Podus co farming
90 kms from Bangalore city is a less known but beautiful village, Soligere, near the peak of Basavana Betta forest, off Kanakapura road. The air is clean and fresh and the only sound one can listen to is that of nature. The bountiful river Cauvery flowing beneath these hills can be viewed from the peak.
A tribal Community, the Soligas, resides here in harmony with nature adopting ancient traditional methods for farming and cultivation. Forest conservation is part of their life and livelihoods and their entire way of life is in nature. This traditional knowledge is closely interlinked with the forest. Soligas are brought up and die in the relationship with their forest; all aspects of tribal life from birth, marriage, traditional rituals, traditional festivals, and tribal songs are linked to the forest. The Soligas possess in-depth knowledge on the methods of preparing traditional medicine from various forest plants.
In today’s urbanized context, where much of the city population lives in high rise structures, the ground contact is minimal. Many children do not know how their food is grown. Fostering a love for growing their own vegetables, fruits etc. will not only enrich their contact with nature but also ensure that the food they eat is fresh, nutritious and chemical free.
Keeping this in mind, Mud Hands Foundation initiated PODUS- CO FARMING at Soligere. ‘Podus’ refers to the traditional name given to the Soliga settlements. The location is a paradise for a nature lover. ‘Podus’ is a mutually enriching partnership between the urban community and the Soliga tribal community.
While the urban man can learn from the treasure trove of their tradition, the Soliga can gain employment and their tradition is kept alive, making this initiative beneficial for all involved.We envision adopting the vanishing traditional knowledge of the Soligas in farming and cultivation and thereby, initiating the urban sector to adopt the fertilizer free farming and achieve healthy yield. Podus will provide all the necessary facilities for all those interested in farming to own your own plot of land and grow your plants and trees with our assistance.
If you wish to Be a part of this co-farming community please visit our website
Mudhands foundation 26th main, 14th cross, J.P.Nagar-I-Phase, Bangalore. 560078 Email Id:architectural.intervention@gmail.com Phone: 080 266 53 660, +91 9535 085 666
A Bangalore based architecture firm, The architectural intervention, provides technical support to the project. They have proposed to build eco-domes for the co-farmers. These eco-domes are domical structures built using earth bag construction technique. They will be built completely in stabilized mud and will be zero-concrete structures. The eco domes are a common facility where Podus co-farmers can reside during their visits to Soligere.
