HIMALAYAN
FARM PROJECT
People
The Himalayan Farm Project involves people from many different walks of life: People who have come together to work towards environmental and social well-being, and holistic education.
Founder Co-founder Co-founder
I retired in the rank of Brigadier General from the Indian army in 1997, after 33 years of active service. Retirement granted me the opportunity to return to the land of my forefathers, the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, where I currently reside.
Post retirement, I finally found the time to engage with my lifelong interests of alternative medicine through homeopathy, ayurveda and foods that heal. My interest in holistic health led to increasing experiments with growing organic fruits and vegetables.
I had the opportunity to learn by conversations and study at Schumacher College, Dartington UK, where I attended two courses; Illness to Wellness in 2007 and Reconnecting Nature with Healing in 2008 (http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/blog/schumacher-and-the-beginning-of-my-himalayan-trajectory-by-hari-pant).
In 2010, I won a Fellowship to attend The Apprenticeship Program in Ecological Horticulture at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (http://casfs.ucsc.edu/about/), University of California, Santa Cruz.
During my time there I also volunteered at The Garden Project in San Francisco (http://www.gardenproject.org/), an organization founded by my mentor Cathrine Sneed, who was my teacher in Schumacher College.
Drawing upon my learning’s from the Apprentice program, I started the Himalayan Farm Project in 2011.I dream of this center as a farming community that showcases sustainable agriculture and horticulture techniques. It is open to all fellow dreamers to come and share their learnings and learn from each other.
After spending a lot of time on the farm in it’s initial stages of growth, I now live in Bhimtal with my wife Kumkum. Bhimtal is just over an hour from the farm, and I visit the farm periodically.
Since 2013, once in a year I volunteer with the Garden Project and also talk about the Himalayan Farm Project in UCSC.
Vlatka Klanjcic Rawat
Former volunteer since November 2017
After many years of searching, studying and living with Nature, and travelling to almost every part of the world, HFP became my home for seven years. It was a place where I put all my life experience till now. Everything was needed to come on this path of awareness for good of people and Mother Earth. Life style in the hills is what I was searching for, an ideal place to grow. Most thankful that we had the opportunity to create a small heaven on Earth.
I am a journalist, educator, traveler and mother. I am currently based in Delhi. I believe connecting with the land and nature is a great way for kids to learn and resist consumerism.
I believe the pared down nature of the off-grid life is a great teacher. It’s only when you live it, you realise how little you actually need to be contended and comfortable. I hope to share the back to basics, simple living with children from around the country.
I am interested in low impact architecture, off grid living and gift economy, and hope to explore all these aspects at the Farm. We are exploring partnerships and collaborations to create a sustainable revenue stream for the Himalayan Farm Project.
A journalist interested in travelling, I was looking for a piece of land in a remote corner, preferably near a jungle, somewhere in the hills. Railla chak, above Dogaon village in Nainital district was just the kind of place I was looking for - away from the cacophony of the city and in the lap of nature. This was year 2012-13.
Since then we have hosted dozens of volunteers and visitors who contributed wholeheartedly to enrich the farm.
To see people reconnecting with the land and the wonders of nature is what brings me joy. My intention is to demonstrate that being a farmer today can be a deep intellectual and emotional experience. With my background in social entrepreneurship and integral innovation, I hope to trigger another organisational structure where people are at the centre of social and environmental development. I also believe in collaboration and hope to bring together the different organisations working towards ecological well-being.
My passion for people, nature, and writing allow me to explore diverse ways of communicating and shows me the endless sources of learning in our endeavour.
I am in France most of the time; thinking about ways of extending the web of educational platforms.
Pankaj Rawat
Former volunteer November 2017
Living life in a city for 33 years, decided to leave the materialistic life and come back to the roots. It was hard, but the inner peace I found at the Himalayan Farm s priceless. I was lucky to be there.
This is not just a farm for me now, it is my new home, although I have moved on after living with Nature for seven years.