The very first day of the course coveted by many (if the evil glares mean anything) was an interesting one. We changed buses thrice and just when it seemed like we had reached our destination, we walked another kilometer. Just a precursor of the hard labor that was to come.
Trudging along the well worn pathway to Yohaan and Priya's farm, Terappin as it is called, we saw a couple of schools, one a branch of my Alma Martyr and another called Akshara which was built on Yohaan's land.
Somewhere along the way we were greeted by Yohaan, waiting for us patiently, a little startled by our large number. After getting a briefing about not petting Doobey, their 15 year old Doberman, we entered Terappin. When you think of the word 'farm', it certainly encompassed it all. Buffaloes grazed to one side, shyly eyeing the new visitors. Some chickens which had managed to escape their cage, roamed freely as if it was their own territory, pecking mindlessly at whatever they found remotely interesting. Little did we know that they were our new clients. Some of Jackson's and Srishti students' projects could easily be discerned among the greenery of the farm. We strolled around a bit, taking in the aura of the place. After introducing ourselves to each other and a few team building exercises later, we were told about our project. Making shelters for the hens to lay eggs in.
As ridiculous as having a hen as your customer sounds as you can't possibly expect them to give you any sort of feedback ,we set out to observe them for the next hour. How they walked, what they did, how they did it, why they did it, how they interacted with their surroundings as well as others ( which included a huge male turkey who seemed to bully everyone), we analysed each aspect of these animals. After taking some notes and drawing a few sketches we sat in a group discussing our ideas and revelations. Some interesting ideas came up, such as leaving it up to the hens themselves to figure out their shelter by designing it in such a way so that they feel as if they did it all. Also keeping their surroundings as natural as possible and at the same time making the life of the people handling the chickens much easier.
After a long discussion in which some the questions needed to be taken to the owners, we proceeded for lunch. Over organic red rice and fresh veggies probably grown on the farm, we talked to Yohaan and his wife. Along with tales about his snake catching( one of his many interests) we got to know that he had turned this land lush green in 20 years from a barren and bare one. Having grown up with a mini zoo in my backyard myself, I've always been familiar to chickens and during my conversation with Yohaan, I found several techniques similar between what him and my father.
This part of Bangalore also faces water problems, so for a course like Design Earth this can get tricky. So anyway after a hearty meal and washing our dishes we chilled for a bit. After that Jackson brought out his tools and we saw and learned with a little hands on experience how to work with bamboo, one of the main materials in this course. We cut and shaved and sharpened it for our little project for the afternoon. We proceeded to plough up some earth and after separating whatever grass we could find and breaking it down, we started adding water. Along with coconut fibers and a lot of hands and feet involved we managed to mash the clay up. Separating it into tiny balls and with a game of passing the parcel (which obviously led to other things) we were left, now how do I put it, a little.....soiled. And as it seems, the heavens poured down upon us then and there. Anyway we set to work, making a dome structure, with the inner skeleton made of bamboo and the outer surface covered with clay, all the while trying the scrape the dried mud off our clothes and washing ourselves in dirty puddles.
Several complicated and frustrating minutes later our tiny structure was done. Now it may not have looked all that pretty, but it made all of us pretty proud of ourselves on our first day.
Washing ourselves somewhat clean under the tiny droplets dripping from the eaves of the roof, we had ginger tea in cups made by Priya which was like a life saver, after what seemed like day of hard labor.
Finally giving the place a last look around, which now looked like a baby squeaky clean after a bath, with the promise of coming back we bade it farewell and walked back the same mud trail that now had turned gooey and wet. This time when we caught a bus, we didn't change it even once. Some relief after an exhausting and absolutely brilliant day.Oh and I had to tell my parents about this serendipity of course. All those years waking up to the crowing of that rooster kind of paid off. Waiting for what is to come!
Trudging along the well worn pathway to Yohaan and Priya's farm, Terappin as it is called, we saw a couple of schools, one a branch of my Alma Martyr and another called Akshara which was built on Yohaan's land.
Somewhere along the way we were greeted by Yohaan, waiting for us patiently, a little startled by our large number. After getting a briefing about not petting Doobey, their 15 year old Doberman, we entered Terappin. When you think of the word 'farm', it certainly encompassed it all. Buffaloes grazed to one side, shyly eyeing the new visitors. Some chickens which had managed to escape their cage, roamed freely as if it was their own territory, pecking mindlessly at whatever they found remotely interesting. Little did we know that they were our new clients. Some of Jackson's and Srishti students' projects could easily be discerned among the greenery of the farm. We strolled around a bit, taking in the aura of the place. After introducing ourselves to each other and a few team building exercises later, we were told about our project. Making shelters for the hens to lay eggs in.
As ridiculous as having a hen as your customer sounds as you can't possibly expect them to give you any sort of feedback ,we set out to observe them for the next hour. How they walked, what they did, how they did it, why they did it, how they interacted with their surroundings as well as others ( which included a huge male turkey who seemed to bully everyone), we analysed each aspect of these animals. After taking some notes and drawing a few sketches we sat in a group discussing our ideas and revelations. Some interesting ideas came up, such as leaving it up to the hens themselves to figure out their shelter by designing it in such a way so that they feel as if they did it all. Also keeping their surroundings as natural as possible and at the same time making the life of the people handling the chickens much easier.
After a long discussion in which some the questions needed to be taken to the owners, we proceeded for lunch. Over organic red rice and fresh veggies probably grown on the farm, we talked to Yohaan and his wife. Along with tales about his snake catching( one of his many interests) we got to know that he had turned this land lush green in 20 years from a barren and bare one. Having grown up with a mini zoo in my backyard myself, I've always been familiar to chickens and during my conversation with Yohaan, I found several techniques similar between what him and my father.
This part of Bangalore also faces water problems, so for a course like Design Earth this can get tricky. So anyway after a hearty meal and washing our dishes we chilled for a bit. After that Jackson brought out his tools and we saw and learned with a little hands on experience how to work with bamboo, one of the main materials in this course. We cut and shaved and sharpened it for our little project for the afternoon. We proceeded to plough up some earth and after separating whatever grass we could find and breaking it down, we started adding water. Along with coconut fibers and a lot of hands and feet involved we managed to mash the clay up. Separating it into tiny balls and with a game of passing the parcel (which obviously led to other things) we were left, now how do I put it, a little.....soiled. And as it seems, the heavens poured down upon us then and there. Anyway we set to work, making a dome structure, with the inner skeleton made of bamboo and the outer surface covered with clay, all the while trying the scrape the dried mud off our clothes and washing ourselves in dirty puddles.
Several complicated and frustrating minutes later our tiny structure was done. Now it may not have looked all that pretty, but it made all of us pretty proud of ourselves on our first day.
Washing ourselves somewhat clean under the tiny droplets dripping from the eaves of the roof, we had ginger tea in cups made by Priya which was like a life saver, after what seemed like day of hard labor.
Finally giving the place a last look around, which now looked like a baby squeaky clean after a bath, with the promise of coming back we bade it farewell and walked back the same mud trail that now had turned gooey and wet. This time when we caught a bus, we didn't change it even once. Some relief after an exhausting and absolutely brilliant day.Oh and I had to tell my parents about this serendipity of course. All those years waking up to the crowing of that rooster kind of paid off. Waiting for what is to come!
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