Sustainable Farming. Let me tell you about it because its what i learnt today and its actually really interesting. See there was a time when farming was organic; fertilisers, pesticides etc were all natural. Crops benefited from it, the soil benefited from it, the farmers benefited from it and lastly the consumers. But then decades ago, when crops had diseases, farmers demanded chemicals to kill them. Manufacturers would ask farmers what did they want, the answer was instant and powerful chemicals. Now, farmers are spraying pesticides, stuff which is really potent, and yes, its killing the pests and fertilising the crops, but to the detriment of the soil, the farmer, the crops and finally the consumers. I was told there was a day when farmers would live to 100yrs old, but now the average age is 60 because of the poisonous pesticides. Farmers would willy-nilly just spray it and inhale it indirectly. The soil would become poisoned and not be able to grow things or lack nutrients. So sustainable farming is going back to the roots of farming, and using traditional methods of fertilising and creating pesticides via organic means. And that's what SEDS is doing. Its teaching and training farmers to re-use old methods. Its amazing how nature can provide its own pesticide and fertilisation. There's a plant called 'neem' which is like an all purpose plant. It can be used medicinally, but it can also be used to fertilise and kill bugs. So SEDS is showing farmers how to use this unique plant. Amazing stuff. Tomorrow we actually get to go out to the farms and see SEDS representatives speak to farmers and villages about this.
So i started the day off with a bit of a cultural disrespect i reckon. I wanted to go on the school jeep to pick up the same kids that we dropped off yesterday. Seena the driver said he leaves at 6:30am. classic IST ('indian stretchable time' as a fellow indian told me) he didn't come till 7:15am. By that time someone had just made me a hot cup of tea. I hopped into the jeep and it started driving along the bumpy pot hole ridden road. the tea was spilling everywhere. So Seena, turned off the engine and encouraged me to drink the tea as he checked the mechanics of the jeep. I tried sculling it down but it was too hot as it was freshly brewed, so i sipped a few sips and then tossed it out, as i believed we were late picking up the kids. This didn't go down well with Seena as his look on his face was like "dude, what are you doing? i pulled over for you to enjoy that tea, so you should've enjoyed it". See there's a big cultural difference between Australia and India (well, where i am), and that is 'time'. See I always jam pack my day and always fill up my time; busyness is always a good thing in our culture is it not? it makes us seem important or something if we always are 'busy' and we tell people that too, 'oh man what a busy day'. Yet its different here. Time, although important, is not a priority. Respecting someone is a higher priority. This is something i need to continue to learn since Zim and Thailand.
Yet here lies a conundrum and a dilemma i internally face. All the kids and staff here call me 'sir'. Staff and kids would say 'good morning sir', 'good night sir'. Teachers would give up their sits in the car just so i can have a cosy ride. Why? In a sense its them being welcoming, but more importantly, its a sign of respect. Respect in that I'm a foreigner, an outsider, that i am educated making me of a higher class (or caste) in some sense. It irked me at the start when i tried telling kids to call me jon instead, but they would always call me 'sir'. even the domestic workers call me 'sir'. But i am no one special. Its just that i happen to be born in a first world nation, and that has nothing to do with me either. Yet, i was told that its best to let them call me 'sir'. Its in their culture and its a sign of respect. The danger I'm facing is that it can all be too comfortable, that this treatment of royalty - (i get served meals everyday, i get called 'sir' by everyone i meet) becomes comfortable, that it becomes normal. That i start believing that i am of a supposed higher class. Oh, the danger of this all. Oh how i continue to ask that i am always thankful to Him, His grace and that i humble myself to Him, which gives me perspective to humble myself to others.
So i started the day off with a bit of a cultural disrespect i reckon. I wanted to go on the school jeep to pick up the same kids that we dropped off yesterday. Seena the driver said he leaves at 6:30am. classic IST ('indian stretchable time' as a fellow indian told me) he didn't come till 7:15am. By that time someone had just made me a hot cup of tea. I hopped into the jeep and it started driving along the bumpy pot hole ridden road. the tea was spilling everywhere. So Seena, turned off the engine and encouraged me to drink the tea as he checked the mechanics of the jeep. I tried sculling it down but it was too hot as it was freshly brewed, so i sipped a few sips and then tossed it out, as i believed we were late picking up the kids. This didn't go down well with Seena as his look on his face was like "dude, what are you doing? i pulled over for you to enjoy that tea, so you should've enjoyed it". See there's a big cultural difference between Australia and India (well, where i am), and that is 'time'. See I always jam pack my day and always fill up my time; busyness is always a good thing in our culture is it not? it makes us seem important or something if we always are 'busy' and we tell people that too, 'oh man what a busy day'. Yet its different here. Time, although important, is not a priority. Respecting someone is a higher priority. This is something i need to continue to learn since Zim and Thailand.
Yet here lies a conundrum and a dilemma i internally face. All the kids and staff here call me 'sir'. Staff and kids would say 'good morning sir', 'good night sir'. Teachers would give up their sits in the car just so i can have a cosy ride. Why? In a sense its them being welcoming, but more importantly, its a sign of respect. Respect in that I'm a foreigner, an outsider, that i am educated making me of a higher class (or caste) in some sense. It irked me at the start when i tried telling kids to call me jon instead, but they would always call me 'sir'. even the domestic workers call me 'sir'. But i am no one special. Its just that i happen to be born in a first world nation, and that has nothing to do with me either. Yet, i was told that its best to let them call me 'sir'. Its in their culture and its a sign of respect. The danger I'm facing is that it can all be too comfortable, that this treatment of royalty - (i get served meals everyday, i get called 'sir' by everyone i meet) becomes comfortable, that it becomes normal. That i start believing that i am of a supposed higher class. Oh, the danger of this all. Oh how i continue to ask that i am always thankful to Him, His grace and that i humble myself to Him, which gives me perspective to humble myself to others.
Wow you weren't to know about tossing out the tea. I would have done the same. It's a powerful lesson about cultural differences.
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