Hello Diana and Michael,

 

Warm greetings from India!

 

You both sounded different from the usual enthusiasts of organic farming, Chrisitans included. Apart from expressing your desire to connect to earth by working on the soil, and adopting a lifestyle that goes with that, you also desire to be of a blessing to others, especially those who are in need. This I think reflects your faith commitment and I am overwhelmed by this sublime thought of yours. Let me take this opportunity of wishing you both as you in your own individual way seek to bring your vision into fruition.

 

After working for the Church and church related institutions in different capacities, for over twenty five years, I realised the need to address the question of food security for the poor in my country, India. It lead me to the whole area of alternate farming methods and farming communities. About seven years back, I tried to introduce the concept of connecting to the soil in the Mennonite Bible College where I was teaching. But after about six months the whole programme was to be dropped owing to stiff resistence from an influential section of the faculty. This bitter experience made me to do some thing on my own. Thus began my farming venture three years ago.

 

I chose five acres of an ancestral, uncultivated waste land and started work on that. It is my dream that it will develop into a bio-diverse farm offering a model for the communites around. I am particularly interested in promoting the concept of kitchen garden among the rural poor households with medicinal herbs as a component of the garden.

 

We are going slow owing to non availability of electric power. We depend on a hand pump to water the plants we have introduced. It has been a great struggle as in our country, the State is trying to push the small and marginal farmers out of the rural areas and in that place want to bring in corporate and contract farming in which big companies will have a major say. Unfortunately, USA is helping our Central and State governments in a big way to bring about this shift. Because of this small farmers like me do not get any governmental support to grow food.

 

Church in India is yet to take up the issue of organic/life farming as an important mission venture. So we don't have any organised net work of christians involved in agriculture. It is the perceived need for solidarity, I came across this group, " Christian Agrarianism" and became a member some time back.  Michael's was the first and then Diana's were the messages which came closer to my vision.

 

Though we live in two different climatic zones and in far off places, I am sure, we can still interact and have solidarity relationship. With this fond hope, I am writing this letter to you both.

 

I live in a city called Hyderabad, in south central India. But my farm is in south eastern India quite a distance from here. I shunt between the two places almost every month. I need to stay in Hyderabad because of my family and the need to work part time to raise finances for the farm. Hopefully, I will get into full time farming from 2008.

 

Towards Earth and People Care,

In solidarity,

Gunalan

 

 

On 25/08/07, dianavolkel <dianavolkel@...> wrote:

Hello Michael,
My name is Diana and I just joined this group today. I am single and
54 years old and liked what you said about having a small farm and
feeding others. Lately it has been placed in my heart the message
of "if you feed others, I will feed you". And though I have never
done anything of this sort, I want to move from the city to a rural
country lifestyle, or a farm (except I couldn't manage a farm by
myself) and I want to grow food to feed myself and to donate to other
Christian organizations too. I was born in Califoria and have lived
here since age 7 when the orange groves existed that I used to play
in. I have watched OC go from an agricultural based economy to what
it is now, and really miss the agricultural influences. I lived next
door to open bean and cornfields and played games in orange groves as
a child. I miss them all. I am very interested in the citrus
industry and love hearing and reading anything about it. I think it
was great that you have a link to that. I am currently trying to find
a way to support a more agricultural based lifestyle either here in
OC or somewhere else in some way. I would like to see a restoration
of some balance of agriculture to OC. All of this has been placed in
my heart to do, and I'm looking for likeminded people to get involved
with. Like you the desire does continues to stay with me. Would love
to talk more with you about your ideas.

Diana


--- In christianagrarianism@yahoogroups.com, "mlcandyman"

<mlcandyman@...> wrote:
>
> My name is Michael I am single male 57 Yrs. young. I was born
on
> a farm in calif. My family was one of the founding Citris growers
in
> So. Cal. but they and that industry are all gone.
> I have had a varied career from 21 Yrs in Law Enforcement to 15 Yrs
in
> retail management. I've been a truck driver , lumberjack and
equipment
> operator. I have four grown children and 8 grand children.
> I have it in my mind and heart to get back into agriculture. but in
an
> unconventional way.
> During the course of my time as an over the road trucker I had
a
> lot of time for thought, prayer and introspection. It may sound
goofy,
> but the lord placed in my Mind and Heart. What I call the Mathew
25: 35
> project("When I was hungry you Fed Me....") The basic idea is to
have
> a small farm, say 100 Acres or less (probably a lot less). To
produce
> enough to feed me and mine, pay operating expenses. the remainder
to
> be distributed through Christian based agencies to feed the poor.
> Right now I just have the Idea and a inner drive to see it
> through. Don't know if or how it will work. All I know is that no
> matter how many times I have discarded this idea as "Goofy or
Crazy"
> it still keeps coming back to me. If anyone has any suggestions of
> how to proceed all suggestions are welcome. Anything from site
> procurment to funding etc. I have been praying about this for
> sometime and when I happened on this site it struck a cord. Any and
> all help or suggestions welcomed. thanks
>