Our first target of having the staff live off the land is almost achieved with the staff solely depending on veggies from the farm. Our experiment to grow rice in the backwaters of the lake was a smashing hit. This should cater to the grain requirement of the staff and more. We are now moving on to our wheat experiment and see what the land allows us to do. Potatoes, onions and pulses are the last few food buckets that we need to grow.
Our next step would be to plan for member families. This would involve planning the water supply and harvesting it, the sowing and harvest calendars.
To address the first, we have started the first of its kind stream bed registry exercise in India to closely map the hydrology of the landscape and scientifically plan the structures that suit our goals the most. For e.g. in some places we are more interested in harvesting soil than water versus capturing and percolating water into the soil. We’ll soon be publishing a detailed report on this.
We will be undertaking a second baseline study exercise in Hyderabad in January to see what impact we have had on the landscape.
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