)
The design is strongly influenced by Clea Chandmal's Forest Floor Way of farming, which aligns with all the principles of permaculture. We focus on establishing biodiverse living systems above and below the ground, building the rhizosphere and cycling nutrients in a closed loop.
The farm yields approximately
50% of the food required for a family of 5.
OUTREACH
Total Outreach: 55 farmers; 10 trainers; 22 children
In partnership with local organisations who are part of the community, we train the trainers along with the community members.
The scope of the workshops is mutually decided upon based on the needs of the community.
WORKSHOP WITH WOMEN FARMERS ASSOCIATED WITH
SUKHBHUMI INDIA TRUST
WORKSHOP WITH PRACTICING ORGANIC FARMERS ASSOCIATED WITH
DHAWLE TRUST
WORKSHOP WITH CHILDREN FROM
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
WORKSHOP WITH WOMEN FARMERS ASSOCIATED WITH
HELPING HANDS ORGANISATION
DEMONSTRATION WALKS WITH FARMERS FROM
MUMBAI AND PUNE
OUR APPROACH
We engage in a participative process to
Build on the traditional wisdom of the community
Empower farmers with the knowledge of permaculture and regenerative farming
Design locally relevant strategies
OUR PARTNERS
A big thank you to
our partner Vanarai
for their continuing support
and the generous funding
and enormous trust
placed in us by Lush Re: Fund