Programme on Going Organic at the Bhoomi Organic Farm, Gummalapuram

Lockdown has done what years of social conditioning could not: make the outdoors great again! City folks are looking for avenues where they can experience oneness with nature.

On May 7th & 8th, we conducted a 2 day eco retreat at the 22 acre Bhoomi Organic Farm at Gummalapuram.  A group of people, keen on understanding ecological farming participated. Though they were primarily from the IT background, it was interesting to know that they had some exposure to organic farming and were eager to engage in farming in a deeper way.

During the two days, they participated in many hands-on activities like manure bed preparation, chopping gliricidia plant for mulch, preparation of bio input – Jeevamirtham, harvesting fruits, walk to lake, trekking to forest, composting etc.,

Sessions conducted covered topics such as role of natural resources, green revolution – consequences, introduction to natural farming, mixed cropping, water harvesting, importance of seed treatment, boundary plantation, pest management etc.,

Walking around the farm, participants were drawn to the food forest which had lemon trees with ripe lemons, mango trees laden with raw mangoes, guavas, cherries and many other fruiting trees. They spotted birds like sparrows, parakeets, babblers, bee-eaters, cranes, king fishers, bulbuls and many more. It was thrilling to follow the fresh footprint of an elephant while they were out on the trek. The participants enjoyed nutritious and simple vegetarian food prepared with vegetables like radish, beetroot, chow-chow, beans harvested from the farm.

Bhoomi Eco Village, located at Gummalapuram, about 40 km from Bangalore, is a learning space where programs are offered to individuals who are keen to understand and experience various aspects of food, health, organic farming and ecological living. When Bhoomi first started the project, this 22 Acre farmland was an almost treeless tract of land with poor quality of soil in an area that receives scanty rainfall. The land now tells us a completely different story, one of rejuvenation, restoration and tuning in with nature in a small community of humans, cows, dogs and sometimes visits by elephants and other animals from the nearby forests.

We offer theme based programs, eco retreats and internship opportunities for those who are looking for meaningful engagement with people who wish to explore activities that focus on sustainable living or nature conservation.