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September 9, 2020
Published by Beforest on September 9, 2020
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Why We Need To Take Soil More Seriously – PART 2 : AIR

Why We Need To Take Soil More Seriously - Part 2: Air By forests we don't quite mean national parks. We are only referring to self fulfilling cycles, ecosystems that can support themselves in terms of fundamental requirements like nutrition, water and air. Whether we do food extraction from them is immaterial as long as that balance is maintained. In fact, if all agricultural land on earth were to shift towards food forests, we will be able to not only support 5 times more people but also continuously increase the soil carbon content every year. It is estimated that 1% increase in soil carbon content amounts to offsetting all carbon emissions of the last 40 years.  
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September 3, 2020
Published by Beforest on September 3, 2020
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Conversations: Practical questions on life at a farm

Practical questions on life at a farm. If we move to a collective farm, can members continue to follow their professions through remote working, or do they have to actively participate in farming 100% of their time?   Short answer – At a collective like Beforest, it is your choice and decision.
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July 26, 2020
Published by Beforest on July 26, 2020
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Sustainability is not just a fashionable word

Sustainability Is Not Just A Fashionable Word How sustainable a business is, quite literally translates to how long it can continue in the current form when you factor in all costs. “All” being the key word. Ideally it should encompass ecological, financial and social costs. In fact, over a long enough horizon they are all interlinked. This is becoming evident today. The things we assumed to be zero-cost inputs are becoming increasingly scarce, thus, completely compromising the business model and challenging its viability. Once these are factored in, it becomes increasingly clear that sustainability is not a tradeoff or a compromise. In fact, it makes a lot of business sense as it not only has a positive impact on the world, but also on the top line.
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July 25, 2020
Published by Beforest on July 25, 2020
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Little Beforestors – Having a bad day? Learn from the tree!

Having a bad day? Learn from the tree! When a storm comes, the branches of this tree sway in the wind, but the tree does not break, it does not fall. The big tree and the trees around, support each other and hold on. Soon, the storm passes, the sun shines, the birds chirp and the day is wonderful again.   Now, when you feel the day is just not going your way, imagine that you are this tree. You are surrounded by wonderful family and friends. A bad day is like a storm. It might feel like nothing is going your way, but the storm passes. You must stand tall, stay strong. Soon everything will be better and your day will be wonderful again..so smile :)
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July 20, 2020
Published by Beforest on July 20, 2020
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The Story of Black Gold

The Story of Black Gold The origins of pepper are not known to many. Western Ghats were once the only home to this amazing spice, that was known as black gold. From ancient Egypt till the fall of the Roman Empire, pepper captured the imagination of the world. It was the most traded spice with India pretty much monopolising the production. However, for the most part, it was the food of the rich - the kings and emperors - pretty much like gold! During this time, it was also legal tender as we mentioned earlier. This literally means that one could walk in a market, buy goods by paying in pepper corns. One could even put their pepper assets as a collateral for loans with the European banking system including the Medicis. This tradition continues to this day in some parts of the world including the US and Australia where a ‘peppercorn payment’ is a legal tender for token amounts.
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July 13, 2020
Published by Beforest on July 13, 2020
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Why a farming collective makes a lot of sense?

Why a farming collective makes a lot of sense? One of the big reasons for a single farm owner to abandon the farm is the hole it blows in the pocket. A caretaker, a water source, fencing, irrigation, accommodation for the staff, transportation of small amounts of produce, it easily adds up to a few lakhs a year for a 3-5 acre farm. At that scale, there’s really no hope of breaking even whatsoever. With a larger farm, of say 100 acres, you are good with 3 to 4 sources of water, a single caretaker and you begin to see how economies of scale begin to take shape. More importantly, each 5 acre piece is not competing for resources, for eg, come monsoon, all 5 acre pieces are not focussed on growing rice.
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