Sustainable Living
What we call dirt, mud, soil or even earth is a wonderful ecosystem of microbial and insect life that sustains all plant life and is a fundamental part of the larger natural ecosystem of the planet. It is a crucial participant in the various cycles of nature such as the water and carbon cycles, plants and dirt too have a symbiotic relationship where one cannot…
Only two human-made structures on Earth are large enough to be seen from outer space: the Great Wall of China and the Fresh Kills landfill in USA. Startling, and not a very pleasant fact to know!
Bengaluru generates about 3,500 tons of municipal solid waste daily, and the municipality allocation for its disposal is Rs. 160 crores (in 2011) for its disposal. So much money…
I am now seven months into my experiment of living without money and fossil fuels for a year, and my journey so far has been fascinating. When I first decided to go money-free last year, I set about putting in place the basic infrastructure I would need to survive. The first essential part of this jigsaw was shelter. For this I turned to an amazing…
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE To tell how far down a certain path you’ll walk once you’ve taken that vital first step. Ten months ago I decided that I was going to live as oil-free a life as possible. Originally this consisted of me using no plastic, only buying products from local craftspeople, having no bin and eating nothing but local, organic and vegan food.To begin with people…
Going beyond Activism
Written by Bhoomi Admin
Going Beyond Activism...
In order to address any imbalance in the outer ecology, the internal disturbances and negativities within my mind needed to be resolved first.
By Nirali Shah
At a certain age, the navel sack of the deer bursts and exudes a fragrant musk substance. Frantically seeking the origin of the perfume, the deer sniffs wildly in every direction. Not finding any external source…
It all started about 20 years ago when climate change and renewable energy were still not popular and surely not glamorous. My curiosity to understand evolution, patterns and design in nature led to a growing exploration of its various processes. From mimicking evolution to creating artificial life, to capturing energy the way plants do, each experiment added to what was still just scientific curiosity. These…
How a small group of people can deal with the economic, ecological and social realities connected with building water consciousness in a community.Water supply to citizens is supposedly the duty of Governments and municipal corporations. Yet there are enough indications today that very soon many communities and neighbourhoods would have to manage it themselves – protecting their sources of water, regulating its usage and treating…
A small organization, run by homemakers in Mumbai is taking small but significant steps towards spreading ‘a green wave’.I live in Mumbai and have a farm in the coastal town of Umbergao, around 150 kilometers away. We have an organically-grown chikku and mango plantation that provides for wholesome feasts during the season. At the farm we live in a cozy mud home; our bathrooms have…
The alienation of man and land is at the crux of the unsettling of India, culture, and agriculture.When I moved back home from the US, five years ago, I did not expect much change to have taken place in just a span of 12 years. I was brought up in Nagercoil, a small town in South India, and had spent nearly fifteen years, from grade…
One of the questions that man has always had to live with is about the nature of his actions. On the fringe of one’s action choices we may have doubts – was it truly the best I could do? Or do I really know all the other solutions that have been tried?
It is time to check our bearings. Human civilization started a few thousand…
Clad in a Japanese blue sarong, a bag of rice grains in his well-worked agile fingers and straw slippers on his feet, Masanobu Fukuoka appeared like a proverbial Zen Master in my life.Like the Japanese style of painting with simple but spontaneous strokes, Fukuoka opened up so many ideas in a clear way. Many of my beliefs as a nutritionist were kindled, others abandoned, while…