The good thing
about close siblings is that they will always be there for you in times
of need. Therefore, after a spontaneous trip of this kind, I found
myself in Bali. Whilst here I naturally gravitated towards what was
going on with the agriculture in the area that surrounded the town of
Ubud, where I was staying. On first impressions it was hard to see
beyond the yoga-come-spirituality-come-raw food mecca that Ubud has
become for Western visitors. However, I was quick to veer off the beaten
track and venture into more real territories. Whilst exploring I found
nestled in between the sea of rice fields an organic garden growing an
array of fruits and vegetables. Its diversity of colours and shapes
stood out against the backdrop of formulaic paddies.
The garden belonged to the smiley-dreadlocked Har, who was happy to show me around and whilst jumping between pathways and water canals which structure the growing spaces, he shared his dreams for the project. He was growing a huge variety of native and non-native crops organically and had created a business by selling his wholesome produce directly to consumers. Whilst working full time on this and 3 other gardens Har also gives free gardening classes to the local people spreading the knowledge that he has built up to his wider community.
He explained the difficulties of getting authentic organic seeds which affects his seed saving practices, a vital aspect for any garden wishing to be less reliant of external inputs. He gave me some Indonesian spinach seeds which I will try in the garden this season.
One of Hars philosophies was “Give more, put more or change” and this stuck with me as it can be applied to so many situations from farming systems to relationships.
Feeling happy to have found such a garden of hope with many parallel ideas to what we are doing at Cordwainers I bid Har farewell and promised to send him some heirloom seeds so we could be guardians of each others native varieties.
The garden belonged to the smiley-dreadlocked Har, who was happy to show me around and whilst jumping between pathways and water canals which structure the growing spaces, he shared his dreams for the project. He was growing a huge variety of native and non-native crops organically and had created a business by selling his wholesome produce directly to consumers. Whilst working full time on this and 3 other gardens Har also gives free gardening classes to the local people spreading the knowledge that he has built up to his wider community.
He explained the difficulties of getting authentic organic seeds which affects his seed saving practices, a vital aspect for any garden wishing to be less reliant of external inputs. He gave me some Indonesian spinach seeds which I will try in the garden this season.
One of Hars philosophies was “Give more, put more or change” and this stuck with me as it can be applied to so many situations from farming systems to relationships.
Feeling happy to have found such a garden of hope with many parallel ideas to what we are doing at Cordwainers I bid Har farewell and promised to send him some heirloom seeds so we could be guardians of each others native varieties.
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| Rows of vegetables and fruit separated by water canals |
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| Seedlings ready to be planted out or sold to local gardens |
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| Abundant diversity in amongst the sea of rice fields |
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| Har busy at work making lettuce plug plants |
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