Maaliwalli Muse

It’s a punch in the gut. After all that research into SLF’s in your shampoo and finally finding a raw, organic, free-range milk delivery service in your city (Pride of Cows) — you start your day by reading that none of it is going to make any difference and we will be (are) witness to the end of the world as we know it. This is shocking because we all want to believe that we can do something to help; cling to the hope that not using plastic will do something, anything, to stop the destruction. It’s difficult to not be aware of how apocalyptic our world has become. The planet is dying, democracy is failing, and your vote got you a despot you didn’t want. You try to vote with your wallet instead, and then find out that nothing really makes any difference at all. It’s enough to make a vegan start eating meat again.

So how is this possible?

Let’s start with what a ‘green’ product is. ‘Something that has less of an environmental impact or is less harmful to human health than its traditional product counterpart.’Only ‘less than’. It would get spoilt if it was a 100% green. So, where do you draw the line? Now, you could rely on certifications to help you make a decision, but certification is expensive and most real environmental products don’t have the budgets to pay for them because they are too focused on quality and not pleasing certification bodies. Then there’s the circus of words like ‘bio- natural- ayurvedic- mineral-clay-’ thrown around because your scrub has that one natural ingredient in a sea of chemicals.

Mattresses, for example, labeled with ‘eco/bio foam’ only means that a tiny portion (usually 5–20%) of standard-use polyurethane foam has been replaced with soy or another plant-based material. Your organic (certified) t-shirt might be made of organic cotton but there was probably a highly toxic chemical process involved afterwards. Or maybe your ‘natural and organic’ soap / moisturiser / conditioner really is fully legit — but is almost definitely made by using palm oil, that (though organic) is responsible for mass destruction of rainforests and human rights violations by corporations that forcefully remove indigenous Peoples from their lands.

THE BIG PROBLEM

Anyway, no product can be a 100% green by virtue of it being mass produced…to be consumed by a large number of people. And so, we come to our real problem — of being The Consumer.

There are now more than 1.7 billion ‘consumers’ with more than a half in the developing world (world watch, consumerism). But those numbers aren’t even telling you the whole picture. Even though the number of Chinese and Indian consumers are far more than those in Europe — the average European consumes substantially more than their counterparts in both countries.

The study, based on which Alden Wicker wrote that article, corroborates. It, shockingly, found that there was no ‘difference between intended voluntary green action and environmental effect.” They could find no difference in the environmental footprint of a ‘green’ and ‘brown’ consumer.

They named this mismatch between buying ‘green’ stuff and it’s (lack of) environmental impact, the BIG problem, a short for Behaviour-Impact-Gap problem.

Thats BIG, alright. The more they’re recycling, the more rubbish is being created??

It maybe because they’re consuming more. Sure, we recycle and buy organic but the world is going to end and we, the ones with our wooden sunglasses and urban compost pits, are the ones that are going to be the perpetrators. I am talking about our vacations around the world and Apple products made in China, received through America; mineral mining around the world. Even giving away an old dress to make way for something newer is irresponsible — handmade, organic, fairtrade or not. According to Annie Leonard, an expert on overconsumption, only 1% of the materials used to produce our consumer goods are still in use six months after sale. No wonder the retail manufacturing industry is the second most polluting industry on earth.

More and more people are ‘voting with their food’ — going vegetarian or vegan — but the footprint of the diet changes little if they now eat quinoa from South America instead of local millets.

I’m an organic farmer and even I stopped calling myself an environmentalist. Sure, I compost and know where all my food is grown, but I fly across the world at least once a year, drive a diesel-guzzling car and love a good steak. We can all do our part in sharing what we have and limiting new purchases, but the reality is that we are all still “consumers.”

We need to consider what’s driving us to buy this ‘stuff’: will it really enhance our lives and make us happy, or are we constantly buying only because we “think” we need more? In her article Alden rightly says that there are social impediments to making sustainable decisions. In order to shun consumer culture, we would have to shun society; and it is difficult to break out of the system that we are so deeply rooted in. Working more hours to buy more stuff. It leave us too little time to sit down to a home-cooked meal, to mending our things; or better, to make them ourselves.

It is difficult to stop at ‘enough’ but I know from experience that consuming less is a far more effective strategy than earning more.

There are other alternatives. Kelly Young, a model and environmentalist, started the “Free, Free Market” revolution in Taiwan, that has since, taken quite a stronghold. It cocks a chin at Capitalism, mass manufacturing and anyone not interested in having fun; all at the same time. You go to a public park at a designated time with things you don’t want anymore, or art/music you want feedback on, or a new food experiment you want to try out and just give it away for free. Since being introduced to it, I found a chapter in Bombay and once got a piece of furniture home delivered to me by the owner!

I spoke to Kelly about what she thought of the article by Alden, “Even if you have a product that uses sustainable ingredients for carbon neutral methods of production, you must consider the environmental cost of distributing it worldwide. Then you consider the idea that consumerism is all about manufacturing needs.” She isn’t done.. “I believe a thriving local economy can be sustainable but just offering a “green” option which invariably costs more and will only appeal to an elite demographic is not going to make a difference when 80% of the world lives in poverty.”

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE RICH

With the gap between the rich and poor growing exponentially every year — it is safe to say only a small minority are supporting these businesses. A minority doing the majority of consumption. Want numbers? The 12% of the world population living in North America and Western Europe account for 60% of private consumption while 1/3rd of the ENTIRE world population (mostly in South Asia and Sub-saharan Africa) only account for 3.2%! (Reference)

Lets face it, conscious consumerism is the privilege of the wealthy. But it doesn’t require you to be privileged to take care of your things. If anything, it is being rich that makes us feel justified in over-consuming. And to over consume is to place oneself squarely in the camp that is responsible for systemically destroying our planet. We need to change the lexicon. It is true — there is no such thing as a conscious consumer.

We have to move from conscious consumers to conscious contributors. We need to become conscious carers, conscious electors, savers, sharers, inventors…

France forces its supermarkets to share its food. More and more are quitting the 9–5, and you have no choice but to be politically involved these days. Couples have even decided not to have children because of overpopulation! So maybe that tipping point is coming. Till then, I think it is most important for us to sit down and assess our needs and just stop consuming as much. If you’re a foodie — go on a trip during a special season to discover a local delicacy instead of to an over priced restaurant that imports it’s fish from half way across the world. Use your money to buy things that will last forever. Buy less. Buy fair. And buy local. The planet deserves that extra bit right now.

India has a long tradition of local alcohols that are celebrated within their communities, but remain lesser known outside. Simrit Malhi writes about a few local brews to add to your collection this year.

When you think of countries with a hearty drinking tradition, India does not come to mind. However, we have a long and colourful history of brewing our own hooch. Megasthenes wrote about the existence of rice beer in India while he was the ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya back in 300 BC. The Vedic god of Saudharmakalpa, Indra was believed to have a soft spot for a drink made of rice and sugarcane – an elixir that powered his army. During the reign of our subsequent kings – including the Mughals – recreational drinking was prevalent and, due to low alcohol content, widely accepted. Kings, soldiers and the rich nobility, would drink grape-based wines, while the poor drank homemade brews made from millet, wheat or barley.

But our colonisers changed all that. The Portuguese introduced us to their sweet ports, the British distributed rations of gin to Indian soldiers, and we eventually got our first vineyards and breweries. Slowly, homemade brews gave way to high alcohol distilled drinks and India got saddled with a ‘drinking’ problem. For almost 50 years, upto two decades after Independence, alcohol was banned in vast swathes of India.

But this is, after all, the birthplace of jugaad. Liquor was made in fields and farms across the country, and nobody really stopped drinking. ‘Uneducated’ rural farmers made the subtlest of alcohols, teasing out sugar from the most unlikely grains.

This time around, however, alcohol was further distilled to mimic the stronger alcohols that people had now developed a taste for. Distilling requires you to cook the ‘crude’ naturally fermented drink so that only the alcohol evaporates – which is then cooled back to liquid form, and collected in its purer state. Distillers used what grew in their farms – mostly rice or grain, but often in pairings with orange, lemon, and sugarcane; sometimes even coffee and fennel. For the most part, it was good; occasionally there would be battery liquid thrown in. These alcohol-related deaths gave country liquor a bad rap. Still, India freed its markets and Prohibition was repealed in almost every state in the country. And slowly, a heavily branded Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) industry started to overtake local hooch.

Not surprisingly, old traditions of brewing alcohol remain intact in those states where alcohol is banned: Manipur, Nagaland, Gujarat and Bihar. Drinking traditions or not – India loves it liquor. The state’s Chief Minister once called Nagaland the ‘wettest dry state in the country’.  

THE SECRET ELEMENT

So, how are these local alcohols made?

First, choose anything with a naturally occurring sugar/starch or glucose element – it could be banana, rice, wheat, grapes or potatoes. Ferment this starch element using yeast, which ‘eats’ the sugars, and releases alcohol and carbon dioxide. Chaang uses starch in rice; toddy uses the sweetness of the coconut. But finding something sweet or starchy isn’t the problem – the ingredient that works the magic is yeast.

The recipes for the yeast starter-cultures were closely guarded secrets. Made from a variety of medicinal herbs and seeds, these recipes are enmeshed in a tapestry of magical and mythical stories. In the Northeast especially, each tribe has its own secret recipe that is unique to community, passed down from generation to generation. The matriarch of the family is often the keeper of these recipes. The plants used in the brewing of Chaang in Ladakh are, for example, amongst the most virulently poisonous plants known, Aconitum, and there is great danger in trying to replicate the traditional recipe without a tribe elder showing you how.

Very often, you don’t need the yeast at all. Take toddy: the sap collected from the cut flower of a palm tree is so sweet, and the climate it grows in so warm, the nectar spontaneously begins fermenting. A delicious glass of a light, sweet wine with 4% alcohol content is ready in a few hours. Toddy, or more technically, palm wine, is usually allowed to ferment longer – up to a day – which makes for a stronger drink, that sour and more acidic. Often, the sweeter, less alcoholic morning toddy is mixed with the more potent evening batch, resulting in a deliciously sweet-sour drink that is very easy to develop a taste for. It is best stored in a mud vessel, where a piece of white pumpkin or edible lime is added at the stage when fermentation is to be stopped.

Toddy shops are famous of course, for their food. But it is toddy that is the real hero of these cozy, yet high-energy joints. Like other traditional brews in the country, toddy plays a large role in communal rituals and household activities in the south. It is offered to the gods, and there are countless folklore and stories of its benefits – fresh toddy is often given to babies as their first food after mothers’ milk.

A toddy high is relaxed and comfortable, with no rough edges the next morning. But perhaps the best part of these traditional brews is that they are actually good for you - palm wine contains plenty of vitamin B1, combats hypertension, fights free radicals (cheers to preventing cancer, hic!), and midwives from Ghana to Kerala recommend a glass or two for mothers with lactation troubles.

Palm wine doesn’t have to be made out of coconut, and isn’t relegated to just the South either. It is present in Bihar and Jharkhand (where it is known as Tadi) and the wine can be made from an incision in the flower bud of most species of palm – in Andhra Pradesh, they make a killer ‘arrack’ out of the date palm.

But things are getting tougher for toddy shops these days. No one wants to climb trees anymore; because of the risks involved, toddy tappers prefer to work in construction. The government isn’t making it any easier either. Direct selling of toddy by tree owners or toddy tappers is now illegal in Kerala.

BREWING ALCOHOL FROM RICE

India’s other great alcoholic beverage is made from rice.  Though known by different names in different parts of the country (mostly across the North and North-East), it is most commonly known as Chaang.

Chaang is produced by the microbial fermentation of steamed rice with yeast and water. Yeast  is mixed into cooked rice and stored in a cool, dark place for about a week. Then the rice is mixed with water and a milky, fermented liquid is strained through. My watchman would often leave huge hunks of fermented rice in his drink  (thoda khao, thoda peeo, he would say). To each his own, I say.

It isn’t too bad at this stage but if you rest this liquid overnight (or longer), a cloudy residue settles to leave a delicious, subtle and sweet, clear liquid. Similar to Korean soju that can then be infuse with fruit and herbs (dried apricots, black pepper, strawberry and ginger are favourites) to make a truly illustrious drink.

When compared to traditional wine (ie, made from grape or other fruit), wine made from rice contains more alcohol. Its alcohol content is often in the range of 18% to 25%, but that doesn’t take away from its position as another healthy drink. A highly nutritious beverage with essential amino acids, sugars and organic acids, rice wine contains several vitamins and minerals as well. Since Chaang is a fermented product, it’s not surprising that the drink also contains many strains of lactic acid bacteria, which are probiotic.

These are the most common of our brews, but are by no means the only ones. There is tharra made from sugarcane – heavy and strong; Mahua from the flowers of the tree – sweet and delicious; Feni – bold-flavoured and blindingly potent; Ghanti from Kinnaur made with apples and apricots, the smoothest of drinks; or the Assamese Judima, that tastes like honey.

In smaller towns it is easier to access fresh local alcohol, but far more difficult in cities. Which is disappointing because the culture and art of our traditional alcohol is dying out when instead, it needs to be nourished and preserved. Recently in New Delhi, I visited a cozy restaurant, Nimtho, that served the most delicious Thungba – a kodo millet beer from Nagaland. Served in a tall bamboo glass with a thick bamboo straw, and warm water was poured into the fermented millet sprouts inside the glass. I was asked to wait a few minutes and stir before drinking. I enjoyed the ritual of the drink, the spicy pork that paired with it beautifully, and the pleasant high that followed. Its sour punch is strong but it is like a meaty drink with a clean aftertaste, a lot like beer.

It made me incredibly happy to find a traditional brew at a restaurant in the city; perhaps these drinks will eventually find their way into cocktails as well. In Goa, Feni sits proudly on every bar menu in the state. Despite its fruity funkiness, tourists and locals flock to it, forcing bartenders to up their game. Strong, fresh flavours like apple, ginger and grape pair well with it, but there is still much to be done; the possibilities are endless.

Now is the time to put our wallets behind the food and beverage traditions of our country, and champion its culinary repertoire in drink as well. Why stop at food being local? It is time to look into our glasses too. Only good things can come from eating and drinking what grows around us. Drinking Russian vodka in the sultry summer by the coast? Ask for a toddy cocktail with coconut milk, instead. And what do we have to lose? A few happy hours drinking to good health and saving tradition.

From the Himalayas to the tropical south, we are lucky to be blessed with a variety of climatic conditions that allow fruit from all over the world to find a home. India holds the distinction of being the world’s second largest producer of fruit, and are now the world’s top producer of several fruit, including guava and banana — neither of which are indigenous to India.

Sure, we are lucky to have the 'King of Fruit' be native to our country, along with the coconut and even the pomegranate, but we (and the plant kingdom) accepted globalisation a long time ago. Neither the onion, garlic nor chilli are native to this country, having *only* reached some 5000 years ago.

And so it is with our fruit.

Our world was a mash-up of food, culture, plants and people centuries before the Internet and 'neo-globalisation'. The idea of a 'pure' race, species or culture is, at best, imaginary. Nonetheless, we have a treasure chest of indigenous fruits that are often, too 'inconvenient' to be mass produced, due to either a short shelf life, annoying seeds, or a long gestation period. But they hold within them the stories of our ancestors, of our land and our culture. They need to be saved, if only to maintain the intricate cycles of biodiversity that we, and our planet, thrive on.

PHALSA Grewia asiatica Phalsa is a small berry in a gorgeous plum colour, with a hard shell that hides white, grape-like flesh inside. The berry is sweet, but balanced with astringent, acidic and sour notes, or the flavours of cranberry, grape and jamun. Unsurprisingly, given the fruit’s arrival during the scorching months of summer , it acts as a coolant and is used to treat dehydration.

Peak season Phalsa is a summer fruit, and is readily available from March to June acorss the country. The harvesting season however, is short, lasting only three weeks.

How to cook it Phalsa sherbet is a legendary summer drink employing its tart flavour and anti-coolant properties to full effect. It is, however, exceptionally difficult to de-seed. Traditionally, the fruit is soaked overnight in a shallow bowl of water, squished by hand, and then passed through a sieve. Once juiced, it is easy to make the delicious syrup that has long been a delicacy in northern India. It is often used as a substitute in recipes that call for black currant.

Flavour complements Cranberry, strawberry, mulberry, cherry, jamun, tomato, mint, bananas, lamb/game, pinot noir, chocolate, salt.

Growing the fruit at home The phalsa tree is a drought-resistant, hardy plant that can grow in most kinds of soil. Because it is more of a shrub, and the flowers are beautiful, it makes for an excellent house-plant.

WATER CALTROPE (SINGHADA) Trapa genus Contrary to popular belief, singhada is not the water chestnut. Though they look and behave extremely similar, the true singhada is far more sinister — winged like a bat, it is extremely poisonous when raw.

Though not of the same family, the water chestnut could be called a close 'family friend'. Fresh chestnuts are flavourful: sweet, nutty and tart, flavoured like a cross between coconut and apple. Water chestnuts are a staple in Chinese cooking, often found in stir-fries and wantons. Seeds of some species of these nuts are preserved in honey and sugar, and candied.

Singhada or water caltrope however, is darker, and has a nutty flavour, reminiscent of chestnuts, brazil nuts and peanuts, with a hint of sweetness. Its texture is starchy and crumbly.

Peak season Not unlike other shelled nuts, caltrops are an autumn and early winter treat. They are most often planted in June, and bear fruit in November.  

How to cook it They are either boiled or slow-dried and roasted before opening. Be warned that opening and extracting the meat is a time-consuming task. Traditionally, the fruit is dried and ground to a flour called singhare ka atta, used in many religious foods and ubiquitous in the phalahar (fruit diet) during the navratas. There are also several versions of a singhada ki sabzi made around the country, putting its starchy fullness to good use.

Flavour complements Star anise, mango, pepper, bacon, Indian masalas, soya, garlic, vinegar, mayonnaise, spinach, green onions, asparagus, onions, oyster sauce,  prawn, chicken, beef, pork.

Growing the fruit at home Water chestnuts are easy to grow in any container that holds water. Seed tubers directly into soil and fill with water. You will have to uproot the plant to harvest, since the nuts are the root of the plant.

STARFRUIT Averrhoa carambola

Green and firm when raw, and a subtle yellow with 'burnt' edges when ripe, this fruit is named for the star-shaped discs it yields when sliced. The fruit is fragile but crunchy to the bite, a watery hybrid between grape and pear. Ripe starfruit are mildly sweet, with sugar content that hovers at about 4%, and a tart, sour undertone. Unripe starfruit are firm and sour, and taste very much like green apples.

A variant of the starfruit is the Indian variety of bilimbi. This fruit is far more acerbic, and without the five ridges that lend its cousin a visual edge. Bilimbi lemonades are famous and the fruit is often used in chutneys, pickles and jams.

Peak season Star fruit season is year-round, although they flourish during two particular times of the year: September through October, and January through February.

How to cook it The starfruit has travelled far and wide, and both raw and ripe varieties are used all over the world. They are used in relishes in Australia, consumed dried in Jamaica, and used in Thailand and China to cook alongside shrimp and fish. Many in India use raw star fruit as a substitute for tamarind, even using it to make a starfruit rasam. Both ripe and raw starfruit are great in salads, particularly on Asian-inspired menus. They also make for great desserts when stewed. The starfruit is presently going through a renaissance on the cocktail front, and many bars in India have wholeheartedly embraced the fruit.

Flavour complements The duality of starfruit is in its mild flavor. Although too subtle on its own, the fruit's delicate  flavour lends itself to pairings very well. See: Bilimbi, kiwi, pineapple, orange, banana, strawberry, cacao, cashew apple, guava, citron, coconut, cucumber, kokum, kumquat, lemon, lime, lychee, mango, mangosteen, nungu, papaya, passion fruit, pomegranate, pomelo, rambutan, amla, sweet lime.

Vegetables: Tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, celery root, celery stalk, cabbage, radish, shredded raw papaya, shredded raw mango, kimchi, onion.

Herbs, oil, and spices: The star fruit is well complemented by most nuts and seeds, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lemongrass, chilli, turmeric, coriander, cumin, black pepper, basil, mint, liquorice, anise, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, saffron, vanilla, black tea, green tea, sugar syrup, jaggery, agave, vodka, rum, white wine, champagne, ginger, sesame oil, coconut oil, coconut milk.

Growing the fruit at home The ‘Maher Dwarf’ variety bears small to medium-sized fruit on a three-foot tall tree. Its beautiful pink flowers make it a pretty addition to any garden, even when the fruit is not in season.

BAEL (WOOD APPLE) Limonia acidissima As the name suggests, this fruit literally looks like an apple made out of wood. Its hard, wood-like exterior conceals a creamy orange pulp.

Its flavour is sweet, pungent and lemony, with a pleasantly fermented aftertaste. When raw, it can be compared with the tamarind. The texture of its flesh is granular and fibrous, yet damp and sticky. Its numerous tiny, hard seeds require no spitting or removal. You will know the fruit has ripened when you catch a whiff of its unique aroma: a fermented sweetness, similar to raisins or blue cheese!

Peak season India’s bael season is February through May.

How to cook it A few soft, consistent blows with a heavy knife around the middle will help open the fruit. Raw wood apple is often used as a substitute for tamarind in chutneys, and in a delicious Andhra pachadi with yogurt and chillies. The ripe fruit can be used in a variety of desserts — from pancakes to custard, panna cotta and ice cream.

Flavour complements Tamarind, orange, lemon, lime, kumquat, vanilla, coconut milk, dairy products, chilli, fennel, pepper, nuts.

Growing the fruit at home The wood apple tree, grown from seed, can take up to 15 years to fruit. They grow into large, shade-giving trees — perfect for the dry plains that they are native to.

KARONDA Carissa carandas A nutrition-heavy wild berry, the karonda is an olive-shaped fruit with tiny seeds at its core. These pinkish-white berries are sour with the dry astringent taste of jamun. They do have a slight, almost-salty taste that lends it the depth of umami. Extremely addictive when sprinkled with a bit of rock salt.

The natal plum (Carissa spinarum), bears close resemblance in name, appearance and lineage, and cause many to mistake karonda for its sweeter cousin.

Peak season Fruit harvest is August through October, though unripe fruit gets plucked from May to June.

How to cook it   In India, karonda has traditionally been relegated to the pickles-&-chutney aisle. However, in its ripe form, the karonda has now become commercially viable as India's answer to the maraschino cherry. They are also a great substitute for recipes that require cranberries, turning a tender, luscious purple as they ripen. A great source of natural pectin, these berries also make for great  jams and sweet pickles. When sweetened in brown sugar, clove, and cinnamon, karondas can substitute apple in tarts and pies. For a more modern riff, they are great addition in salsas; their flavours balancing well with avocado and lime.

Flavour complements Cranberry, raw mango, amla, orange, lemon, pear, ricotta, almonds, tamarind paste, turmeric, chili, garam masala, parsley, fenugreek, asafoetida, coriander, lime, mustard seed, garlic, vinegar, salt, curry leaves, white wine, nutmeg, anise.

Growing the fruit at home Karonda is a perennial evergreen that is often used as spiny ornamental plant with beautiful jasmine-like white flowers. It grows well in most parts of India.

BUDDHA'S HAND Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis India is one of only three countries in the world that grow this fruit, and we must start putting it to good use. This intriguing fruit has no pulp, juice, and or seeds. It wholly consists of rind – but oh, what a rind it is.

On her website, chef Julie Logue-Riordan writes about cooking with the zest, describing overtones of  ‘coconut, macadamia nut, banana, light caramel and cinnamon.’ Buddha’s Hand also trumps other kinds of citrus in that it lacks bitterness, and the zest can be used whole.

Peak season Buddha’s hand season is in the winter, from November through January.

How to cook it You can substitute this fruit in any recipe calling for a lemon zest, but its complexity carries it far beyond the call of duty. A teaspoon of finely ground rind can go into tea, smoothies, juice, or even plain water. Same with alcohol infusions (Buddhacello!). It also makes for delicious vinaigrettes, marinades for tofu and fish, in soy dips, tamarind pastes and date-based sweet glazes.

Flavour complements Fruits All citrus fruit, passion fruit, apricot, peach, fig, pomegranate, cacao, bel, date, wood apple, kiwi, kokum, tamarind, kumquat, sea buckthorn, mango.

Vegetables: Bell pepper, tomato, bamboo, asparagus, fiddlehead fern, beans, raw papaya, leeks, cucumber.

Herbs, spices, and oil: Vanilla, cocoa, jasmine, orange blossom, mint, honey, coconut oil, white wine, vodka, amaretto, rum, olive oil, mustard, wasabi, thyme, lavender, lemongrass, green tea, black tea, miso, ginger, coriander, chilli.

Growing the fruit at home The Buddhas Hand is often planted as an ornamental tree in gardens, patios and terraces. It grows best in temperate conditions. Trees can be grown from cuttings of branches that are two to four years old.

TAARGOLA Borassus flabellifer This coconut-like fruit has a tough, black shell. It cuts like a coconut on the top, to reveal three translucent, sweet, jelly seed sockets, like lychees with no pit. Inside, this pod is a refreshing, sugary liquid similar to coconut water.

Peak season Palm fruit season is perfectly timed for the hot summers in South India from May through August.

How to cook it Its sweetness and gelatinous texture makes it a popular choice for sweet dishes from around India — it is delicious deep-fried in flour or rice batter. Thai pancakes are made from its flesh; it is also used in milkshakes, smoothies and juices. The jelly part of the fruit is covered with a thin, yellowish-brown skin that can even be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted.

Flavour complements Coconut, lime, mango, pineapple, papaya, jackfruit, sweet lime, orange, pomegranate, lychee, longan, kiwi, apple, pista, guava, dairy, avocado, rice, almond, cardamom, rose water, saffron, jaggery, pistachio, basil.

Growing the fruit at home Taargola grows on large, beautiful palm trees, which will be difficult in a balcony, but do very well in even a tiny garden space.

MYSORE RASPBERRY Rubus niveus The Mysore raspberry grows rampantly, but is hard to find in markets because of its high perishability. They do freeze well though, and will keep up to a year.

Unlike other variants of raspberry, the Mysore raspberry is red when unripe, and slowly shifts to a gorgeous, deep blue before settling on a rich purple hue. Taste-wise, they are more delicately flavoured than their more famous siblings, the raspberry and blackberry.

Peak season Mysore raspberries grow year-round, but the berries peak from May through July.

How to cook it In India, they are mostly just eaten straight off the plant. Mysore raspberry can be used as a substitute for any recipe calling for red raspberries and blackberries.

Flavour complements Apricot, cherry, fig, grape, date, plum, pomegranate, balsamic vinegar, basil, sage, mint, citrus, cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, rose, port, red wine.

Growing it at home Mysore raspberries can easily be grown in your balcony garden, and often grow so profusely they will have to be constantly pruned to prevent overgrowth. Watch out for the spiny thorns, that are sometimes even on the leaves.

 Simrit Malhi on why the current food trend might actually be centuries old.

You shop at the local farmers market — mostly seasonal and always in the organic section. Heck, you even know the name of most of the people that grow your produce. Thumbs up for effort, but darling, your habits are so 2000.

Enter 2017. Michelin star restaurants serve insects on sticks and the hottest food trend of the year (after unicorn milkshakes) is… the humble millet.

From Africa, the Americas to the Asian 'rice belt' that runs through India, Thailand and on to Korea – our planet was once abundant with various millets. Discovered and grown by sheepherders of the vast Mongolian steppe some 7,500 years ago, they grew millets because of their short growing season: only 45 days. They helped spread the seed all the way through Asia, Russia and everywhere in between. Even Japan, which has been subsisting on rice since 400 BC, grows millet and occasionally mixes the two to make the rice 'fuller'.

The Holy Triad of Corn, Wheat and Rice, that has ruled plates around the world since the advent of Industrial Farming, today contributes to more than half of all calories consumed by humans worldwide. In the US, corn now uses more land and water than any other crop, and the chemicals used to sustain it have resulted in the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

In contrast, foxtail millet thrives with 4 inches or less of annual rainfall. Take teff, an Ethiopian grain that is hardier, more drought-tolerant and more nutritious than wheat. It can be grown in both water-logged and water-stress conditions. No need for any chemicals, either.

Even better, because millets literally drink up water (even once ingested), you need much less quantities than say, rice. In fact, to avoid dehydration, use millets in porridge, curries and soups as far as possible and eat dishes made with millet flour in moderation. Luckily our modern plating systems seem tailor made for millets' necessity for small portions. And in the end, the nutty complexity of millet will always win over the one-dimensional sweetness of the Triad.

As Michael Pollan, humanity's Defender of Food made clear, traditional food is best for our bodies. It might be the right time to start eating like the ancestors on whose shoulders our DNA rests.

As a farmer, ecologist and mom, I find the world of global food trends and 'buzzwords' inherently interesting. The 'vegetable of the year' (cauliflower, but now increasingly, celery) can dictate what farmers grow, how much water is used and ultimately, what reaches our tables. Unlike almost every other kind of large-scale market, consuming and producing food consciously, seems to go hand in hand with being 'trendy'. I assume we owe this to the top chefs of the world — arrogant enough to educate the masses instead of being a slave to them. For only in the world of food, can the most on-point trend of the year be something as intimate as gut health (predicted by none other than the New York Times).

Fermented foods is an essential Ancient-Future food — indigenous, tribal and medicinal, everyone in our country probably eats something fermented everyday. The airiness of a dhokla, the just-right sourness in a jalebi, or the pungency of mesu (one of the few to feature in India's Ark of Taste) all owe their beauty to fermentation processes that are centuries old.

Like the millet, fermenting your food seems to be an elegant solution to all kinds of problems —  the live microbes are a blessing for our gut, aiding digestion, increasing immunity and staving off disease; and because you don't have to cook most fermented foods, you save on fuel and reduce the production of endogenous toxins. It also helps that it is genuinely more delicious, adding texture and aroma where there was none. And, oh yes, it is the ultimate fast food!

"Although fermentation takes time, it’s not active time," says Sandor Katz — thefermentation guru. "Having a jar of sauerkraut fermenting in your kitchen will take you ten minutes: Chop up the vegetables and salt them. And then for weeks you have this really nutrition-packed embellishment that you can put on your meals on the run." Seriously, it’s that easy — noodles, broth and kimchi have saved me many a young-mom breakdown.

Indians looking for something more funky, have a long history of bacilli and ingredients to dive into. Take just vinegars, for example, we have kachampuli, used in the legendary Coorgi pandi curry, sugarcane sirka used in Gujarat and Punjab, and the ubiquitous coconut vinegar from Goa; but honestly, you can make vinegar out of anything vaguely sweet. Jamun vinegar is making a huge 'super food' comeback in the country now but I don't know of any restaurant using it… yet.

Fermenting comes into good use in that other food trend of the year 'root to fruit'. Riffing off 'nose to tail', where every part of the animal was used,  'root to fruit' also ties up with being seasonal. It is almost impossible, for instance, to use nasturtium flowers or beetroot greens that are more than a couple of days old.

An old stronghold of our culture is to use as many parts of the produce as you can — you will know this if you've ever grown your own. For example, banana peel thoran and cauliflower danthal sabzi (that both use the stems and leaves); nothing is ever thrown away, not even the peel. Predictably, it’s all super healthy and tasty — fruit and vegetable skins are loaded with anti-oxidants and fibre; and the varied flavours within the same profile are a blessing for the modern chef. Stem pestos and blanchedeverything with olive oil, garlic and salt are now du jour . Nitin Tiwari, at Razzberry Rhinocerous, even created an extensive 'root to fruit' menu exclusively for his cocktails.

Internationally, Alex Atala is South America's most important chef right now and the original champion of the Ancient Future Food. Literally wading through vast Amazonian forests in Brazil to give a voice to Indigenous food cultures and peoples' rights. His company Instituto Ata, is devoted to the research and promotion of Brazilian indigenous ingredients, which he does through his two Michelin starred restaurant, D.O.M. in Sao Paulo. It aims to "enhance, protect biodiversity and expand the portfolio of local produce for chefs and consumers".

Remember this: the food on your plate starts with a handful of seeds and an idea in a farmer's head. And it is up to us to provide those ideas. Our chefs and us need to make the most of what’s left of our traditional foods.

Back home in Mumbai, Prateek Sandhu at Masque creates seasonal menus with the best of what India farms — and he ferments too! (His rye sourdough is unbelievable). Floyd Cardoz of Bombay Canteen is fiercely protective of India's terroir, eschewing zucchini and broccoli for lotus stems and gourds; and New York based Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna is already working on his next book — based on at least 40 different types of millets.

It is time to change up systems and move from the Industrial Era of Food to a new, more inclusive system — which brings not only tradition and the future together, but also the poor and rich, the rural and the urban, and the global with the local. This is the only system that can have a mutually beneficial answer to farmers, the environment, and the consumer, with our ever-sophisticated food habits.

They are the biggest species group in the world, outnumbering humans 200 million to one. Marcel Dicke, Professor of Entomology at Wageningen University, forerunner in the research of edible insects, says it best - "We are not on a planet of Men, we are on a planet of Insects." Who rules the world?

Around 1900 insect species are already being eaten by two billion people in the world. Two billion. They eat tarantulas in Cambodia, the mopane worm has an annual trade value of over $85 million in Southern Africa and flying termites are a treasured delicacy all over the world from Mexico to the small village in South India that I live in (treasured because they are only in season for the first 4-5 days of the monsoon every year, in both countries.)

Turning to insects is not new. The bible mentions it, South America does it, even ancient Rome and Greece did it. We should know, here in India insects having always been a part of our culinary tradition. From eesal in Tamil Nadu to the ant chutney made by the Gond tribals of Chattisgarh. The Bodos of the North East still consume insects as the main staple of their diet - eating caterpillars, termites, grasshoppers, crickets and beetles everyday. But we don't, do we? However old our family recipes go - very, very few of them contain insects. Why? Was it a caste thing, or was it perhaps the sneaky colonisation of our food and the way we think about it?

The gross out factor is real, at least, amongst the billowing middle class that makes up the majority of our nation. Ironic, because the FAO (UN's Food and Agriculture Department) declared Entomophagy, or eating insects, as the solution to feed the growing middle class around the world. As economies in the developing world get richer and richer, the demand for animal protein increases. By 2050, the planet won't be able to provide the 9 billion mouths that need to be fed.

Enter the scary future of our planet.

Current livestock production systems are dismal. Rainforests are being razed to grow feed for animals that end up on the plates of a wealthy minority.

“The math is simple,” writes Crowley -- creator of the hugely successful Chapul bars  (What? You don't eat cricket-flour protein bars yet?). “If we shift even a small fraction of our protein consumption to environmentally friendly, healthy (and tasty!) insects, we can reduce the huge amount of water…which irrigates the massive, mechanized farms that exist solely to feed cattle and pigs." Forget the land and water it uses - livestock is incredibly polluting, especially with the horrendous hormones and pesticides used to keep operations 'sanitary'. The clincher? Industrial livestock production emits more greenhouse gases than planes, trains and automobiles combined.

On the other hand - let’s compare a cow with say, a cricket. It takes almost 15,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef while it takes barely 8 litres to produce a kg of crickets. This is mainly because crickets use 6 times less feed than cattle. If a family of four ate insects once a week for a year - they would help save 650,000 litres of water. That’s the size of a lake.

Even better, you can actually use food waste to feed the crickets without having to use any agricultural land (only about 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year on this planet). Add to this, upto 80% of a cricket can be used for human consumption - compared to only 40% of a cow. This makes crickets 12 times more efficient than cattle.

And they are better for you. 200 calories of beef contains around 22 gms of protein, compared to 31gms of cricket flour. Crickets have less fat, more than double the omega 3 and lots of fibre (beef has none). I’m not the first to say it - crickets are a perfect workout food. Oh, and the flour is gluten free.

But how do they taste?

Surprisingly, I knew a lot of people who had given it a shot. Mickael ordered these online, “In Asia it's over fried, but this French version is healthy and organic. I am trying to have a better diet and am looking for other protein sources." Elektra tried them out in a fancy restaurant in Mexico but ended with, "For now, I'm gonna stick with dal for my protein." (She’s a ‘political’ vegetarian) Personally, I really enjoy the maggots sold on the streets in Bangkok; perfect as a snack with your beer. But, like Mickael says, ”with their spices and deep frying, the Thai can make anything taste good.”

Luckily, we got none other than 3 Michelin star Chef Rene Redzepi at Noma - arguably the best restaurant in the world, teaching us how to eat them. In 2008, he started The Nordic Food Lab -  an open source culinary research institute that 'investigates food diversity and deliciousness'. They ran a 3 year project which involved two researchers -  one a chef, the other a Yale graduate, Ben Reade and Josh Evans, circumnavigating the world looking for delicious insects. (Their journey was documented into a movie, Bugs.)

And boy, did they find them. Mexican 'escaroles' (desert ant eggs) that taste of blue cheese, sweet and sour honey ants in Australia and the famed saúva ants of South America. Their aim, though, was never to bring back truck loads of escaroles from Mexico. Noma prides itself on being completely local (they don't even use olive oil!). The aim was to understand how insects can be processed in a kitchen to extract as much 'deliciousness' (it’s one of Redzepi’s favorite words) out of them as possible -- and of course, to find insects they could use in Denmark itself. Danish ants are now on the menu at Noma, providing flavors that otherwise can't be grown there (citronella!).

This is important - top chefs around the world create food trends, literally dictating what we eat. And thus, grow. New foods are served up in fancy restaurants before trickling down to us plebs. Sushi is a great example - yes, it had to be hidden in a roll of rice but who would have thought japanese raw fish would one day become so ubiquitous, we would literally be causing tuna species to disappear (another story).

Farmers are already catching on to the new trend and there is some serious money to be made. Insect farming in Thailand now constitutes a multi-million dollar (and growing!) industry there, with up to 20,000 new farms exporting insects wholesale to Europe, America and the UK.

The chefs at Noma understand that cardinal rule of good food - mise en place doesn't start in the kitchen, it starts way before that. I was going to say, it starts in the farm, but Evans and Reade declared insect farms (in the Netherlands, at least) a failure because the star ingredients were nearly flavourless. As chefs interested in good food, they know that upscaling insect production and creating a global insect trade like other industrialised food systems is not the answer. Farmed, freeze dried insects that have traveled halfway across the world and are god knows how old - taste like cardboard. Ecologically, if those are the problems insects are supposed to cure, it cannot be done within mainstream food systems. You would simply be replacing one industrial protein production system with another.

The best tasting insects are of course, wild ones.

I spoke to Gitika Saikia, who does food pop ups in Mumbai; often serving up insects. She is very certain of their 'deliciousness' but worried the wild insects in Assam are going extinct. Red ant eggs only come for 10-15 days in April, just in time for Bihu - the New Year festival in Assam. They now cost up to 1000 bucks a kilo, and every year, it gets tougher to get a hold of them. She worries they won't last longer than 5 more years.

Perhaps as this BBC documentary highlights, there might be a sustainable way to grow (and make sure they don’t go extinct) delicious insects. Organic farmers spend a lot of time on eliminating pests - the most effective way is to get ducks or chickens to do it for you (it’s what we do!). But, if these ‘pests’ can bring you a value addition to your farm? Plucking insects would be no different from harvesting any other crop. Most people living out in the ‘country’ have a vast knowledge of these insects already and this could become a very viable source of income creating new livelihoods especially where organic crops are grown.

And so, as always, the answer to environmentally healthy eating is diversity in growing and eating good, locally sustainable foods. Reade said something awesome (for another interview), “It’s not the insects themselves that are going to make it sustainable. It’s the humans.”

It's a punch in the gut. After all that research into SLF's in your shampoo and finally finding a raw, organic, free-range milk delivery service in your city (Pride of Cows) - you start your day by reading that none of it is going to make any difference and we will be (are) witness to the end of the world as we know it. This is shocking because we all want to believe that we can do something to help; cling to the hope that not using plastic will do something, anything, to stop the destruction. It's difficult to not be aware of how apocalyptic our world has become. The planet is dying, democracy is failing, and your vote got you a despot you didn't want. You try to vote with your wallet instead, and then find out that nothing really makes any difference at all. It's enough to make a vegan start eating meat again.

So how is this possible?

Let’s start with what a 'green' product is.

'Something that has less of an environmental impact or is less harmful to human health than its traditional product counterpart.'

Only 'less than'

. It would get spoilt if it was a 100% green. So, where do you draw the line? Now, you could rely on certifications to help you make a decision, but certification is expensive and most real environmental products don't have the budgets to pay for them because they are too focused on quality and not pleasing certification bodies. Then there's the circus of words like 'bio- natural- ayurvedic- mineral-clay-' thrown around because your scrub has that one natural ingredient in a sea of chemicals.

Mattresses, for example, labeled with 'eco/bio foam' only means that a tiny portion (usually 5-20%) of standard-use polyurethane foam has been replaced with soy or another plant-based material. Your organic (certified) t-shirt might be made of organic cotton but there was probably a highly toxic chemical process involved afterwards. Or maybe your 'natural and organic' soap / moisturiser / conditioner really is fully legit - but is almost definitely made by using palm oil, that (though organic) is responsible for mass destruction of rainforests and human rights violations by corporations that forcefully remove indigenous Peoples from their lands.

THE BIG PROBLEM

Anyway, no product can be a 100% green by virtue of it being mass produced…to be consumed by a large number of people. And so, we come to our real problem - of being The Consumer.  

There are now more than 1.7 billion 'consumers' with more than a half in the developing world (world watch, consumerism). But those numbers aren't even telling you the whole picture. Even though the number of Chinese and Indian consumers are far more than those in Europe - the average European consumes substantially more than their counterparts in both countries.

The study, based on which Alden Wicker wrote that article, corroborates. It, shockingly, found that there was no 'difference between intended voluntary green action and environmental effect." They could find no difference in the environmental footprint of a 'green' and 'brown' consumer.

They named this mismatch between buying 'green' stuff and it's (lack of) environmental impact, the BIG problem, a short for Behaviour-Impact-Gap problem.

Thats BIG, alright. The more they're recycling, the more rubbish is being created??

It maybe because they're consuming more. Sure, we recycle and buy organic but the world is going to end and we, the ones with our wooden sunglasses and urban compost pits, are the ones that are going to be the perpetrators. I am talking about our vacations around the world and Apple products made in China, received through America; mineral mining around the world. Even giving away an old dress to make way for something newer is irresponsible - handmade, organic, fairtrade or not. According to Annie Leonard, an expert on overconsumption, only 1% of the materials used to produce our consumer goods are still in use six months after sale. No wonder the retail manufacturing industry is the second most polluting industry on earth.

More and more people are 'voting with their food' - going vegetarian or vegan - but the footprint of the diet changes little if they now eat quinoa from South America instead of local millets.

I'm an organic farmer and even I stopped calling myself an environmentalist. Sure, I compost and know where all my food is grown, but I fly across the world at least once a year, drive a diesel-guzzling car and love a good steak. We can all do our part in sharing what we have and limiting new purchases, but the reality is that we are all still "consumers."

We need to consider what’s driving us to buy this 'stuff': will it  really enhance our lives and make us happy, or are we constantly buying only because we “think” we need more? In her

article

Alden rightly says that there are social impediments to making sustainable decisions. In order to shun consumer culture, we would have to shun society; and it is difficult to break out of the system that we are so deeply rooted in. Working more hours to buy more stuff. It leave us too little time to sit down to a home-cooked meal, to mending our things; or better, to make them ourselves.

It is difficult to stop at 'enough' but I know from experience that consuming less is a far more effective strategy than earning more.

There are other alternatives. Kelly Young, a model and environmentalist, started the "Free, Free Market" revolution in Taiwan, that has since, taken quite a stronghold. It cocks a chin at Capitalism, mass manufacturing and anyone not interested in having fun; all at the same time. You go to a public park at a designated time with things you don't want anymore, or art/music you want feedback on, or a new food experiment you want to try out and just give it away for free. Since being introduced to it, I found a chapter in Bombay and once got a piece of furniture home delivered to me by the owner!

I spoke to Kelly about what she thought of the article by Alden, "Even if you have a product that uses sustainable ingredients for carbon neutral methods of production, you must consider the environmental cost of distributing it worldwide. Then you consider the idea that consumerism is all about manufacturing needs." She isn't done.. "I believe a thriving local economy can be sustainable but just offering a "green" option which invariably costs more and will only appeal to an elite demographic is not going to make a difference when 80% of the world lives in poverty."

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE RICH

With the gap between the rich and poor growing exponentially every year - it is safe to say only a small minority are supporting these businesses. A minority doing the majority of consumption. Want numbers? The 12% of the world population living in North America and Western Europe account for 60% of private consumption while 1/3rd of the ENTIRE world population (mostly in South Asia and Sub-saharan Africa) only account for 3.2%! (Reference)

Lets face it, conscious consumerism is the privilege of the wealthy. But it doesn’t require you to be privileged to take care of your things. If anything, it is being rich that makes us feel justified in over-consuming.  And to over consume is to place oneself squarely in the camp that is responsible for systemically destroying our planet.  We need to change the lexicon. It is true - there is no such thing as a conscious consumer.

We have to move from conscious consumers to conscious contributors.  We need to become conscious carers, conscious electors, savers, sharers, inventors...

It’s a sexy little plant, no doubt. Well travelled too; there are very few countries in the world where it isn’t part of the morning ritual. But in utter cultural appropriation, it’s become somehow, European. Hipster flat whites, Parisian espressos.

So how did a plant that is indigenous to Ethiopia; only capable of growing in a very specific sub-tropical climate (that also happens to be a belt of the poorest countries in the world), somehow end up becoming what people think is… Italian?

Ethiopian tribes had long known of its extraordinary powers, though the earliest substantiated evidence come from the 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen. It was a closely guarded secret in East Africa-Arabia, with only boiled or sterilized beans being allowed to leave the region. Nonetheless, coffee was first smuggled out of Mecca by Baba Budan, an Indian traveller, who fastened fertile beans to a strap across his stomach. He brought them to Chikmagalur, where it has flourished ever since. Meanwhile, the Great Ottoman Empire in Turkey was where coffee was first roasted, finely ground and slowly cooked with water. This is how the Europeans got their first taste, a century later, from visiting Venetian merchants. From Venice it spread immediately through Europe, with the Dutch taking over its colonial reins.

That makes India’s coffee traditions as old as European ones.

So, how come there’s no one drinking single estate, south Indian, filter coffee anywhere else in the world?

If I stick with my conspiracy-theorist, anarchist roots, I would say it was very fishy that it was coincidently forbidden by conservative, orthodox imams in Mecca; as well as being banned by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church around the same time as European countries were busy colonizing others, solely as land to grow coffee in.

But, that’s not what I’m saying.  

I’m saying Dutch botanists had a really keen eye for where coffee would grow and did a brilliant job spreading it around the world. They grew it in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Suriname and the Caribbean. From there it spread to Haiti (where it was responsible for the Haitian revolution), Mexico and Reunion Island. On this island stranded in the Indian Ocean, far off the west coast of Africa, the bean grew smaller and was deemed a different variety of Arabica known as var. Bourbon. It is the progeny of that Bourbon tree that is the Santos coffee of Brazil- now the largest producer of coffee in the world, holding the position for the last, oh, 150 years.

In an Ultimate Super Capitalist Colonist move – seeds from Brazil were later brought to Kenya for estate production. Kenya shares a border with Ethiopia. Yup, the country where coffee comes from. Now imagine an Indian consumer buying, say, Lavazza coffee, thinking the Italians know it best. That would be an Ultra Brainwashed with Marketing move on his part, since Lavazza’s beans come from South America – where coffee on the whole is of a far more inferior quality than India’s, because of its mass supply chains. Which means it’s been sprayed with fertilizers, rainforests have been razed to grow it and very, very little of that money goes to the farmer.

And so we come to the glaring issue of coffee and its economics. Second only to oil, coffee is the most valuable legally traded commodity in the world. It is estimated that 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day worldwide. For some reason, the poorest countries in the world (Guatemala, Ethiopia, Peru and Honduras are some of the top producers of coffee) are growing it, while it’s the richest who are drinking it (the top five coffee consumers are all European countries), at prices that get more absurd everyday.

How is the money not reaching the ones that work hardest for that morning cup?

It is important to remember that the coffee sold at retail is a different economic product than wholesale coffee, which is traded on the commodity exchange, as green beans. And therein lies the rub. The money ends up going to those that process it. Coffee needs to be hulled, dried, roasted and ground before you can drink it. You put a big, shiny roaster inside your café and you can charge more than double the farmer that grew the bean got for it. British charity Oxfam says the price of raw coffee exported from producer countries accounts for less than seven per cent of the eventual cost of coffee to Western consumers.

I spoke to Kishore Cariappa of the famed Cariappa Coffee in Kodaikanal (with its own café), One of the few organic, single estate, single origin coffee, it’s easily one of the best in the country. Kishore is a stickler for detail, with every bean having passed through his fingers. Because the coffee is naturally rain-fed, with no artificial irrigation – the beans all ripen at different times. This means harvesting takes place several times to ensure only ripe berries are picked. They have to be plucked before they fall and rot and have to be pulped the same day.  It’s time consuming and labour intensive but the only way you can compete with large coffee companies.

His state-of-the-art roasting and processing machinery was bought to handle 200 acres of coffee. He had dreamt of starting a co-op of the farms in his village – tribal people that grew coffee organically under the shade of forest trees. He had even set up a system by which the farmers would get a monthly salary instead of the once a year bumper price that comes with the crop.

But all the farmers in his village had already given their coffee out on 5-10 year contracts to a clan of local coffee buyers. An old money-lender/coffee buyer clan, if you will. “Educated farmers keep track of the prices in London and know what price to demand. But the average farmer doesn’t. They are not exposed to the internet and their holdings are too small for export. Add to that, they get an income only once a year, so they borrow money from this consortium of buyers and have their coffee locked on contract. This way the international market prices don't apply to them anymore.” And the middle men make all the bucks.

Kishore decided to go ahead with growing his own coffee and quickly realized that the only way to make money being a coffee farmer was to start his own cafe. It’s no dream job, though. “Growing sustainable coffee is hard. Organic coffee is so much more labour intensive; which means expensive. You get no support from the government. There are huge subsidies for farmers who want chemicals in this country, but all an organic farmer needs is manure – which can be very expensive. Even then, you can't export because you need 20 tonnes per batch at least to fill a container. Coffee has to be fresh, even the green beans, so you have to send it in batches which is another added cost.” Like with everything else, the market is skewed towards those with the cash.

Kishore continues, “You have to remember that till ‘85 it was only the Coffee Board of India who certified and bought coffee from farmers, for the government. Coffee used to be a closed market.” We just about got out of that and there has been a healthy boom of good coffee in the country, but even those days could be marked. “Now, Starbucks, one of the largest coffee retailers in the world has partnered with TATA, one of the largest coffee growers in the country. It is wholly possible that they could start dictating the prices in India.” he warns.

Organic coffee is mostly always shade grown because of the large amounts of pesticide and fertilizers required to grow coffee under the sun.  South America, and Brazil in particular, got screwed by the Green Revolution (which was more like the Chemical Revolution – see Punjab for more examples) started by the US Agency for International Development which gave eighty million dollars to plantations in Latin America to basically switch to chemical, ‘technology’ based farming – meaning sun-grown coffee. These large-scale, high-tech coffee estates, which were razed rainforests to begin with, became so completely stripped of nutrients that in many areas of Brazil, the land can no longer be used for agriculture. Makes sense since sun-grown coffee is the third most heavily sprayed crop in the world.

Let me spell it out - the perfect cup of coffee would be organically grown under natural forest trees on a small holding of land by a farmer who is part of a co-op that processes its own coffee before selling it.

Nothing’s perfect but Black Baza comes very, very close.

Black Baza Coffee was started by Arshiya Bose, who did her PhD in coffee (!!) before setting it up.  Named after a bird that is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem, Arshiya and her team do rigorous tests and have even set up camera traps on their farms to evaluate just how healthy they are.  It goes without saying that the coffee is organic but even the tree cover under which the coffee is grown has to be 80% natural forest trees.  Spiders are the pest-control and butterflies, the pollinators.

Their next step is to set up a certification for coffee that actually works. It would be a first, and much needed. While certified-organic coffee is sold at a premium, the lower yields mean that farmers do not always profit in a meaningful way from obtaining the certification, so most forgo it completely. Fair Trade is pretty good because the middlemen in coffee are so notorious. Coffee importers provide credit to certified farmers to help them stay out of debt with coffee buyers. But, the certification itself is expensive and there are several brands that practice fair trade without the certification.

Then there’s Rainforest Alliance, which is basically a scam, probably created by the large conglomerates that use it (Kraft and Nestlé). Organic cultivation isn’t strictly required and its standards are so low, they are basically meaningless.

I, personally, like direct trade, where coffee roasters directly purchase from farmers. There’s no set standard, and there are no certifications but roasters directly negotiate prices with the farmer; who typically earn a higher premium for their product. I would say Blue Tokai does it best in the country.

We are blessed to be growing some of the finest coffee in the world, and there are now plenty of brands that do it well. Keep it local, nourish our coffee traditions and support those that are making a difference.

My gorgeous baby daughter, her dad and I moved to the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu last year to prep the building of our dream home. The zeitgeist of my crew suggests that there are others who would like to do the same, and so, this is the first in a series of documenting our process. 

This is boulder country. Huge mountainous boulders of rock laid bare by the thunderous streams and waterfalls that carry with them the load of the highest rainfall in the state. Large swathes of gleaming black granite. The farm is bordered by a stream on the south and a national reserve forest in the north, through which come the tribe of elephants that like to visit....daily.

Mark Garret, perma-designer of Richard Branson’s Necker Island and personal permaculture idol, once said to me, “for every one hour of work, put in a 100 on research”. A ridiculous amount of time spent on the wrong connection, but, Google it was. Adobe, Cob, Earthships, A - frames, Container Homes, Earthships, cabins...Earthships. I couldn’t escape them...they were gorgeous and everywhere. I even wrote an article about them back in 2011. 

All my friends were raving about these gorgeous homes; people were going on Earthship builds from Rishikesh to Kodaikanal. Mike Reynolds (creator, trademark owner) himself showed up in Goa last year. They just look so damn good - the curves, those glass bottle walls filtering the sun into a multi  coloured ‘i’m recycled’ glow. 

So, are Earthships really the benchmark of modern sustainable architecture?

Couple of disclaimers : I’ m not the first genius to decide Earthships are not all that. The work done by Rachel Preston Prinz (architectural historian and author of Hacking the Earthship) and the people at the Flagship Movement are two that helped me make a decision I had already made. 

Second: I’m not a hater. 

I’ve studied them and taken from Earthships everything I possible can. I have great respect for Reynolds and his experiments with radically sustainable buildings. It’s difficult to experiment with homes you know people will be living in, so his Earthship Biotecture Village is nothing short of awesome. I also read all three of the Earthship books - you can start here 

This is intelligent design no doubt. Large thermal mass (tires pounded with mud) walls store heat coming in through greenhouses that run through the length of the building. A hall mark feature of the ships; it is intelligent , resourceful and beautiful. The walls are thick enough to insulate and are load bearing in themselves, making construction easier. 

And in the beginning there was the wheel. Or tire. 

An average Earthship requires about 900 tires just for its back wall. That’s about 20 hours work to select the right tires (no, you can’t use just any). Then, you’ll need to transport them however many miles between the dump and your site. Which means petrol. 

Worse, there’s (the word nobody in Earthship building talks about) - 

Off gassing. Once the walls settle, the breakdown of the rubber tires now happens in an enclosed environment. The gas collects in the walls, and there is a chance toxic vapours that you can’t smell are released. Eeeeeeee. You could avoid this by re-plastering every surface EVERY YEAR and don’t allow any cracks anywhere on the wall, especially near a vent.

 :/ 

Also, contrary to popular belief, concrete makes up the majority of the materials used in an Earthship build. All those beautiful glass bottles are essentially cement. An average three bedroom ‘ship uses up to 200 bags of cement. I noticed this while watching this documentary - Earthships, New Solutions  .

On a side note I’d like to add that I am not sure of how sustainable concrete actually is (what is it even made off?). 

Anyway, like I said, this is boulder country. We decided pretty early that using stone made the most sense for us (Catch and Store Energy, right?) It isn’t the tires that provide the thermal mass anyway, it’s the mud. No tires are actually required.

So, the tires were out. 

But there is more to them than that. Earthships are characterised by large greenhouses slanting at a certain degree facing the south, bring in heat and light for the plants that grow inside and its inhabitants. 

That made sense and yes, I have plenty of south facing windows in my design - but do I really need to grow plants inside? I have a 5 acre farm! And we have those elephants..wouldn’t want to risk tempting them to enter.

Apparently, people living in Earthships have complained of the greenhouses getting too hot while the rest of the house remains cold and vise versa. It makes sense because glass is hardly insulating. For some reason there is often no wall separating the greenhouse from the other rooms. This would act as a ‘Trombe Wall’ and solve the problem easily. 

Also in humid conditions (basically all tropical areas with monsoon) plants increase the humidity level inside the house causing dampness and mold. Read more here.

So, no greenhouse. 

One thing I have to give Reynolds credit for is how lucidly he explains the electric grid. Reynolds suggests going back to DC (See also, AC vs DC or Tesla vs Edison), but the books were written almost 40 years ago! And a lot has happened since then. A lot. 

Like the Super Supercapacitator biodegradable battery. 

Observe and Interact

But the biggest and obvious error of the Earthship was this : They were made in Taos, New Mexico. In the desert. Miles and miles away from the rain soaked misty mountains of the Palani Hills. And Micheal Reynolds called them a ‘Global Model’. “Earthships can be built in any part of the world, in any climate and still provide you with what you need to survive.”

No. No. No. No.

The most basic rule of architecture is to build for the vernacular. Location decides the materials you use, the orientation, height, slope of your roof - everything. 

You don’t build Igloos in the desert.

And then to call the Earthship the most versatile and economical building design in the world. How is 225$ per sq.ft economical? That’s roughly Rs.11,000 per sq.ft. The average price of a house here is approximately one third of that.  And this is the ‘developing country’ model. 

I quote Rachel Preston here, “If you live in a place where the humidity is above 60%, well, just don’t build one. Don’t hate me. It sucks, I know! But its true: you can get a MUCH better house, building vernacular appropriate materials.”

Even worse, she says, “I have never seen a solidly built, leakless, or easy to repair design.” 

!!

Like the local stone houses around me, our home will be three feet off the ground to prevent any water seepage; have large open verandah because our weather is so perfectly temperate and traditional wood framed roof with Mangalore tiles.

Two and half years ago, my life looked very different from what it does now. My marriage, my relationships, my career, my finances were all falling apart and I was floundering for answers.

At that time, and I’ve noticed - at most other times - my anchor and my only real source of inspiration was my farm. It is the ultimate back-up. If all else fails; I have a place to go to where I can live in happiness for the rest of my days.

And all else had failed.

With the last of my money, I decided to go for my first PDC (Permaculture Design Course). If I was going to go live on my farm, I had better know how to take care of it. I signed up at The Panya Project, a beautiful self-sustainable community in Northern Thailand. It shared the same climate as my land did and was the closest, cheapest option. It was bang in the middle of (a torriential) monsoon, but I was determined.

It was my way out.

Permaculture Design Principle No. 1. Observe and interact: By taking time toengage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.

By taking time.

I guess the best way to get out of your own little problems is to distract yourself with bigger ones…and coming back to Bombay city presented me with plenty of them! I came back with new eyes and a head full of ideas. I had successfully ‘engaged with nature’ and was now seeing solutions everywhere.

Compost Bombay’s garbage. Grow more green to improve air quality. Use balconies and terraces to make the city prettier. Grow food gardens to connect people with their food. The list was endless…

Like in nature and all things permaculture, the change didn’t happen overnight. A friend offered his terrace for me to work on, and I literally learnt on it. Learnt that even though a mechanic has no use for an old tire, if I ask - he will charge me 10 bucks for it. Learnt that it requires a lot of labour to carry soil up 4 flights of stairs (and that it is expensive). Gardening in the city is a whole different ballgame.

Permaculture Design Principle No. 2. Catch and store energy: By developingsystems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need. So I got myself a gardener that worked for me on a permanent basis (cheaper than daily labour). I used more sugarcane waste from the gannawalla which was much lighter than actual soil (and free) and I found the dump where the old tires went. I had my systems in place after having completed my first garden. But made no money off it. I was in need. It was time to put them to use and apply…

Permaculture Design Principle No. 3. Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing. I started my own permaculture design consultancy. It was Bombay’s first and I was soon making urban terrace gardens and plant installations for the who’s who of Bombay. I had used the permaculture principles to design my business plan and it was working! I was able to do what I believed in, create a difference in the city and make good money.

I loved it. It was grounding to be working with my hands, interacting with nature and at the same time inspiring to have to be creative, always creative, with the limited space and time in the city. I was getting featured in magazines and campaigns; I even received an award for being a female entrepreneur and became a brand ambassado for a company.

My marriage ended and I rented a house in Goa which I would run away to every time I finished a job in the city. The work I was doing in Bombay was important and sustainable; but the lifestyle it required from me wasn’t. I would be working long  days on site and then come home and work out accounts and bills on the computer.  

Permaculture Design Principle No. 3.Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.

For me, this is one of the most important permaculture principles. Always take stock; notice what is and isn’t working.  

Accept what isn’t. Then fix it.

I was still living in the city. In an apartment high above the ground. And I was stressed out and overworked. Something needed to change.

Something important permaculture had taught me was, if you observe, interact and plan well enough - you can continuously obtain a yield with half the effort. For me, this meant letting go of the notion that it takes hard work to make money :) Being overworked means I was doing something wrong. I had an employee that was fully trained in all my methods. Soon, he was doing jobs that I was getting paid for while sitting on the beach in Goa!

Permaculture is a very practical, hands on approach - like all farming techniques have to be. But its effects run so much deeper. I have studied several organic farming traditions and techniques from Bio-dynamic farming to Agnihotra and the One Straw Method. They are all amazing and I continue to use them in my work. The thing with permaculture is that you can apply it to your life.

It’s first principle is to Observe and Interact. Which taught me reverence.

Reverence for the sheer intelligence/beauty of nature. Watch how nature does it, and then replicate. Don’t try to fix something that took millennia to evolve.

It has taught me responsibility

If something isn’t working, it’s because you got it wrong; not nature. And, sure, you will make mistakes. But mistakes don’t come cheap in a garden- you are working with Life. Living Beings. So take the time to sit down and think things through. There is enormous scope and potential for permaculture in the city. But it isn’t for me. I know it sounds pretentious to say it, but I can’t help but be aware of how much permaculture has affected my life…how much more abundant, more fertile my life has been since.

So, here I am. I now live permanently in Goa in a beautiful home surrounded by rice fields. I share this home with a partner I thought I could only dream of; who has the same reverence for nature and is the father of the child I am carrying inside me. I’m working on setting up an organic soap and cosmetics company, designing it according to permaculture again, but this time taking in the mistakes I made last time round. I finally have my own garden that I can grow at the pace nature intended (and not according to a clients schedule).

I walk the earth every day and it makes me want to banish concrete. No matter what time I sleep at night, the sunbird that lives on the tree outside my window wakes me up at 7 every morning. I am more in tune with nature than I have ever been before; and happier and healthier and more aware. 

Vertical gardens aka green walls aka living walls aka mur vegetal (the creator's French) and even "Vegetation-Bearing Architectonic Structures and Systems" are the biggest, newest...'coolest' thing to have happened to the gardening world right now. Trending big time.

Patrick Blanc, a French botanist who specialises in tropical plants, with an obviously creative flair - he has green hair! - hit upon the idea during his numerous trips to the tropics. He noticed that as long as there is water available throughout the year, several species can grow without the need for soil. Plants were growing on rocks, tree stumps, cliffs, even caves. For instance, in Malaysia, 2500 of the 8000 known species grow without soil. 

There were species with naturally curved branches, which indicated they originated from natural steep surfaces and not from flat areas. Putting two and two together – he realised it was possible for plants to grow on virtually any vertical surface nearly free-of-ground, as long as there was no permanent shortage of water.

And so..voila! 

From the jungle to Emporio Armani

I took this photograph at the Siam Paragon in Bangkok, Thailand almost 2 years ago. I had walked in for some last minute shopping and was astounded at finding this wall of nature, made by the master himself. It was breathtaking and I was convinced that this was the future. 

For a young urban permaculturist like myself it made perfect sense.  The endless walls of concrete in Bombay were waiting to be made into gardens - perfect for cooling down buildings, providing some much needed oxygen and all round making the city beautiful. I was convinced.

Until I started getting the calls.

It started with hotels and offices; but I was soon asked to measure peoples' bedroom walls to see if it was possible. I was neck deep in the logistics of making my first vertical garden when halfway through negotiating the price of metal with a contractor, I realised there was absolutely nothing permaculture or even sustainable about what I was doing. 

Mr. Blanc's method is to attach a metal grid onto the entire face of the wall; this is lined with PVC to waterproof the building. Finally there is a layer of felt onto which the plants are planted.

Taken by me at the Athenaeum Hotel in London

The felt layer is constantly supplied with mineral-rich water from above which the felt absorbs and stores for the roots to take in as needed. 

Besides the plants, the walls are basically made of : Metal, Plastic (man made felt is made of rayon = plastic) and Copious Amounts of Water.

Permaculture teaches us to keep every step sustainable - ends do not condone the means. I couldn't calculate whether the amount of water needed for a wall in Bombay could be compensated for by using less energy for air-conditioning, nor whether the metal and plastic used would be made up by the oxygen the walls provided...but I suddenly realised why it was only posh hotels, Armani stores and French government buildings that had Patrick Blanc's work. Vertical Gardens are bloody expensive. 

I sat down to think about it and used permaculture's first rule when in a dilemma - observe, observe, observe.

 On the same trip to London, I had seen this beautiful building with a green wall and more...

Ivy! 

Ivy that changed colour in autumn!

Creepers and climbers were and are the easiest ways to get a wall green. You could use something really clingy like Ivy, or with the help of a trellis you could pretty much grow anything. But maybe that's a bit boring...maybe you want something for the indoors? Something with a bit more of a 'design' element? 

This is something I created for a recent client. 

@ Greko, Mumbai (the plants are still young but I've decided not to wait three months before taking pictures coz otherwise they never get taken!)

I used old mango crates (practically free) which were varnished for waterproofing and made a super lightweight soil mix of composted cow dung (it's lighter than soil and more mineral rich - in India we call it khaad), coco-peat - coconut fibre and husk that has been wet with cow dung slurry and some thermacol that I found lying around at the office. Thermacol keeps it light and absorbs water that the roots can use when needed. 

I planted different kinds of money plant that are guaranteed to grow well indoors and are known to improve the air quality inside your home (or, in this case, restaurant).

On a parting note - I have absolute respect and awe for the work Patrick Blanc does. As a botanist, he is one of the finest and there are few who can compare with his brand of bringing science and creativity together...