Have you ever visited a farm? With trees all around, open sky, great views, quiet and a quaint little farmhouse - basic but comfortable?
If you have, you’d have experienced a tiny tug in your heart, wanting to stay there longer and perhaps even move to a farm for good, leaving behind all the trappings of city life.
Well, I do. Every time I visit our farm near Pollachi. It is exciting to go over (mostly for a day trip, rarely to stay overnight), and it is heart-breaking to come back to Coimbatore city. We stayed there for longer (3-4 days a week) for over a year way back in 2013-14, before we started Bio Basics.
Many I know carry this unfulfilled dream of moving to a farm for good in their hearts. So is it worth it?
As with anything, there are pros and cons. And here they are. Perhaps this will be helpful for everyone in the same boat.
Things I love about living on our farm:
1. The greenery, lots of trees, open sky, birds chirping, animals puttering around in a natural setting. Very bucolic!
2. Being close to plants and farming. I admit I can’t identify most plants or trees, it is a learning experience. Seeing fruits/vegetables grow to pluck them from the tree or the plant beats the experience of visiting your neighborhood superstore or even online shopping at www.biobasics.org hands down.
3. Silence - imagine no traffic, no horns, no loudspeakers. Just natural sounds - insects, birds, animals, wind blowing, leaves rustling.
4. Solitude - no one in sight, no visitors, just peace and quiet.
5. Stillness - nothing moves, almost.
6. Time slows down - seems like the length of your day just got extended to twice the usual or more
7. No connectivity - no pressure of work, colleagues, keeping up with your social media handles, responding to messages or emails or even calls (there is a specific spot in the farm house where we get Airtel)
8. No stress - flows out of no connectivity, you have just turned off the spigot of stress (your handheld!)!
9. Physical work - I tend to do something physical - cooking, cleaning, brush cutting, trimming plants, and such.
10. Contemplation/Read/Write: Ideal space and time to think, reflect, learn and express thoughts.
Things I grapple with:
1. Chemical pollution: The incessant use of chemicals for farming by neighboring farmers is the biggest put off. Both air and water get contaminated.
2. No help to cook, clean and keep house - something we got spoiled with in the city
3. Boredom: If you crave for company (of your kind), too bad. No social life here. Take a dog along. I take two - Mia and Pablo.
4. Lack of luxuries: Not just modcons, but electricity and water are not that reliable. But this can be sorted, if I invested in Solar and water harvesting.
5. Away from work: Forget about working closely with folks at Bio Basics.
Caveat: It depends on you, and what you crave for. Aside from what your personal situation is. High-end schools for kids, or high-end medical care for seniors & pets are a rarity in rural areas.
Full disclosure: I am not selling any farms or real estate. So keep that in mind!
The pasture is always greener on the other side. And it takes grit to get used to living on a farm.
But there comes a time in one’s life when one is ready - physically, financially, socially, intellectually and spiritually, when this urge to choose silence will overpower the need for company. And if and when it does, you know where to go.
