Book Recommendations – December

Mother Earth, Sister Seed: Travels Through India’s Farmlands – Lathika George

Landscape designer and organic farmer, Lathika George documents the challenges faced by India’s traditional agricultural communities due to modernaization and urbanization. The book is a tribute to the ancient systems of farming and takes you into the world of the farmers, fishermen and forest folks from Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu to Coorg in Karnataka and from the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya to Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, who derive their livelihood from the land and the sea.

Get a peek into the celebrations, rituals, folklore and recipes associated with their ways of life that are slowly vanishing.

Moong Over Microchips: Adventures Of A Techie Turned Farmer – Venkat Iyer

Venkat Iyer, a successful IBM project manager, narrates his transformational journey from a stressful corporate life to running an organic farm at a small village near Mumbai. With no experience in agriculture, his journey is full of uncertainties, as he battles erratic weather conditions, local community dynamics, stubborn farm animals and lots more till he gets his first bumper crop of moong. The book is full of sometimes harsh and at times hilarious realities of running a farm and is highly recommended to anyone who has ever contemplated moving from a city to a quiet farm and live off the land