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3-4 skilled workers can bring down a coconut tree with just an axe and some rope. A regular affair in Kerala. Unfortunately I do not have any contacts in Bangalore. You may try approaching BBMP who might have contacts of the people clearing trees for road widening projects.

Natural for the leaves to fall away in due course. As long as no damages to buildings around it, it should not be a problem. Regarding the hollowness - how bad is it ? Normally the tree is quite strong. They stand for a long time even with apparent weakness.

The highlighted portion is the problem - finding the right folks :)

The tree has grown to a height of 35-40 feet and branches keep falling off regularly (this is natural). Window panes in the neighbors home have been damaged couple of times in the past. Just thinking of finding the right folks and assessing if/how/what it takes to have this tree removed, not decided yet to get it done immediately. Proximity of the tree to the walls of our homes and the boundary wall in between are the concern.

If its for harvesting coconuts, you can contact Kariyanna on 9141924440. We used to have the same problem, coconuts and branches falling off much to the annoyance of our neighbors whose plants would be butchered, for a brief period we even considered having the trees removed.

However,for the last year or so, with this chap visiting once every 3-4 months, the instances of damage/coconuts falling randomly are now NIL and we no don't have to get rid of trees as well. clap:

What is the procedure to transplant a tree ? There is a small mango tree that has been giving fruits, but it has not grown tall due to lack of space (between other trees). Is there a way to transplant & save it ?

Watch free screening of The Need To Grow, another day+ left.

https://grow.foodrevolution.org/

An ideal way is to remove the entire tree (roots and all) and move it to another place. Now, this of course is difficult without equipment once the tree crosses a certain size thanks to dimensions and weight.

An important thing is to try and remove all the roots. Also, ensure that the roots are kept in mud/soil when transferring it. Prevents damage when replanting.

Also, when replanted, make sure the tree is stable enough as the initial period when the soil needs to settle can be risky if the tree starts to tilt/move

We have a coffee estate in Coorg. The crops we grow for sale are coffee and pepper. There are various fruit trees, some wild and some planted, which are there, but we rarely bother with selling them. Also have paddy land but don't grow paddy.

Of late, thanks to my parents age, and me still working in Bangalore/Bombay, my parents have chosen to let somebody else manage the estate though they stay there and advise him.

I've been learning about farming, especially growing own food naturally. I started to like the concept more as I learned more about the permaculture, sustainable farming, rejuvenating land, food forests etc.
I'm still in the process of reading, learning more, attending the workshops, courses (Permaculture Design Course) whenever I can find time and opportunity. I'm planning to use my annual leaves and spend time volunteering at such farms where these principles are being practiced. Hopefully I should go past the romantic phase and soon realize if this is really something I would like to do for rest of my life. Based on that I'd love to make a gradual transition from an IT job to some village/country side. The underlying purpose here is a bit spiritual, want to see if I can set things up by the time I reach latter part of the life (no retirement plans as I'm planning to be active as long as possible) and can spend 50% of my time for spiritual practices, I should be happy to get some value out of this trip.

If you guys have any pointers in terms of such farms (practicing permaculture principles) in southern India (I know a few, not many though) where I can go for volunteering, learn more about it, please share.
Thank you.

Great to hear. I have similar interests as well.

The thing is most of these farms will expect you to commit at least a month. I think that's fair, a month gives you time to learn practically, and also contribute in terms of physical labor to a few projects at the farm. You will also be expected to pay or contribute monetarily towards your food and stay which will probably be extremely rustic (say 400-500/day).

Do you have that kind of time at one go? If you do, i will put you on to someone.

Alternatively, look up bhoomi college in sarjapur. I have been meaning to go meet them myself one of these days.

What kind of PDC'S have you done so far and with whom?

Dont think so. Had come across some volunteering opportunities sometime back, but the expectations were - full day work, stipend may or may not be given. If working full day then lunch provided. If half day, then none. If staying overnight, then basic acco given.

But to get a good idea of farming, one would need to be at it for a sufficiently long duration. Even a single veg crop cycle can be about 4 months.

I would have shared if I had the info on hand. Will share any I get.
About stipend, I am sharing what I had come across. Though I have seen others where one had to pay for the training.

How much space do you have at home ? While you are looking for opportunities, you could try it on a smaller scale. Will give you a small head-start about sowing, saplings, and further growth of the plants. How many will sprout, how many will survive, the time & effort it takes to grow them .. a small idea. This will give you more questions when you go for any training in your method of choice.

Btw, had happened to meet one person recently. He was mentioning that he deals with getting lands on lease (near BLR). On the flip side, have heard of cases where the land owners have fore-closed the lease upon seeing the a successful farmer. (not that they could replicate the success of the leasee)

Would be helpful if you can put the names or those farms here so some of us can speak to them. Do they practice PDC? Stipend is out of the question.

I agree with the second. And for that you need to do it yourself.

Please note that I've ended up writing a long post, some of it is redundant information and came out of surplus of time and emotions.
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As you guys discussed, stipend may be out of question unless its a real long term that you are volunteering for. What I have learnt is they provide very basic accommodation (at some places it's just tents) and amazing food for sure. Also, ones practicing permaculture may not go real hard on rules, one of the principles is 'fair share'

Some of them are asking for commitment of a month officially, but I'm sure if I request for 2 weeks, they may allow me. However, a month would be ideal for learning and one may need more than a few of such experiences to go past that romantic/honeymoon period. I can spend 2 weeks at a go and another 1 week at a go in a year. Please let me know if you know someone/place I can spend that kind of time and learn and contribute.
I'm going to share about the places I know and should surely benefit others.

Some did not mention about the number of hours, except Aranya where they mentioned around 6 hours or so and one around Vagamon was mentioned around 5 hours or so a day. But yes, serious places would ask for long term volunteering so they can benefit some.

Thanks, a good friend (ex-colleague) of mine has some land close to Thally, he was also suggesting me to take land on lease besides his land and start experimenting. He also offered me to come over on weekends or even for longer terms to learn what he does. I really am looking for longer term activity so that I can learn, a weekend may be bit too short of time, this is one place and person I have in mind who can provide good suggestions and help. However, he's not following all permaculture principles it seems, but he is the one who first briefed me about natural farming, Subhash Palekar, jivamrit etc.

Some places that I know of.

- Navadarshanam Farm - Gumalapura, right around the KA/TN boarder, beyond Anekal.
This is the place I have been most attached to I feel. It's about 120 acres of land where little under 20 acres used for farming, dwelling, community and staff quarters, rest has now grown into a huge shrub forest from a barren land it used to be long ago. We used to go here to spend our weekends for literally doing nothing. Here's where I got introduced to the permaculture and principles in details when I attended a 3 days workshop on Permaculture principles and organic farming. Totally run by the volunteers for many years, founders acquired this land on the boarder of forest. The community was formed around 1990 but I guess the land was acquired even a few years before that (may be another decade and half ago), founder members (owners) are currently living in other parts of the country - I'll let you go over website for those details.
One thing that attracts me here is their (main volunteers, couple of them, living there for close to 10 yrs now) underlying purpose of spirituality. A few programs/workshops they do in a year are great! A couple of them I attended were on permaclture principles (3days) and a silent retreat (3days).
They have inspired many urban dwellers to start farming under the theme 'going back to the land', many of them have moved to their farms, looks really happy! couple of those even home-schooling their kids!
They run a community supported agriculture initiative, all with the help of volunteers, provides naturally grown veggies/fruits/groceries to members and to some stores like Namdhari's. Overall, Navadarshanam has become a bit popular name among organic farming communities around, some of you may already heard or known about it.
It may not be beneficial unless I dedicate a couple weeks or more for volunteering here, especially during certain seasons, yet to figure out right time.

- John's farm - sarjapur road
I have met this guy only once, but very kind and different person, he is from US, has got a mango orchard / farm on Sarjapur road. I can't comment a lot about him, but to me it looked like inner peace, living happily and sustainable are something that he is after.
A friend has done some long term volunteering here while working, I'm going to check with him in the similar lines as well, it'll be a great idea to get that kind of opportunity.

- Swyyam open shell farm - Yellachati
I attended a workshop (3days) by Rico Zook during first week of this month. A beautiful farm land, rejuvenated by a lady who moved from Bangalore. Quite a few principles in action out there and this place is open for volunteering. However, it seems they'll be happier to accept long term ones.

Aranya Farm - multiple farms in AP
- Run by Narsanna and his wife, they started a couple decades ago, Narsanna was part of the board of permaculture association of India prior to that.
This is the most popular place in India for permaculture enthu folks it seems. They do conduct PDCs throughout the year, inviting good instructors from around the country and world, Narsanna is supposed to be one of the highly regarded instructors in India.
They have a PDC coming up from Nov30 - Dec 15, I'm still thinking if I should go for it or use that two weeks for volunteering some place. I may just go for it.
They have clear details on their website about the volunteering opportunities around their farms.

- Sadhana Foest, Pondicherry
I have communicated over email with them, they seem to be regrowing the forest cover in the area where they are located, some good building construction, composting, energy recycling concepts they have and practices in the India location. I planned a visit to volunteer a few months back and had to cancel, they do let you volunteer for minimum of 3 days I guess, the plan is still ON to ride to Pondy, pitch a tent there for 3-4 days, volunteer and learn, waiting for a long weekend / leaves ahead.
This shall also provide an opportunity to learn about Auroville. I stayed in Auroville for 3 days during my motorcycle ride last year, missed visiting Sadhana forest (they are close to Auroville) though. Auroville seems to have some real good community whos interested in natural farming etc, heard people can buy land there, but I failed to get more details while I spent most of my time riding around this beautiful country with wife.


I live in the apartment so balcony space is all what I got and can encroach some of the common gardening space as well, please feel free to share information about starting something in such small place.
Regarding leasing, I feel I may keep that as last option, getting a place, rejuvenating the soil naturally may take anywhere between 3-5 years, or sometimes more before you can start expecting some yield. Not sure if it's worth doing on a leased land.
I'm from GJ, dont have farmer status (pani, khatedari etc.) from my state either so going to be tough to start. I was looking at BeForest and other community farming initiatives around, Befoest (BeForest.co) looked bit appropriate to me when they talk about growing forests, permaculture etc, but again its going to be managed and one may not get a lot of freedom moreover, its very costly affair overall. But the concept isn't bad, what they are doing with such a large community, I think we can do it in a smaller group and still get the benefit of both the worlds.

I want to start small and slow, its going to be an experiment to start with, I wish it turns out to be a lot more than that.
Let's keep in touch if you guys have similar interests, we'll surely have something to share.

In the apartment, try to do something in the balcony. A metal frame to hang pots and grow some small stuff.

One option for you would be to get land in TN. A friend has purchased some beyond hosur and travels for the weekend. Of course, he looks to have a dependable farm-hand who lives on the farm. Another person I came across has leased a small plot (part of a farm) close to whitefield and is practicing there.

Can we get a brush cutter on rent in Bangalore ? One that runs on petrol, and has metal blades ?