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.