Organic Farming Training — Class1
Almost a year ago from today, A group of wonderful folks called Tribalbox approached me for doing a video on farming. They published the video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO-eYYJogL4
and suddenly it has become popular and hundreds of people approached me by email, phone and Whatsapp to reach out and learn to farm.
I travel to farming belts and work with professional farmers, supply then high humic acid compost and sell their product in cities for supporting their livelihood. I also produce the compost which will increase permanent soil fertility. I also have supply information and help for farmers to solve so many problems involved in growing fruits and vegetables without chemicals. All the steps and help needed to grow successfully and give them the market they need to sell it at fair prices. This is the core of my work.
In principle, I care about the health of those who eat the food sold by us and the farmers who work hard daily and supply us healthy food. More than all this I care the most about the soil where the food comes from because this soil can feed then next 1000 plus generations of families after we are long gone from this planet.
Farming training is badly needed by so many beginners. Time available from me is very limited. So I have designed the following program.
September 1st, 2019, Sunday, is the first training day. The location of training is our newly built organic product warehouse at Gottigere, Bangalore.
We will send the location and timing to those who register in our google forms that will be sent to all those who approached us. Please wait for this to be sent this week. Lunch will be provided. Our customers who have supported us for so long are welcome too.
This is going to be a whole day program in English. Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Hindi will also be available as a service. Thejeswari and Suchitra who work and volunteer with us on a regular basis will be there in the one-day training program to translate my lectures and translate your questions and answers to you as well. Some other team members, Sachin, Dinesh, Vikram, and Ranjith may also be present depending on their schedule.
Following is the Schedule:
9 AM — 10 AM — Lecture 1 on farming (see farming topics in the end of this blog)
10 AM — 11 AM — Questions and answers
TEA BREAK
11:30 AM — 12:30 AM- Question and answers via phone call from those who are in a remote location and cannot come to Bangalore.
LUNCH BREAK
1:30 PM — 2:30 PM — Lecture 2 on farming
2:30 PM — 3.30 PM — Lecture 3 on farming
TEA BREAK
One-One question answers and meetings with Shankar. General discussions and more question and answers.
My advice: Many of you are sincere and want to take up farming. I want you to know that your brain may be taking you into fantasy land. Some of you may have land. Some of you may have good exposure to farming life already as you are into farming already. Some of you are just exploring. No matter what, please ensure you work in a good natural or organic farm for a few months to understand the difficulties well before you continue further in the fantasy world and dream to farm. Be more practical. Dreams are beautiful. Reality is something else. Be grounded and expose yourself to farming before you decide you are capable and qualified for the work. Also note that once you get into farming, it's hard to get back to your high paying jobs. You may have loan payments and family situations. Ensure that you have peace of mind first. Your farming effort should not hurt your peace. That is the first rule.
When I quit my Chip and Systems design career and went into farming in California, I already had purchased 23 acres land and after a few months, there was so much fear that I wanted to run back to the old career for safety. Farming is not for the weak-hearted. To earn money in farming it will take a few years. Your family may not permit you to do it. So please think about all this before you venture into farming. In a regular job, you will earn income from day 1. Unless you are very very serious, please do not come to this training program. I do not want to discourage you. But I also do not want to encourage you into a fantasy that will not help you make ends meet in real practical life. There are a lot of farmers who lose money every year even after using a lot of chemicals to wipe out disease and bugs. The farming path is full of thorns. But you can’t get the roses without the thorns. Trust me. The satisfaction is enormous. Please know that you must farm for peace and happiness. Money or small profit is only a byproduct. We will go into these topics when we meet.
Always “WhatsApp to me” it's really easy that way to gather all those contacts who need my help. My number can be found in the bottom of the following website https://mapletree.farm
Thank you and best wishes to you once again.
Organic farming training program:-
Topics to be covered in farming and gardening training for 400 plus people who have applied from all over India and some places outside India.
Location: Our organic product warehouse in Gottigere. A map will be provided.
Language: Multi-lingual
Duration: One day.
Date: First training day is September 1, 2019, Sunday. You will be sent a Google form to register.
Nature of Training: Theory (practicals on training day 2)
Screening test: Participants will be screened before the final confirmation of participation.
Fees: Nominal fees to cover food. Separate nominal training fees will be fully refunded for those with financial difficulties.
1) Basics and philosophy of natural farming. Ending the confusion about the word “organic”.
2) Who is suitable for farming and who is not?
3) What is a healthy soil?
4) What is the full and detailed connection between healthy soil and plant?
5) What are the strict rules to follow to achieve healthy soil?
6) What is Humus? Why is Humus so fundamental to soil health?
8) What are the various types of soil life? How are their interactions between each other and with soil and how does that ensure soil health?
9) What is mineral-humus-water-air balance in the soil? How to maintain it and achieve peak plant health via soil health?
10) Nitrogen cycle, Carbon cycle, Water cycle. pH. Brittle and non-Brittle environments.
11) The interplay of biodiversity in farms. Bio-mimicry. How to deploy it.
12) Why is living in nature essential and critical? Modern-day lifestyle diseases.
13) What is happening to environmental and human health in India and abroad? What can you do to protect the health of your family?
14) How to find your ideal farm and garden size and bring out the deep love and connection to nature that is already genetically programmed inside you. Why you will fail in farming and gardening and how to avoid it?
15) Finding land — full details?
16) Plant science.
17) Soil science.
18) Water and irrigation. Water table. Power of trees.
19) Funding your dream farm.
20) Food security. Why you must buy a ten cent to one-acre plot instead of buying your second villa or apartment in the city. The true value of soil and land.
21) Soil Tilth: No-till and Minimum till agriculture.
22) Farm made fertilizer and true sustainability.
24) How to build a successful farming business ??
25) Farm equipment.
26) How the wrong methods of farming destroying soil health, environment, and human health. How to avoid them and end misconceptions.
27) Seeds the inside story.
29) Trees — in depth.
30) Written test as feedback on the effectiveness of training.
31) All of your questions answered. — Four-hour question-answer session.
32) Exchanging contact info. and making a rewarding life long relationship with Mapletree farm and each other.
PART 2 of training: Additional topics on basics and advanced topics. To be decided.
For training, Message by WhatsApp only. Kindly no phone calls. Shankar: 91136 88239
Best Regards, Shankar — Lead farmer at Mapletree Farm.
