Tiny Farm Friends Ep. 25
Our guests today are two people from different continents but sharing the same dream and vision.
Pawan had a dream in 2007 of starting his farm on 11th January 2018
He wanted a fruit forest.
Marloes had a dream of living the farm life.
They are the founders of Vanirah Farm, a permaculture farm located at the altitude of 2100 m on a Himalayan mountain top. Their story is a celebration of human potential. To live a simple life in modern times is indeed courageous and a rebellion act.
In the early days, they trekked two and half hours to fetch drinking water. Their nearest neighbours live 2 kms away. There was no electricity. They collected their own firewood.
Picture credits: Vanirah Farm
Pawan has an engineering and environmental management background. he volunteered across various farms in Europe and Asia.
"Since my childhood I dream to be a farmer and to start something like this and I feel really lucky to find this beautiful place to start. We practice permaculture and indigenous Indian natural farming practices and going towards being self sustainable."
Marloes is Dutch but fell in love with the Indian Himalayas. She is a civil engineer and loves building with mud.
"Living a self (of community)-sufficient life and sharing this life and the knowledge we gained is my absolute dream. Living remote, peaceful and with nature."
" Do not think it is going to be easy. It is going be hard. It is going to be difficult. You are going to struggle a lot but just start. You will learn along the way. Step by step things will start happening. "
Images Courtesy: Vanirah Farm They envision the farm to be an inspiration farm. A research and learning center for local farmers, young farming entrepreneurs and farming enthusiasts from all around the world.
Marloes met Pawan through her professor and later volunteered on the farm. Since then they got married, built an earthbag dome, multiple animal shelters, A- frame cabins, rainwater harvesting tank, and other building infrastructure. They have been actively experimenting with permaculture techniques and growing a food forest.
In this conversation, we talk about their journey from finding a land and building an earthbag dome to living a slow life. We also examine the challenges of living an off-grid life in the mountains. They walk us through their daily routines, their bigger vision for the farm and the mistakes they made along the way.
Watch/listen till the end as they share valuable advice for people who aspire to live a farm life.
What You'll Learn:
🛖 Building a life in the mountains.
🛖 Building an earthbag dome.
🛖 Living the off-grid life
🛖 Challenges of mountain life
🛖 Life lessons from the country living.
We can't wait to visit the paradise they have created.
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vanirah_farm/
Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@vanirahfarm8455
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