The woody path to an eco-living

 

All walk the path

Some walk a path together

Some follow blindly while others lead blindly

Few wake up to light

Fewer choose to turn the back

Fewer still choose to astray

One creates a new path of hope

This brave hearted and strong willed changes the course of destiny

A new world is created

And then all walk the path…..

 

Seven or eight years back I woke up from deep sleep!! I woke up to the fact that I am not only my thoughts. I woke up to the fact that I have been living a life scripted by society. I woke up from the auto-pilot monotonous rhythm of machine world into a world full of life’s wonder. It’s ironical, the more I connect with myself, the more I become aware of other’s and a beautiful universe surrounding me. As the old structures crumbled in front me, I started asking the question for the very first time in my life ‘Who am I truly? What inspires me? What nourishes my soul? And the questionioning continues each day every way. As the energy of conflict freed up within me and I became a potentiality of possibilities I started asking the question, how do I serve this planet and how can I tread lightly on earth? This search has led me to a small eco home near Petersfield in UK where a colleague of mine Richard Bates has been living for 6 years. Richard lives in a shack house created by him with natural light windows in the roof. Richard generates his own solar energy using solar panels. How many of us get this opportunity to actually create our own house? His next step in the ecological path is to grow his own food through organic farming. Richard earns a living by doing wood craft workshops which I was fortunate enough to attend as a guest.

Spending the last weekend at Richard’s eco home I learnt the following life lessons:

1)      It takes courageous heart to follow a less travelled road:

When I asked Richard what inspired him to live like this? His answer was a very matter of fact statement. ‘I spent a lot of time in the countryside in my late teens that is when my mom moved out of the town to the country. My main drive to live this lifestyle is the desire to shift to a land based self-sufficient lifestyle and an ambition to build my own home’.  Humbleness and humility is what struck me the most when I first met Richard. It takes courage to live not only for you but for others too. A country like UK (23^rd amongst the world’s richest countries) provides a good lifestyle to its average citizen. Richard had the choice to choose luxuries but instead he chose to live a life of voluntary simplicity.

2)      There is more to life than just increasing it’s speed:

Being a city girl, have lived on the edge of a dial watch every day. Making fast food, travel fast, learn fast, earn fast, retire fast and do what? Not sure!!...This mantra broke and continues to loosen its grip on me. Richard's eco home was another dent in my belief system and the old mantras loosened its grip even further and I am about to break its shackles. The morning at the eco home started with a visit to the composting toilet. A walk away from the main living area, it reminded me of the villages back in India. This trip followed by the nice mint tea which I relished especially the strong flavour of the mint leaves from Richard’s wild garden in the making. Richard then introduced me to his workshop participants who were there in the woods to learn the art of making wooden chairs. It was the 4^th day into the workshop and the girls already looked pro in their work. Observing them I understood the patience needed to transform the unruly logs into neatly shaped obedient wooden legs which when compressed, heated and pressed will create a beautiful sitting chair. As one participant rightly said, the wood work is a therapeutic process as it is an awesome way to release stress. As I wondered and pondered around the woods I asked myself, Can I slow down to the rhythm of life? Can I just be and flow? How easy it is to live a simple life full of care for self and others? Can I live like Rich for the rest of my life?

3)      Cooking is a process of collaboration and team work. It can be nourishing when we eat and share together.

I felt welcomed in Richard’s humble eco home. I was very conscious to not disturb the flow of the workshop and just be a silent observer absorbing the activities around me. So just before the lunch time I offered to knead the dough for the evening Pizza meal. I also helped cut the logs of wood for the fire place. Richard helped me with the proportions and I used my Indian Chapatti (flat bread in India) making skills to knead the dough. As the conversations and stories of cultures blended, my dough got kneaded and the wood logs got chopped. I had brought with me Indian savouries called ‘Batata wada’ which are mashed potatoes fried with gram flour. The coriander chutney side was an instant hit and recipe got exchanged and thus the culture travelled once again through small notes of love and care.

4)       The ecological path of an offgridder is tough with huge hurdles to cross for simple gains.

The composting toilets are not the most convenient to use. The smoke from the wooden stove made my eyes water and nose run. The rain water harvested is probably not the cleanest and needs boiling before use. The winters are the toughest according to Richard as he spends most time indoors. A life in the woods can be socially isolating and uneasy at times with urges to give up and quit constantly seducing you. But then I question, I am yet to see a strong person who has not been through tough challenges in life. The ecological path is probably an uncomfortable one but luxuries in life is definitely not what I am after anyways!

5)      The nights are starry and the owls are scary!

The evening started with heating the wooden oven to make Pizzas. We cut the vegetables needed for the Pizzas and I relying once again on my chapatti making skills rolled the dough into round Pizza bread. The roller, spoons and spatulas along with the big clay oven/wood fired oven was made by Richard.  The fences which divided the spaces between kitchen, workshop and party area were also made by Richard’s wood crafted hands. Wining and dining the music intoxicated the air. With experimental Pizza toppings and music the evening moved into darkness. The owls whispered closer than ever. For the first time I heard owls whisper and they whisper like humans but definitely sound scarier!! The night in the caravan was a bit uncomfortable. I realised how quickly I get used to the city noise. I need noise around me to sleep. How ironical. The deep darkness and the whisper less silence of the woods was a bit unnerving to sleep alone. Knowing Richard is a shout away in the next shack I cajoled myself into sleeping. The next morning started with the Indian style masala omelette and the stories of life continued around wood work, tea and wooden smoke. I noticed how quickly I got used to the new way of eco-living. As I returned to London on the train I told myself, I can confidently say I at least now know one wooden path to an eco-living.

 

A peak into sustainable living

Weekend before last I went camping in the woods of Stroud, a small village in Gloustershire in UK. I have started enjoying camping and sleeping under the million starred clear skies which I was fortunate to experience as it was a clear, sunny weekend !!... The camp site was at the SEED festival organised by Hawkwood college , a college focused on Adult Education, Inner journey and our connection to others and planet earth . The SEED festival had speakers , musicians , artists from across the globe !!..I witnessed unanimous language of caring for Nature... There was theatre with themes centred around sustainability , songs by environmentalists which spread the message of connection to ourselves and earth. the songs had political humour on world politics . I never though music could be used in such effective way to spread a message. Loved the innovation there !! I heard live music from different parts of the world, Africa, Cuban music , Native American music and music of the New Zealand tribes !!

The key learning for me was that developed nations like UK and US have started realising their mistake of taking lead in industrialization. Industrialization which has created this disconnect from self to self , self to other and self to nature and planet earth !!!.... Seeing only profit and resources utilization and only taking from earth and not giving anything in return has led to the challenge that world is facing in the form of climate change , terrorism and forms of illnesses like depression where self feels disconnected and isolated.
I saw shoots of hope where across Europe new communities are starting to emerge in the form of eco villages where people living in the village build their own eco friendly housing , generate their own energy, grow their own food , harvest water can create their own compost. I met quite a few people who are living in these eco villages and are living much fulfilled lifestyles even though money does not rule their life. People living a life of enough and not hoarding and greed. I wish to see such eco villages take shape in India. I visited auroville in Pondicherry few years back which is such eco village but we need more courageous people to take the leap of faith and set up more of such villages. I realised India has to stop aping the west blindly. There is wisdom in our culture to care for each other and respect nature. We need to preserve that and bring this ancient wisdom into action. We need to buy fruits and vegetables from the local Bhaaji wala and not from super markets. We need have water harvesting schemes as part of every society and community. Our villages are much more connected and rich. We need to build the self esteem of our villagers that living in a mud house , eating home grown food and knowing your neighbour on a first name or even pet name basis is what makes you rich and not the bank balance , big car and so called metro lifestyle which village kids have now started craving for. Indians should remember that we are 1/6th population of the world. If all of us start living unsustainably , we are only speeding the process of self destruction as human species. I saw a ray of hope in Europe through the Seed festival and eco villagers I met on the weekend. I am yet to see that ray of hope in India.

The new me speaks

The journey from head to heart travelled
Never complete I realised , it's a beautiful dance on the rhythm of life
The next step is to include the hands in this dance
Take actions in alignment of the trinity of head, heart and hands
surrendering in each moment to what is waiting to unfold
Its not my to own or claim but be a catalyst in the making whole
As the making of the wholeness heals the maker
I just want to see this wholeness manifest
Oh What a healing journey my life would be then
This is the inspiration I hold in my heart for the year to begin.

Happy new Year to each and all :-) !!