Biodiversity

 

A place teeming with life – plants covering the ground, herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, small trees, tall trees and mycelial networks.

A place that can eventually sustain itself because of the complex ecosystem that slowly got established there.

A safe haven for worms, insects, reptiles, birds, small mammals and a whole bunch of micro-organisms.

A place that offers food, fresh air, timber, medicine and shade from the scorching heat.

A place with rich colors, scents, natural sounds and textures.

We wanted to create such a bio-diverse place. In Permaculture this would be called a seven layered forest.  Over the last six years we have prevented grazing, planted trees, broadcasted native seeds and aided the growth of native trees that came up on their own.  Our once-barren land is now home to about 1500 young trees.  We hope this paves way for the creation of a place that closely resembles the most-threatened tropical dry and evergreen forests (TDEF).

A list of all the perennials growing here:

1.	Family	Scientific Name	Local Names	Notes	Uses
2.	Anacardiaceae	Lannea coromandelica	Odiya maram (Tamil), Gumpuni (Telugu)	Tree, fast growing	Mulch, Fodder
3.	Anacardiaceae	Mangifera indica	Mango	Tree	Fruit, Timber
4.	Annonaceae	Annona reticulate	Ram phal	Tree	Fruit
5.	Annonaceae	Annona squamosa	Seetha phal	Tree	Fruit
6.	Annonaceae	Artabotrys hexapetalus	Manornajitham (Tamil)	Vine	ornamental
7.	Annonaceae	Polyalthia longifolia	Mast tree, False Ashoka	Tree	Avenue tree, Timber
8.	Apocynaceae	Calotropis gigantea	Erukku (Tamil)	Shrub	Medicinal plant, fibre
9.	Apocynaceae	Wrightia tinctoria	Veppalai (Tamil), Reppala (Telugu)	Tree	Medicine, Timber
10.	Arecaceae	Borassus flabellifer	Indian palm, Toddy palm, Palmyra palm	Tree	Roof material, Sap, Timber
11.	Arecaceae	Cocos nucifera	Coconut	Tree	Fruit, Oil, timber, Roof material
12.	Arecaceae	Phoenix sylvestris	Wild Date Palm, Eecham (Tamil)	Tree	Fruit, Fibre
13.	Asparagaceae	Agave spp.	Agave	Succulent plant	Live fence, fibre
14.	Asphodelaceae	Aloe vera		Succulent plant	Medicine
15.	Asteraceae	Sphaeranthus indicus	East Indian Globe Thistle, Vada-malli (Tamil)	Small plant
16.	Asteraceae	Tithonia diversifolia	Mexican Sunflower, Tree Marigold	Shrub	Ornamental, mulch, green manure
17.	Asteraceae	Tridax procumbens	Coatbuttons, Balapaaku (telugu), vettukaaya poondu (Tamil)	Ground cover	medicine
18.	Bignoniaceae	Millingtonia hortensis	Tree Jasmine, Mara malli (Tamil)	Tree, fast growing	Avenue tree, wind break
19.	Bignoniaceae	Spathodea campanulata	Nandi flame, African tulip	Tree	Ornamental
20.	Bignoniaceae	Tecoma stans	Yellow bells	Shrub	Ornamental
21.	Boraginaceae	Tournefortia argentea (aka Heliotropium foertherianum)			Ornamental
22.	Caricaceae	Carica papaya	Papaya	Small tree	Fruit
23.	Casuarinaceae	Casuarina equisetifolia	Savukku (Tamil)	Evergreen tree	Timber
24.	Celastraceae	Cassine glauca	Nerdi, Neridi (Telugu)	evergreen tree	Timber, Medicine
25.	Colchicaceae	Gloriosa superba	Sen-kandhal (Tamil)	Vine, Pernennial Herb	Poison, Medicine
26.	Combretaceae	Terminalia arjuna	Arjuna	Large tree	Timber
27.	Combretaceae	Terminalia catappa	Indian almond, badam (Tamil)	Large tree	Nut
28.	Convolvulaceae	Cuscuta reflexa	Dodder	Parasitic vine
29.	Erythroxylaceae	Muntingia calabura	Singapore Cherry, Japanese Cherry, Nei palam (Tamil), gaza gaza pandu (Telugu)	Shrub or tree	Fruit, shade
30.	Euphorbiaceae	Jatropha gossypiifolia	Jatropha	Shrub
31.	Fabaceae	Bauhinia acuminata		Shrub
32.	Fabaceae	Cajanus cajun	Pigeon Pea, Perennial toor, Perun thuvarai (Tamil)	Shrub, legume	Lentils
33.	Fabaceae	Cassia javanica	Chin-rala cheddu (Telugu)	Tree, legume	Ornamental
34.	Fabaceae	Clitoria ternatea	Sangu poo (Tamil), butterfly pea	Climber, legume	Ornamental, fodder
35.	Fabaceae	Millettia pinnata (aka Pongamia pinnata)	Pungai (Tamil)	Tree, legume	Shade, Biofuel, oilcake as fertilizer, mulch, green manure
36.	Fabaceae	Tephrosia purpurea	Kollukkai Velai (Tamil)	Herbaceous small shrub, legume	green manure
37.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Bauhinia purpurea	Mandarai	Tree, fast growing, legume
38.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Cassia (Senna) alata		Shrub or small tree, legume
39.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Senna alexandrina aka Cassia angustifolia		Shrub, legume	Ornamental
40.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Cassia (Senna) auriculata	Avaram	Shrub, fast growing, legume	Medicinal
41.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Cassia fistula	Sara konnai (Tamil), Amaltas (Hindi)	Tree, legume
42.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Cassia (Senna) siamea	Thangdi	Tree, fast growing, legume	Mulch
43.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Leucaena leucocephala	Su-babool	Tree, fast growing, legume	Mulch
44.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Prosopis julifora	Veli-kaththan (Tamil)	shrub or small tree, fast growing, legume	Firewood, Fodder
45.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae	Saraca asoca	Ashoka	Tree, legume
46.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Butea monosperma	Porasu, Flame of the forest	Tree, Legume
47.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Dalbergia latifolia	Eetti  (Tamil)	Tree, legume	Timber
48.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Dalbergia sisoo	Sheesham (Hindi)	Tree, fast growing, legume	Timber
49.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Erythrina indica aka Erythrina vareigata	Kalyana Murungai (Tamil)	Deciduous tree, legume
50.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Gliricidia sepium	Rubber Tree	Medium-sized tree, fast growing, legume	Mulch, green manure
51.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Pterocarpus marsupium	Vengai (Tamil)	medium to large deciduous tree, legume	Timber
52.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Pterocarpus santalinus	Red Sanders, sen sandhanam (Tamil), Raktha sandhanam (Telugu)	tree, legume
53.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae	Sesbania grandiflora	Agathi (Tamil)	Small tree, fast growing, legume	Edible leaves, Mulch
54.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Acacia chundra	White bark acacia, vel velam (Tamil)	deciduous tree, legume
55.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Acacia catechu	Karunkali (Tamil)	deciduous tree, legume	Firewood, fodder
56.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Acacia nilotica aka Vachellia nilotica	Karu velam (Tamil)	Tree, legume	Timber, resin, medicine, fodder
57.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Albizia lebbeck	Kattuva (Tamil), Dirsun (Telugu)	fast growing, legume	Timber
58.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Pithecellobium dulce	Manilla tamarind, Kodukkapuli (Tamil)	nearly evergreen tree, legume	Fruit
59.	Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae	Tamarindus indica	Tamarind, Puli (Tamil), Chinta (Telugu)	Tree, legume	Fruit, Timber
60.	Lamiaceae	Ocimum tenuiflorum	Holy basil, tulsi	Shrub	Herb, medicine
61.	Lauraceae	Cinnamomum tamala	Bay leaf, pattai (Tamil)	Tree	Spice
62.	Loganiaceae	Strychnos nux-vomica	Etti (Tamil)	deciduous tree	Medicine
63.	Lythraceae	Lawsonia inermis	Marudani (Tamil), Gorintaku (Telugu), Mehndi (Hindi), Henna (Hindi)	Tall shrub or small tree	Dye, Scent, Medicine
64.	Lythraceae	Punica granatum	Pomegranate	deciduous shrub	Fruit
65.	Malvaceae	Hibiscus spp.	Hibiscus, sembaruthi (Tamil)	herbaceous plant	Ornamental
66.	Malvaceae	Thespesia populnea	Poovarasu	Tree
67.	Meliaceae	Azadirachta indica	Neem, Veppam (Tamil), Vepa (Telugu)	Tree, fast growing	Timber, mulch, medicinal
68.	Meliaceae	Melia dubia	Malai vembu	fast growing	Avenue tree,
69.	Meliaceae	Swietenia mahagoni	Mahogany	Tree	Timber
70.	Moraceae	Artocarpus heterophyllus	Jack fruit	evergreen tree	Fruit, Timber
71.	Moraceae	Ficus carica	Common Fig, Anjeer (Hindi)	deciduous tree	Fruit, Medicine
72.	Moraceae	Ficus racemosa	Athi, Fig	Understorey tree	Fruit
73.	Moringaceae	Moringa oleifera	Murungai (Tamil), Drumstick	Tree, fast growing, drought-resistant	Fruit, Edible leaves, Oil
74.	Musaceae	Musa spp.	Banana	herbaceous flowering plant	Fruit, edible inner stem
75.	Myrtaceae	Eucalyptus spp.	Eucalyptus, Thaila maram (Tamil)	Tree	Timber, medicinal oil
76.	Myrtaceae	Psidium guajava	Guava	evergreen shrub or small tree	Fruit
77.	Myrtaceae	Syzygium cumini	Jamun, naaval	evergreen tree	Fruit, Medicine, Timber
78.	Oxalidaceae	Averrhoa carambola	Star fruit	evergreen tree	Fruit
79.	Phyllanthaceae	Phyllanthus acidus	Star gooseberry, Arai nellikkai (Tamil)	small deciduous tree or shrub	Fruit, Medicine
80.	Phyllanthaceae	Phyllanthus emblica	Amla, Indian gooseberry, Nellikkai(Tamil)	deciduous tree	Fruit, Medicine
81.	Phyllanthaceae	Sauropus androgynus	Vitamin keerai (Tamil)	Shrub	Edible leaves
82.	Poaceae, Sub-Family: Bambusoideae		Clumping Bamboo	fast growing	Timber
83.	Passifloraceae	Passiflora foetida	Wild passion flower	Vine, fast growing	Attracts butterflies, edible fruit
84.	Poaceae, Sub-Family: Chrysopogonaceae	Chrysopogon zizanioides	Vetiver	Grass, fast growing	Mulch, erosion control
85.	Poaceae, Sub-Family: Panicoideae	Cymbopogon spp.	Lemon grass	Grass, fast growing	Roof material, mulch
86.	Rubiaceae	Morinda pubescens	Muddi (Telugu)	Tree, fast growing	Timber, Mulch, Fodder, green manure
87.	Rutaceae	Aegle marmelos	Vilvam (Tamil), Bael (Hindi), Wood apple	deciduous tree	Fruit
88.	Rutaceae	Chloroxylon swietenia	Billu (Telugu)	deciduous tree	Timber (Indian Satinwood)
89.	Rutaceae	Citrus X sinensis	Orange	small evergreen tree	Fruit
90.	Rutaceae	Citrus limetta	Sweet lime, Sathukudi (Tamil), mousambi (Hindi)	small evergreen tree	Fruit
91.	Rutaceae	Citrus limon	Lemon	small evergreen tree	Fruit
92.	Rutaceae	Citrus medica	Narthangkai (Tamil)	small evergreen tree	Fruit (pickled)
93.	Rutaceae	Limonia assidisima	Vilam (Tamil)	deciduous tree
94.	Rutaceae	Murraya koenigii	Curry leaves	small evergreen tree	Edible leaves
95.	Sapindaceae	Cardiospermum corindum	Balloon vine	Vine
96.	Sapindaceae	Dodonaea viscosa	Bandera (Telugu)	Shrub	Fodder, Mulch
97.	Sapindaceae	Sapindus emarginatus	Soap nut, Soap berries, Boondi kottai (Tamil), Koonkukai (Telugu), Ritha (Hindi)	deciduous tree	soap
98.	Sapotaceae	Madhuca indica	Illupai (Tamil)	Tree	Oil, Food, manure, medicine, timber
99.	Sapotaceae	Madhuca longifolia	Illupai (Tamil)	Tree	Oil, edible flower, manure, medicine, Timber
100.	Sapotaceae	Manilkara zapota	Chiku, sapota	evergreen tree	Fruit
101.	Sapotaceae	Mimusops elengi	Magizham (Tamil), spanish cherry	evergreen tree	Fruit
102.	Simaroubaceae	Simarouba glauca	Sorgum (Tamil), Paradise tree	flowering tree	Medicine
103.	Solanaceae	Capsicum spp.	Perennial chilli	Shrub	fruit
104.	Verbenaceae	Gmelina arborea	Kumizh (Tamil), White Teak	Deciduous tree, fast growing	Timber, Wild fruit
105.	Verbenaceae	Lantana spp.	Lantana	Shrub
106.	Verbenaceae	Premna tomentosa	Kolukatta thekku (Tamil), Naruva (Telugu), White Teak	Deciduous tree
107.	Verbenaceae	Tectona grandis	Teak	fast growing	Avenue tree, wind break
108.	Verbenaceae	Vitex negundo	Nochi (Tamil)	Shrub	Green Manure, medicine
109.	Vitaceae	Cissus trifolia aka Cayratia trifolia,	Bush Grape	Evergreen Vine, Ground cover
110.	Vitaceae	Cissus quadrangularis	Pirandai (Tamil)	Evergreen Vine	medicine

"Can you speak Math?'

Isn’t English just another language? Apparently not, in these parts of rural India.

The other day, Aparna and I spotted some country chickens by the roadside and stopped to buy free-range eggs. Sheela, a nine year old girl stepped out as we got in front of her house. I asked her for eggs, in Tamil.  Aparna asked me something in English, to make a point discreetly. I took my cue from her and replied briefly in English. When I turned back to Sheela I found her awe-struck. She was curious to know about the sounds that she just heard. I told her that we spoke in English. The expression on her face changed instantaneously; she was lost in thoughts and was not paying any attention to my translation.   

Suddenly she burst out, “Can you speak Math?” I was caught unaware. I didn’t understand the depth of her question. I simply said “No, I can’t speak Math”. Later that day when I had the time to mull over Sheela’s question I understood what she actually meant:

Here, the school syllabus consists of five courses or subjects viz. Tamil, English, Math, History-Geography and Science. Thus in Sheela’s mind, if I could speak Tamil and English I could possibly speak the next subject, Math, too.

Once I understood the profoundness of her question, I couldn’t just brush it aside as an innocuous one. I was seething with rage for this child. My mind was racing with thoughts such as:

What does this education mean to a child like her? Is it just a bunch of trivia that she has to know to pass some meaningless exams? This education has nothing to do with her real life, but yet she has to endure it for at least fourteen long years. She has to “learn” these subjects that absolutely no one around her seems to be knowing anything about. Above all, she is in the least bit interested in this “education” that has subsumed her childhood.

In this context, I would like to share this documentary on Schooling:

Schooling The World                                                               -

---

I went to Kumar’s place in a nearby village to get some saplings. Kumar is in his forties. He owns a few acres of ancestral farm land. He lives with his elderly parents, wife and two children. The people of this village are mostly affluent and influential.

I have run into Kumar several times before and he had always tried hard to talk in English with me. Those were awkward moments for me to see him struggle to communicate in English while both of us could have conveniently and meaningfully conversed in Tamil. Kumar’s native language is Telugu. But he can speak fluent Tamil and switch between the two languages effortlessly.

He and his wife greeted me in when I got to his place. His wife is bilingual too. We were chatting over snacks and a drink of water. In just a few minutes, he asked me about my children’s education. He knew that they didn’t go to school. Before I could begin to reply, he interjected by saying, “your children must be smart and that’s why you are able to do this.”

I have heard this comment from so many people; but still it hurts me every time I hear it. So, I got started on many topics under the umbrella of education. I asked them both questions about their times at school and shared my radical views with them. I talked non-stop, in Tamil, for several minutes. I don’t know how much of what I said made sense to them. But something remarkable happened after I stopped. 

Kumar started to talk and this time he talked in Tamil. “My father is good at English. He worked for the British. But I never learned the language well. I had disappointed him. Now my son goes to an English medium school and my father expects him to learn good English.”

His facade was crumbling and he didn’t seem to care.

-- Hema

In Appreciation Of Coconut Fronds

Coconut fronds are easily available in our area. They have many traditional uses -- broomsticks, roof-base for thatch, fuel in wood-burning stoves. We chanced upon this indigenous material while looking for options for unconventional uses at the farm. This post this about those applications.

To keep the house cool, we wanted to block the heat coming in though the windows that were facing east and west. We thought that the window blinds used on the insides won't be as effective as attempting to block the heat on the outside. Commercial outdoor window shades were expensive and were likely to get worn off after a few rains. We finally decided to use coconut fronds for this purpose. We had a pile of woven coconut fronds (keethu) from a previous project. We just tied a few of them in the following fashion and hung this panel off the roof. This thin layer surprisingly blocked off radiation and kept the rooms cool. Yes, it is a chore to hang up the panels in the mornings and take them off in the evenings. But the gains are quite satisfactory.

We have a circular chicken-mesh enclosure that contains the composting material. Our summer heat was drying up the compost pile and preventing it from decomposing well. We tried wrapping an old cotton fabric; it was working only till we had a gust of heavy wind during which this acted as a sail blowing the entire enclosure away. We had to come up with something else. We then planted coconut fronds all around the pile and tied them to the mesh structure. This is working just fine keeping the moisture content inside the pile intact.

In a span of just a few weeks we get a lot of brown leaves in the village. Many trees shed their leaves around the same time. We wanted to harvest this brown matter that could be used later as mulch or composting material. We wanted an inexpensive place to stock up all this bio-mass. Our farm worker Dhanraj built one for us using coconut fronds. He first made panels with the fronds, then tied the panels to the four posts of the enclosure below. One of four sides of this enclosure is operable.

Panel

Mulch enclosure built with frond panels

I noticed that little tree saplings were struggling to survive in the summer heat (42 deg C). The heat here peaks between 2 and 3 p.m. Blocking the afternoon heat became crucial. I planted coconut fronds in a line to do just the job. Three months into this, I know that these little plants have got over the hump. This flimsy, protective heat barrier is giving way, but it has done its job and at no cost! The mulch in the picture below is coconut frond leaflets discarded after broomsticks are made.

I plan to use light-weight frond tips on trellises to create partial-shade condition below for shade loving plants. The beauty of these fronds is that they are entirely local, mostly discarded and zero-cost. If they cease to offer the protection that we are looking for, they simply become part of the soil; there is no waste.

-- Hema

Pleasantries To Fake Cordiality

Raj(16) goes to a Government school in our village where the medium of education is Tamil, which is the local language and his mother tongue.  All his school books are in Tamil, except of course the English book. One day he came to me asking for help with an English poem in his school book. It was titled "Once upon a time'.   This poem was written by a Nigerian poet called Gabriel Okara. Here the poet laments about our fast-changing society which is losing its values. He admits conforming to the new fake ways of interacting with others. He pleads with his son to teach him to be authentic and live like a child again.

***

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.

There was a time indeed
they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that’s gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.

‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:
they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thrice-
for then I find doors shut on me.

So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.

And I have learned too
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have also learned to say,’Goodbye’,
when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.

But believe me, son.
I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

So show me, son,
how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.

 ***

In Raj's book, at the end of this poem there is a list of questions for the students. One of them is:
"What pleasantries does the poet use to fake cordiality?"

When I read this for the first time, I faltered when I encountered "pleasantries".  Honestly, that was the very first time I had encountered this word. Although I guessed its meaning based on the context, I didn't know what it exactly meant until I looked up online. To any non-English speaking student, who goes to a non-English medium school these English words are as alien as Chinese or Greek. I know that these children here have never come across these words ever before in their lives.

Now, what are the chances of a teacher in a Tamil medium school knowing all the words in this question? Let us assume that the teacher came prepared to school to "teach" this poem, for there is a glossary at the end of the poem. But there is no way of getting the answer right since there is no glossary for the questions themselves! Ultimately this question gets ignored by everyone including the teacher. Such questions are not so innocuous though. I think they have the potential to sow the seeds of inadequacy in the reader.

The poem itself is in simple, non-intimidating language. Ironically the question is not. Even if the reader could understand and appreciate the poem, this question is capable of shaking that understanding. It makes me wonder what the agenda of  this "education" is.

-- Hema