From b0d1satva at yahoo.com  Sun Sep  7 23:55:55 2008
From: b0d1satva at yahoo.com (Bodi Satva)
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 23:55:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [Greenlist] Vanutsav (Forest Festival) at Van Vadi, Oct 7-12, 2008
Message-ID: <248514.68535.qm@web31905.mail.mud.yahoo.com>




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: bharat mansata <bharatmansata at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Subject: Fw: Vanutsav (Forest Festival) at Van Vadi, Oct 7-12, 2008
To: learningsocietiesconference at yahoogroups.com, Learning Families <learningfamilies at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: bharat mansata <bharatmansata at yahoo.com>




--- On Mon, 9/8/08, bharat mansata <bharatmansata at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: bharat mansata <bharatmansata at yahoo.com>
Subject: Vanutsav (Forest Festival) at Van Vadi, Oct 7-12, 2008
To: "Van Vadi" <vanvadi at yahoogroups.com>, "Friends of Van Vadi Yahoogroup" <friendsofvanvadi at yahoogroups.com>, "Van Utsav" <van-utsav at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "Earthcare Books" <earthcarebooks at vsnl.com>
Date: Monday, September 8, 2008, 9:43 AM

Vanutsav (Forest Festival) at Van Vadi, Oct 7-12, 2008

The first Vanutsav at Van Vadi was in October 2005, around the theme  ?Sharing Creativity, Celebrating Community?. It attracted over 60 people, including more than 15 children and at least two grandparents. Over half the participants came with one or more family member/s. (Adults unaccompanied by any family member were also welcomed.)

In 2006, the Vanutsav was hosted by Sadhana Forest, Auroville, and attracted over a hundred participants.

In October 2007, the Vanutsav returned to Van Vadi. This time it was a ?mini Van-Shram-Utsav?, integrating some community labour as well. This last gathering, announced with barely a fortnight?s notice, attracted about 35 participants, including a dozen children. [The (old) invitation for this is reproduced here below -- to give you a broad idea of what to expect.]

With a clear one month?s notice for this year?s Vanutsav from October 7 to 12, 2008, we expect about 45 to 50 participants. A.supplementary note will be sent out in a week?s time. This will include some basic ?ground rules?, contributions requested, etc. Meanwhile, we hope this advance notice will help you start planning, and informing us your intent to attend. (We may not be in a position to accept more than 60 participants, inclusive of children.)

The land itself is more gorgeous than ever. While the rains would have stopped before the Vanutsav starts, the streams will still be flowing, the water bodies brimming, and the forest lush. You can safely expect a memorable stay! (A fair amount of our own organically grown vegetables too would hopefully be available.)

We fervently hope this will not be the last Vanutsav at Van Vadi.

Presently, we are trying against tough odds to protect the local eco-system, with our own land threatened by a pincer movement of ?modern development? (on two sides) by city builders, who have already caused heart-wrenching ecological destruction in neighbouring lands ? totally denuding all vegetation; uprooting and turning the soil with JCBs, resulting in massive erosion of fertile topsoil and consequent high siltation of our water bodies, greatly reducing their water-holding capacity; extermination of the soil microorganisms and micro-fauna; ruination of the capacity of the land to soak rain for recharging ground water; drastic loss of biodiversity, including many precious indigenous species; devastation of the habitats of birds, macro-fauna; ?.

Though no building work has yet started, a high density of construction is known to be planned, with accompanying high consumption of water for/by the houses and occupants, car washing, swimming pool, lawn, etc., threatening to deplete ground water (adversely affecting entire downstream villages and settlements), while the sewage and wastes likely to contaminate streams, surface water bodies and aquifers.

You can thus reasonably expect that our normal vanutsav activities, cultural celebrations and earthy pleasures will likely (and hopefully) have a pervading undercurrent of serious urgency ? for it would not be possible to pretend that numerous hazards are not brewing all around.

We hope for your moral support and more ? to protect the ecological health of the area. For one, we hope you will help us brainstorm. This may include some ?out of the box? thinking and ideas. We hope that you might help us persuade those who are affected (and those who are affecting) that the health of the land and its natural wealth are worth protecting ? if at all anything good in life is worth protecting. We hope you might help galvanise some sensitive media support, as well as that of any sympathetic/influential organizations and people.

The crisis apart, we also need fresh ideas and all manners of help in shaping the vision that originally inspired Van Vadi ? the dream of a vibrant, peaceable community living in harmony with Nature and fellow humans. The crying need to build an eco-village, integrating care of the land with honest, satisfying and ecologically benign livelihoods. The long-standing hope of co-creating a non-formal learning centre ? a land and health cultural varsity ? where meaningful activities and aspirations may be pursued?

About a week ago, six of our Van Vadi members had a meeting with three of the directors/executives of the Builder company that has bought two (front and back) chunks of land touching Van Vadi. We shared with them our concerns, and expressed to them our hope that they re-shape their plans to that of an eco-settlement or eco-colony, so that ecological damage is minimized as far as possible.

As of now, there is little reason to hope that they are giving any serious consideration to such ideas. But it is reasonable to bet that if people (like us) ? who are already more sensitized ? cannot create a living example of  ?sustainable habitat design? , those yet distant from such sensibilities will surely not go far in this.

We have also met the Collector of our Raigad District, and written to him requesting his and the government?s support in protecting and nurturing our region (or at least our watershed) as a ?Socio-Ecological Zone? of development. The Collector has promised to visit Van Vadi during the Vanutsav.

When the threatening dimensions of the present crisis first shattered our complacence about 3 weeks ago, I wrote to my twenty plus Van Vadi colleagues ? who contributed for buying the land and towards its care ? that it signaled either the beginning of the end of Van Vadi, or the end of the beginning.

We ardently hope that it is the latter, and that we will have many more meaningful and deeply satisfying vanutsavs and shramutsavs!

Warmly,

Bharat

PS: Those who are members of either the ?FriendsofVanVadi? yahoogroup, or the ?van-utsav? yahoogroup may like to peep into the ?Files? and ?Photographs? uploaded at these sites to know more about Van Vadi.

 

(Old) Invitation for Last Year?s Vanutsav (2007)

bharat mansata <bharatmansata@ yahoo.com> wrote:
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 01:43:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: bharat mansata <bharatmansata@ yahoo.com>
Subject: Invitation to mini Van-Shram-Utsav / Learning Families gathering at Van Vadi, October 14 to 18
To: bharat mansata <bharatmansata@ yahoo.com>

Dear All,
We are happy to invite you to a mini van-shram-utsav  and Learning Families gathering at Van Vadi from October 14 to 18, 2007.
The past multi-generational gatherings of ?Learning Families? have sought to self-create informal learning opportunities in an ?extended family environs? and spirit of community, sharing work, responsibility, talents, skills, knowledge, ideas, stories, inspiration and celebration. (Singing, music, dancing are permitted!)
A special enticement this time is the enchanted environs of a lush forest with its brimming water-bodies, singing birds, clear skies, ? and near total absence of civilizational sounds like horns and motors. There is no TV within a mile! But also no electricity or piped water. (A short note on Van Vadi, its history, and how to get there is given below. Several Van Vadi members have actively participated in past Learning Families? gatherings ? Vijaya, Naveena, Mona, Vinita, Bharat, Rashmi, Bena, ? as also their children/ grand-children.)
While retaining open, shared planning of voluntary activities as in the past, we propose to include this year some daily physical shram or labour, according to individual capability. (Two hours per day for aduts, and one hour per day for children is suggested.)
The main shram proposed is in gardening and planting, but some building work (on a house or water tank) is also a possibility. When the land (Nature) gives so much, it seems only fair to give back a little in return; and ensure that we leave no negative trace (like plastics, foils, cigarette butts, or ill-feelings of any kind!)
Since the forest environment is not free of hazards, all participants are expected to look after themselves, with parents and adults taking full responsibility for their children and other accompanying minors.
The preparation of food will be on a shared, rotating team basis, with everyone expected to participate. Simple, wholesome (but tasty!) vegetarian/vegan food, inclusive of some fruit and raw salads can be expected. The food costs too will be shared. Additionally, a daily contribution @ Rs 80 per adult/teenager and Rs 40 per child (below 13 years) is requested towards Van Vadi. (More is always welcome!)
The accommodation will be rustic, as in a nature camp, with no cots and only a roof and chatais provided. You are thus requested to bring whatever else you may need. The weather will be pleasant and moderate, with a little nip in the air after 2 am. Besides your sleeping/swimming gear, clothes, etc., do carry a flashlight, a water bottle, a plate and a mug/glass. (Not forgetting music instruments and such like!)
The mosquitoes on the land will have largely disappeared by mid-October, at least in the dwelling clearances. But for extra safety, you could bring a mosquito net (or even your own tent). We shall try to keep available some non-chemical, mosquito repellant citronella oil.
Considering this delayed invitation, we are not expecting more than 35 people, including children. To help us prepare suitably, we request you to confirm your participation by the 9th October.
Looking forward to see you!
Warmly,
Vinita & Bharat, Vidhi & Manish
P.S. Our email contacts are: vinitamansata@ rediffmail. com, bharatmansata@ yahoo.com, manish at swaraj. org, vidhib at yahoo. com
Our phone contacts are: Kolkata ? 033-22296551, 22276190; Udaipur ? 0294- 2451303, 2452425.

A Brief Note on Van Vadi

Nestling in the foothills of the Sahyadris, Van Vadi is a 64 acre forest-farm (more forest than farm) on gently undulating land, with seasonal streams flowing from mid-June to mid-October (a little longer every year!) It was purchased 14 years ago with the pooled contributions of about 2 dozen people. Over 80% of the area is under fairly dense (and highly bio-diverse) tree cover, most of which has naturally regenerated through protection.
Originally named ?Vision Acres?, the broad agreed aim of the members was to ?live close to the land in an ethical and sustainable manner.? Progressive self-reliance in basics, like food, was an important, explicit goal. While members are supportive and share expenses, the land ? as of now ? is mainly looked after by local adivasi workers.
A core guiding principle of the venture is earthcare. More specifically, ?at least half the land should remain under tree cover; agro-chemicals prohibited; water usage conservative; mono-cultures shunned, and biodiversity aided through integration of various edible and locally useful species, particularly indigenous varieties, suited to existing conditions.?
It would perhaps be no exaggeration to say that Vanvadi today is likely the thickest and richest forest patch between Matheran and Bhimashankar -- extremely high in biodiversity of indigenous and traditionally useful species, including over 30 uncultivated (wild/forest) species that seasonally provide some edible yield; over 35 species of conventionally recognized medicinal/herbal use; and numerous others.

In terms of groundwater recharge and water harvesting too, Van Vadi can provide a useful model in our kind of conditions. Till about a decade ago, the hand pumps in downstream villages like Vare would run dry in peak summer. Now, with the excellent regeneration of our forest, all our land acts like a massive sponge to soak and percolate to underlying aquifers a huge amount of water each monsoon. This has been supplemented too by earthworks like rock and earth check dams, small contour bunds and gully plugs. As a result, the handpumps in downstream villages now yield water all round the year! 

Agriculturally too, the combination of rainwater harvesting and mixed (irrigated) horticulture of fruit and vegetables has proved quite successful in the 2 small plots that we have tried it on. With the current trend of erratic monsoons messing grain yields in an age of climate change, other farmers too may find it helpful to adopt some of our organic polycultural practices, recommended to us by the living ?Gandhi of Natural Farming?, Shri Bhaskar Save (now 86).

 

Getting There:

Van Vadi is about 1.5 km from Vaara village (Dist. Raigarh), which is about 15 km from Neral Station, almost halfway from Mumbai to Pune.
There are over 20 ?local? suburban trains a day from Mumbai to Neral (on the Central Railway line, ending at Karjat, 2 stations beyond Neral.) The journey takes about an hour and forty-five minutes from Mumbai CST, and 15 minutes less from Dadar station.
From Neral to Vaara village, there are about a dozen buses a day. Many auto-rickshaws too are available (during daytime) near the Neral bus-stand, and would charge you Rs 90-100 to the Vaara bus stand, and Rs 125-135 all the way upto the small grill gate of Van Vadi (with a sign-board in Hindi), going through Vaara village, and turning right on the Vaara-Chinchwadi road.
If you are driving from Bombay, it is best to come via Karjat, via the old Bombay-Poona highway, turning left at Karjat Chowk, and proceeding a further 7 km or so. (You will not pass Neral.) One km before reaching Karjat town, you need to turn left, crossing the bridge over Ulhas river, and again turn left, taking the road to Kashele (18 kms from Karjat). At Kashele, ask for the road which leads to Vaara ? Kalamb ? Poshir. (Vaara is about 8 km from Kashele.) The Vaara-Chinchwadi road leading to our land would then be on your left, beside a roadside hand-pump, just before Vaara village. [On this route, the roads are excellent (or at least decent) all the way from Bombay to Vaara, and starting early in the morning, one can reach the land in about 2 hours, without a stop.]