Avoca Dabra – Suma Ganesh
VADA PAV RECIPE
November 17, 2022

Flaxseeds are native to the East-Mediterranean region and are one of the oldest known crops. They are known to be high in Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber. This may help reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and stabilize blood sugar levels.

Over the past many years this wonder ingredient has taken on India by force too! So much that traditional recipe now incorporate flax seeds too!

Here’s a chutney powder recipe that we tried and loved!

Chutney pudi goes very well with dosas, idlis or hot rice – with a bit of ghee or coconut oil

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flax seeds 
  • 10 – 15 red chilies (adjust as per your taste)
  • 1/2 cup chana dal
  • 1/2 cup urad dal
  • 1/2 cup dry coconut or desiccated coconut
  • 1/4 cup curry leaves
  • 1/2 tsp asafoetida
  • 1 small lemon sized tamarind (I used vate huli powder)
  • Salt as per your taste
  • Sugar as per your taste (optional)
  • 2 tsp cooking oil

Step:

  • To a pan, add each of the ingredients below, dry roast separately and set aside
    • Flax seeds
    • Chana dal
    • Urad dal
  • To the same pan add cooking oil and fry the red chilies until they are puffed up
  • Add coconut and curry leaves. Fry until curry leaves are crisp
  • Add asafoetida, tamarind and salt
  • Add sugar if you like and give it all a good mix
  • Add the roasted dals and turn the flame off
  • Allow this mix to cool and grind until fine

You can store the chutney powder in an airtight container.

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Be Library
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS – NOVEMBER 2022
November 16, 2022

SHANTARAM: AN ADVENTUROUS TALE SET IN MUMBAI – GREGORY DAVID ROBERTS

Shantaram, a book based on the author’s life, takes you through the journey of an escaped convict from Australia who lands himself in the thick of Bombay city. What follows is a rollercoaster ride that ebbs and flows through slums, romance, action and the underworld. For a Mumbaikar the book paints a verbal picture of the popular spots in the city, ushering nostalgia. It shows how the city can hold and absorb people from any part of the world and make them its own. Its sequel, but a standalone novel, The Mountain Shadow, is equally engaging.

WHAT IF THERE WERE NO BEES – SUZANBREATHLESS IN BOMBAY: STORIES BY MURZBAN F. SHROFF

Breathless in Bombay is a concept collection of 14 stories set in contemporary Bombay featuring interesting characters in fascinating situations: from the wandering thoughts of a Chowpatty Beach massage wala to the heartwarming relationship between a carriage driver and his beloved horse. No book about Bombay is complete without its Bollywood angle and this one features a story about the doomed love affair between a schizophrenic painter and his Bollywood girlfriend. Each of these stories is beautifully crafted against the chaotic backdrop of the city, giving the reader an insider’s view of this fascinating city.

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The Poomaale Estate, Coorg
ADIOS MONSOON, HOLA WINTER!
November 16, 2022

Work is in full steam as the monsoon has finally given way to winter. The first month will be restricted to post-monsoon maintenance work which is a must in these parts – repairs and de-weeding the roads, retailing the damaged roofs, correcting the moisture damage to walls, equipment and furniture etc.

On the farm front, we are excited to partner with Clea Chandmal to try out the forest floor way for coffee. We are starting with three experimental blocks capturing different zones in the estate to make sure we have a robust solution.

The highlight of the month was Coffee Santhe, an annual event that brings together the coffee community – planters, roasters, baristas, cuppers etc. For us, it was eye-opening to witness the depth of the coffee industry. The surprise, however, was the feedback we got for our robusta coffee, with some Q-graders referring to it as ‘A beauty’ and our coffee scoring between 83 and 86.5 (rare for a coffee in general and almost unheard of for robusta). We are now looking forward to streamlining our practices to give traceability across the zone and some interesting post-harvest practices to enhance the taste and scores even further.

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The Hyderabad Collective, Hyderabad
SAPLINGS TO BUILDINGS – THE HYDERABAD COLLECTIVE GOT IT ALL COVERED
November 16, 2022

The Food Production Zone (FPZ) is being planted with annual crops as we speak. It is expected to produce food for 100 families, including grains, pulses, veggies and fruits. Our nursery is overflowing with saplings that will quickly find their way into the bio fence and windbreaks on the farm. The water harvesting structures functioned beautifully this season, with the swales and the check dams doing their job and the lake filling to the brim. The Hyderabad Collective is a beautiful sight right now. The food processing unit, common dining, guest house, access roads and internal roads are the infrastructure works we will be starting in November.

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The Mumbai Collective
GEARING UP TO WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
November 16, 2022

With the site finalised and the seed community buying into the switch, it is full steam ahead on this one. We are currently engaged in a structuring exercise to formulate the mechanism for the members to participate in the collective and map out the rules and controls of the collective. In addition, we will be starting a contour survey and studies as soon as the structure is finalised. We have also introduced some new options for participation in the collective. Membership options are now 1.25 acres, 3 acres and 5 acres. More details are available on the website.

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The Bhopal Collective, Bhopal
EAGER TO SEAL THE DEAL!
November 16, 2022

Due diligence on the short list of options is underway, growing our excitement for this location. With great access and existing infrastructure, it may give us the kickstart that would save us a few months in execution time. We will wait to see how the conversations go on this one. Our seed community has been patient about it as it is an unavoidable part of the collective creation process. We need to take a conservative stance and do full due diligence to ensure the members’ interests are protected. But you can expect an announcement this month.

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The Storyteller – Suhail Bagdadi
PREPPING FOR THE MANGO SEASON
November 16, 2022

With the monsoons finally over, the November sun is out and it’s time to get back to working at the orchards. While earlier monsoons along the Konkan coast started in June and ended in September, the ongoing climate change has pushed them to begin in July and continue to the end of October. Guess we’ll have to settle for Wyclef Jean’s ‘Gone Till November’ as the unofficial soundtrack for warm sunshine in the region.

This change inevitably delays the entire flowering and fruiting process and pushes the harvesting season further away.

By the end of the monsoons, grass and wild bushes grow a few feet tall. The return of summer starts the transformation of the landscape from lush green to yellow and red and carries the sound of buzzing grass-cutting machines across the region. The buzzing of the grass-cutting machines is accompanied by the buzzing at the local wood mills which go into overdrive to prepare wooden boxes for the upcoming season. Sourcing these in advance is essential to ensure your produce finds its way to the market. However, in the recent past, wooden boxes have begun to be replaced by single-use corrugated paper boxes.

This is also the time when fruit merchants and traders travel across the region to assess the potential crop, strike deals and dole out advances to local orchard owners. Doing this ensures that they have locked in a steady supply of mangoes during the season, besides providing the grower with capital to invest in the processes leading to harvesting.

While this sounds like a win-win situation, the lack of transparency with the sale and pricing process results in the orchard owners being at the mercy of whatever is offered by the fruit merchants. Orchard owners just about break even, with or without a profit, despite the high retail price of mangoes, thus negating the effort employed in harvesting the crop. Much like insurance policies offer a substantial amount at the end of the payment tenure in the case of assured returns. But if you were to work on the calculation, it would amount to no more than 4-5% returns, much lower than most investment options available. For food growers to flourish, they must save themselves from these debt traps.

At Beforest, we try to break free of the market cycles and grow food forests that turn into self-sustaining ecosystems over the years.

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Laws of Nature - Shaurya Chandra
DIFFERENT LANDLORDS FOR DIFFERENT LAND LAWS – A LOOK INTO THE FARM LAWS OF MAHARASHTRA
November 16, 2022

As India celebrates its 75th Independence year, we try to look at agro-farm land laws. Post-independence, many independent states joined India and new states were created based on socio-linguistic needs. In the initial years (post-independence), as farming was one of the prime sources of employment and revenue, states were given a great deal of power to decide matters related to the buying and selling of farmlands.

It was the right step since one law might not fit all states because of the range of sociological and economic diversity we see across states. Hence, in India, rules regarding the buying and selling of land and duties applicable to its transaction are the prerogative of each state. Many states put restrictions on non-agriculturist buying agro-land in the state. Maharashtra is one of them. The restrictions on the sale or the use of land stem from the fact that all land belongs to the state.

The sale and purchase of agricultural land in the state of Maharashtra are governed by the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948 (MTAL Act). Based on the rapid need for urbanisation, various laws have been amended in terms of land-use change and corporate ownership of land (after seeking due permission from the government). However, the core spirit for farming land protection still prevails.

While designing the ownership of a collective by the members, it becomes paramount for us to keep abreast with all the laws of the state and the provisions pertaining to activities being taken up by the collective. At Beforest, we engage with the best lawyers in the geography we operate in so as to get the right and most apt legal guidance on all land and related matters.

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Roots & Wings - Suma Ganesh
DECLUTTERING – MAKING ROOM FOR A HEALTHY LIFE
November 16, 2022

Life in Mumbai was a revelation in many ways.

We had recently had a child and I was concerned about what we fed her. My friends teased me that the seasonal watermelons I was so happy feeding her were actually grown in the nala running by the infamous LBS road! Locally produced and sourced, but of what quality?

The next option I found was visiting farmers’ markets for vegetables and fruits and ordering dairy from brands that claimed to offer healthy milk – both expensive options.

We tried moving away to the outskirts, but still, apartments had no space to grow even a simple row of greens. The maximum I could do was grow a little palak in the window sill. We were held hostage for something as basic as clean milk, vegetables and fresh chemical-free fruits for my family.

This is when I came across community-run gardens that grew organic vegetables. People feeling disoriented just like me decided to take charge and be the change they wanted to see. However, there were still some drawbacks

  • Lack of space, limiting the variety and quantity of vegetables and fruits.
  • Milk – hardly possible to rear livestock in an apartment complex.
  • Most importantly, the soil was not rich enough to produce much.

This is why you need scale. Sizeable lands give you a landscape that can hold water, soil that can guard against chemicals from neighbouring lands, cattle that can live freely, and a natural ecosystem that can sustain itself and enable regenerative farming.

Beforest was born from this need. The Mumbai Collective is the perfect solution to the problem of the majority of the city. Like our other collectives, we plan to make it a self-sustaining farming community with food, water and power security.

The size of over 100 acres allows us to implement permaculture principles by the book while offering ample space for wildlife to move freely and thrive. A forest ecosystem that will ensure the landscape is not only restored but turns regenerative and lives for years with minimal human intervention. What’s more, the landscape will also lend us simple pleasures like star gazing, relaxing forest walks, camping, bird watching, and more. For children, it is the best way to connect with nature – getting their hands dirty to make seed bombs, planting saplings and seeing a forest grow around them.

I am proud to be part of Beforest and delighted to welcome you all to this movement. The movement to take charge of our basic necessities.

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Watering Hole - Sunith Reddy
VINEYARDS TO WIN-YARDS: HOW THE MUMBAI COLLECTIVE WAS BORN
November 16, 2022

In May 2020, a lady reached out to us asking if it is possible to grow grapes in the permaculture way. I resisted the urge to break into a gyan session about how everything can be grown. Instead, I asked her what her intention was. She told me she wanted to live in a vineyard with a few of her friends who were all wine enthusiasts. They wanted to make their own wine and dreamed of idyllic countryside living. Enter Beforest and that was how the seed of The Mumbai Collective was sown.

The idea of a ‘vine forest’, a term we had invented then, did not have the wind behind it, but the seed took on a different form with folks reaching out about creating a food forest. This was the first time we received calls from people who were excited to know if Beforest was coming to Mumbai, which was a pleasant surprise for us. ‘Vine-forest’ transformed into a more overarching ‘food forest’ and we put a shoutout about creating a farming collective near Mumbai.

Skip to two years down the line, we have identified a beautiful location in the Khopoli region that reminds us of the Highlands of Central India by J. Forsyth. The winding road that traverses through idyllic villages, makes for an excellent cycling track (especially in the winter) and then gives way to a small valley. This valley gradually meets a slow rise that eventually becomes a tabletop with mind-blowing views of the horizon. The beauty of this place is that you can see the sun – horizon to horizon – sunrise to sunset.

Contrary to conventional planning, we love terrain difference, especially when it is stark. Every time two different terrains touch, it presents an opportunity – to collect water, explore the microclimate and create an experience which opens our horizons to what is possible. This is what excites us because it presents an opportunity for a better way of managing the landscape and we look forward to enabling the dream of our seed community in Mumbai.

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