One Straw Newsletter — October 2020
Happy Dasara!
Dear Friends,
Alienated from nature, human existence becomes a void, the wellspring of life and spiritual growth gone utterly dry. Man grows ever more ill and weary in the midst of his curious civilization that is but a struggle over a tiny bit of time and space.
Masanobu Fukuoka
A very Happy Dasara and joyful festive season from all of us at One Straw team! We finished the construction of our Vennela Organic Farm infrastructure around this time last year, and kicked off farm activities in earnest last Dasara, with a small puja ceremony.
We have come a long way since then, we have learned a lot of things since that beginning, thanks to the support from a large number of friends who are eager to help. And we have been humbled by Mother Nature in many ways. From the surreal Covid lockdowns to the excessive levels of rain most of us have not seen in their lifetimes, this year has humbled us in many ways, and taught us that we are not always in-charge.
Today is the day of Ayudha Puja, and it is a custom to clean everything, perform puja to our tools of trade, and kind of reset and start new ventures. We thought it would be an auspicious time to take stock of what we have accomplished, what we could do better and how we march forward to our aim of delivering healthy, naturally produced produce and animal products, direct to home, while respecting and preserving natural processes and doing our tiny bit in healing the planet.
The following are some of our accomplishments over the last year:
● Planted approximately 1500–2000 fruit trees, 2+ acres of vegetables, 2+ acres of fodder.
● Built up livestock of 800+ chickens, 120+ goats, 5000 fish and 2 cows
● Produced 4+ tons of vegetables and fruits over the last 7 months
● 22 subscriptions to our weekly vegetable basket service and about 30 non-veg customers purchasing meat products.
● Making our own feed, fertilizers and pesticides, using all natural inputs.
● Rain water harvesting strategies have worked well, and water is percolating well with minimal erosion, especially in this harsh monsoon season.
● Streamlined data collection for plantation, harvesting and customer data
Going forward, we will be implementing the following strategies based on the lessons we’ve learned over the course of last year:
● We need to significantly improve organic matter in our soils. We have done a lot of work towards this goal, but it’s a continuous process, and we want to improve our mulching and watering practices.
● Animal health maintenance improvements to further improve their robustness and immunity to disease.
● Review and fine-tuning of pest control strategies given that we have had a lot of pest damage during the rainy season.
● Refine our data collection to include the spray schedules, watering and other processes and use them to guide us in planning and operations.
● Overall, improve production levels, both in terms of variety, quality and quantities. We would like to reach 75 subscribers by next Dasara.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your advice, help and wisdom. A lot of you have validated our work, supported our efforts and enthusiastically guided us. Without your support we would not be able to make such a good beginning. And we have a long way to go, and we’re counting on your continued support. Thank you, and happy Dasara and Diwali!
