In Pictures | BeForest

beforestfarming

Beforest creates and manages sustainable farming collectives.

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Of the 150 or so species of New World figs, most are stranglers, including this one at Poomaale. Beginning life as a sticky seed left on a high tree branch by an animal such as a bird, bat, or monkey, the young strangler lives as an epiphyte on the tree’s surface. As it grows, long roots develop and descend along the trunk of the host tree, eventually reaching the ground and entering the soil. Several roots usually do this, and they become grafted together, enclosing their host’s trunk in a strangling latticework, ultimately creating a nearly complete sheath around the trunk. The host tree’s canopy becomes shaded by the thick fig foliage, its trunk constricted by the surrounding root sheath, and its own root system forced to compete with that of the strangling fig. This process can kill the host. If it does not, the host tree, being much older than the strangler, still dies eventually and rots away and a magnificent fig "tree" is left behind whose apparent "trunk" is actually a gigantic cylinder of roots. #miraclesofnature #wondersofnature #wondersofcoorg #poomaaleupdates #beforestfarming #coorgdiaries #kodagu #westernghats #malenadu

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When was the last time you saw a rainbow in it’s full glory. What’s even better it’s a double rainbow. Last evening this was the scene near poomaale estate, Coorg and I had the pleasure of viewing it legs up, sipping hot coffee.
Scenes like this are so inspiring by design. A higher mind would have written a poem about it. #nofilter #coorg #poomaaleupdates #naturesplendour #headingback #coorgdiaries

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The beauty of earth structures is the way they age. They look so rustic and beautiful in a very raw way. Can’t believe the team at the hyderabad collective pretty much built this for themselves with zero external professional help. #earthhomes #stonehome #permaculture #restorationagriculture #farmhousestyle

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A sneak peak into the housing cluster. An optimum mix of modern technology and traditional techniques. We intend to make the blocks on site using the mud from the earthworks. #poomaaleupdates #permaculture #restorationfarming #ethnicarchitecture #mudblocks #coorghome #farmhouse

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We never realised we had one of these in the neighbourhood at poomaale. To put it in perspective, these bridges are withstanding almost 5000mm of rainfall every year with almost zero maintenance. What a feat of natural engineering!
##poomaaleupdates
#coorgdiaries
#westernghat
#estateliving
#plantationlife
#coorgfarm #treebridges #rootbridges #hangingbridges

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This new year, we have been flooded with requests for our collectives. With Poomaale Collective closed for subscription, and interest pouring in, we went ahead and checked out the possibility of extending poomaale beyond its current boundaries. We are happy to announce that we have identified a neighbour to extend into and the terms are being finalised. As you already know our collectives are crowd sourced and co-created. So it depends entirely on how quickly you are able to make a decision on this. Some of you have been in conversation with us and have always been keen but work, time or travel came in the way. Here is something that will help you make the decision quicker - A first look at renditions of the housing clusters at Poomaale Estate. Reach out on +91 89206 19347 or DM to know more. #permaculture #beforestfarming #sustainableliving #coorghome #coorgdiaries #poomaaleupdates #estateliving #estatelife #plantationhomes #plantationlife #farmliving #farmlife #westernghats #restorationfarming #sustainableagriculture

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Baliya Kere or the bigger lake occupies the flattest part of the estate and forms a nice wildlife viewpoint. This is the first time in a long while that someone has done that far out in the estate. #wildlife #coorgwildlife #poomaaleupdates #beforestfarming #westernghats #sustainableagriculture #plantation #rainforestfriendly

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Kiran has been with us from day 1 at poomaale. He has braved the rains, the leeches and most recently the elephants to make sure the assets are all in place and activities are going as planned. Until rathan joined the team he was the point man on ground for the hq. kiran s clan (the ponnandas) once owned these lands. Over time as they got fragmented to a few acres each coffee plantation became a way of life and livelihood. Today we hope to provide a viable way that’s ecologically sustainable too. In kiran s words, some day, he hopes to use beforest as a platform to provide viable models for his folks and more. #poomaaleupdates #beforestfarming #coorgdiaries #peopleofbeforest #westernghats #estatelife #planterlife #coffeeestate #organiccoffee #wildcoffee #elephantcountry

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very often you come across these corners where the water has created these ravines, and the towering canopy makes us feel small and almost insignificant. We love spending time here and taking it all in. Helps us understand how things work. Together and how little of it we understand.
#permaculture #westernghats #coorgdiairies #beforestfarming #poomaaleupdates

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Finally the water source at Hyderabad is secured and functioning. That can only mean one thing: we are getting ready to add massive amounts of mulch matter to the soil to prepare our veggie beds and sapling areas. It’s been an 18 month journey to get this far. Kudos to the team!!
#permaculture #hyderabadupdates #beforestfarming #sustainableagriculture #sustainableliving #naturalfarming #hyderabadfarms #telanganaagriculture #collectivefarming

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More beautiful things from Poomale. We have strived hard to make sure that our work does not impact the eco system and the presence of these little ones validates our faith. #permaculture #westernghats #coorg #coorgdiaries #beautifulmalenadu #wildlife #planetearth #coffeeestate #estatelife #coffeetrails

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A lot of folks ask us why we don’t do the usual club house+tennis courts + play area template that most apartment complexes offer. The question itself makes a lot of assumptions. We never said we won’t do that. It’s just a better idea to figure out the basics of sustenance first and then go up the hierarchy of needs. In the meantime, check out the natural pools that are formed on the kembuva poley at poomaale estate, Coorg. Hours will pass by without notice, when you dip your feet into the cool spring water of kembuva poley. #permaculture #wildlife #coorgdiaries #coorg #poomaaleupdates #beforestfarming #sustainableliving #sustainablefarming #westernghats #estatelife

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Luna moth. We always thought these guys are residents of North America but our folks at the estate are confident of it. Identification aside, no one can deny it’s beautiful. Like bond always said, “when all the wars are over, a butterfly is still beautiful”
#permaculture #wildlife #westernghats #coorgdiaries #poomaaleupdates #beforestfarming #ruskinbond #wildlifephotography

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Rathan, our EM, quite literally wears the biggest hat on the estate. He s always enthusiastic and ever ready to try new methods and has been a great team player from day 1. In fact it was his idea to use the cows to clear the path instead of a weed cutter. He comes from a family of planters and is an encyclopaedia on coffee. #planterlife #estatelife #beforestfarming #permaculture

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Coffee harvest... harvesting... harvested... dried. This is the time of the year when every planter in coorg shifts from the lazy monsoon that just ended to the hard work that the harvest season demands. This time we have had unseasonal rains complicating the matter. The unfortunate thing is that there is heavy staff shortage in most plantations with 90% of the pickers being imported from as far away as Assam. This is a gap we hope to address in due time. #permaculture #coorgdiaries #restorationagriculture #westernghats #coffee #coffeeplantation #plantationlife #beforestfarming #poomaaleupdates

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This almost felt like a set from a movie so we had to post it. The waterfront at the mumbai collective is so peaceful you could hear a butterfly fly! We spent a few hours doing nothing but watching the views and dipping our feet in the water. We can’t wait to completely rewind this place into a food forest with some beautiful earth homes. The seed community for this is open now. Reach out if you are interested. #permaculture #mumbaicollective #mumbaifarm #beforestfarming #farmingcollective #restorationagriculture #natureindia #naturalfarming #sustainableagriculture #sustainablefarming #farminglife #farmlife #futureoffood

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We have been repeatedly requested to do something close to the maximum city over the last one year. So here it is. If you have been thinking about making that move towards farm living or have been looking for a farm close to mumbai, the mumbai collective is a great option for you. This is a beautiful undulating landscape interspersed with tabletop mountains, characteristic of the sahyadri ranges. The patch is sparsely wooded and has a waterfront. We look forward to setting up a thriving food forest system. The collective is open for subscription and we are looking for the first 10 seed community members who would play a crucial role in defining the character of the collective. #permaculture #mumbaifarmhouse #restorationfarming #collective #farmingcollective #beforestfarming #farminindia #goingbeyondfarmplots #sahydris

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Ravi or Ravianna as we fondly call him, is a man who wears multiple hats. This guy is a treasure trove of local cuisine. He s fed us berry based lunches, mushroom curries, bamboo sabzee and my personal favourite - the dal, so simple and yet so tasty. The man has taught us there is so much beyond the traditional 20 things that sit on a plate today. And before you guess, he s not a trained chef or any such thing. The titles don’t do justice to his creativity when it comes to cooking up a meal. Here s to one of poomaale s cherished treasures - ravianna. #permaculture #foodforests #sustainableliving #simplelife #localcuisine #foragedfood #staylocal #farming #farminginindia #livinginafarm #farmlife #environement #ecofriendly #forest #forestliving #poomaaleupdates #coorgdiaries #beautifulmalenadu #westernghats

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In March 2019, We started with a dream to create a coffee estate that functions like a tropical forest, a place that helps the surrounding forests thrive. Forest friendly estate, we callled it. Quite frankly, It seemed too ambitious then but we were super eager to see how far we could reach. With a little reckless faith we forged ahead and found ourselves amongst fellow believers.
18 months later we are proud to say our first wilderness collective - *The Poomaale Estate is now fully subscribed*- a community sharing the vision of a landscape that hits the sweet spot of ecological restoration and economic viability - a truly sustainable model for the western ghats. As we welcome 2021 with great hope and expectation, We couldn’t have asked for a faster turnaround. In our first year, our practices have ensured that
- every packet of bewild coffee saves 65 lt of water.
- Elephants, deer, birds are now in abundance throughout the estate.
- The estate is also home to several rare tropical forest trees.
This is only the beginning and we have a long way to go. We wish you a very happy new year and thank you for your continued support in this journey. You can follow us on facebook (https://facebook.com/Beforestfarming) and Instagram (https://Instagram.com/beforestfarming) to stay updated on the latest from the beforest stable.#permaculture #restorationfarming #sustainability #foodforests

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