Conservation - INDIA Daily Life

Daily Life

Our Model Farm is based on the edge of the village of Ullar. With around 500 inhabitants, Ullar is a small friendly place, where everyone knows each other. Life is simple, and the majority of families live in traditional houses. Rice and sugar cane are grown in the surrounding fields, and there is a coconut plantation in the centre of the village. Regular buses provide access to nearby towns and the Western Ghat Mountains are visible in the distance.

Whilst volunteering you will live in Ullar, with other volunteers in a local host family. Each day you will all go to another local family's house your meals. Lakshmi and Durai live in a small house in the centre of Ullar, with their two sons. Durai works on the model farm and Lakshmi cooks some of the most wonderful Indian cuisine that you will ever taste, often using produce from the Model Farm!

Work on the project is varied. Generally, all of the plants will need to be watered daily and there is always weeding and planting to be done. Volunteers will be taught by Ponraj, the Projects Abroad Modal Farm supervisor, how to make vermicompost and the organic pesticide panchagavya. Once a fortnight volunteers travel with Ponraj to the town of Rajapalayam to sell vermicompost. The recent arrival of two cows, means that the farm is now self sufficient in the supply of cow dung and urine for use in the manufacturing process of panchagavya. Volunteers can also learn to milk the cows!

Within Ullar, Projects Abroad has planted many trees and you will be responsible for watering these and checking on their health and development. There may even be time for more tree planting as they provide vital shade throughout the village.

Once plants in the farm's nursery have matured, volunteers regularly visit local households to help establish kitchen gardens. Meeting families provides a fantastic opportunity to see and learn about their way of life. It also ensures that traditional and indigenous medicinal plants are not lost forever and that biodiversity in conserved.

Environmental education is another key aspect to the project. Previous volunteers have produced numerous games for children, and Ponraj organises regular trips to local schools. Here volunteers work with the children to develop environmental awareness. Children are always excited to see volunteers and eager to ask plenty of questions!

The project also provides opportunities for volunteers to learn more about sustainable agriculture and development. Depending upon the length of your visit you may have the opportunity to spend a night at the Covenant Centre for Development, near Madurai. This centre houses a large medicinal plant nursery, a traditional medicine processing unit and runs several rural development projects with women in local villages. Volunteers may also visit another nearby, local farmer, who has been farming organically for over 15 years. He provides a fascinating insight into organic farming and will take volunteers to see his lemon farm and sugar cane plantation, as well as letting you sample some of the produce.

After a week of hard work, volunteers have the chance to spend their weekends relaxing or travelling to meet other volunteers to the twice-monthly Projects Abroad social events, which are held in a range of destinations around Southern India.

Ponraj always welcomes new plans. He has an exciting vision for the farm and the role it can play within local communities. This is a placement where volunteers can learn a lot, make a positive difference to the local community, and gain hands-on experience with sustainable development.