Organic Farming in the Village

We visited a farm in the same village as the school.  How many of you have visited the Lexington Community Farm next to the Arlington Reservoir?  This farm and the community farm are engaged in "organic farming".  This means that no pesticides are used on the crops.

This woman is watering the manure that is being made into compost to fertilize the crops.  Cow manure is first collected, then red worms are added, and they break down the manure into rich dirt that can be used to help plants grow.  Many people in the US use red worms to help them create compost for their gardens.  Red worms like it hot and moist, so they need to keep the soil watered and covered so that it does not dry out in the hot sunshine.

Here women are harvesting cilantro, an herb used in Indian cooking and frequently in cooking in the US.  The farmer shows off some of the carrots that he just picked.  Men and women work on the farm.  

The farm grows mushrooms in a dark warehouse that is kept very warm and moist.  They dry the mushrooms for use in cooking -- these are called oyster mushrooms in the US.

Here they are growing eggplant.  The woman is carrying leaves left over from harvesting cauliflower.  These will be fed to the cows.

Papaya is also grown.

Cows are strictly for milk and manure.  

People do not eat beef in India. 

Horses are for riding and pulling carts.

This is the farm well. It is really deep.  They use the well for irrigation and drinking water.

This is the stone irrigation trench that helps move the water to the fields.

Tractors are used on this farm as well as hoes like the one below.

This is a view of the village and farm area from the Monsoon Palace.  

There are many similarities between this farm and the Lexington Community Farm.  And some differences...