Permaculture Consult - Vetapalem, Andhra Pradesh

East Coast Plains, Integrated Farm

What happens when a city-bred technology professional heeds the unmistakable call of earth? He gets himself a four acre plot in the abundant Annapurna coastal strip of Andhra Pradesh, and then begins to breathe life into his dream of an integrated farm - complete with farmhouse, commercial center, orchards, vegetable garden, Miyawaki mini forest, fodder fields, cowshed, goatshed, chicken coop and staff quarters. My consulting firm was contacted to design this project, and it turned out to be an extremely satisfying experience to put together the multitudinous pieces of this puzzle and generate a blueprint for a holisitic, sustainable, zero-waste, organic, efficient and streamlined design - the permaculture way.

Situated on flat, sandy loam plains between the Nallamalla Hills and Bay of Bengal, the plot is a handsome, well-contoured, bounded rectangular property with easy access to the highway.

Pic Above: Cover crops grow abundantly in the monsoons and winter. Pics Below: Dry exposed soil in summers.

As was to be expected from the pics of the plot in summer, soil reports indicated low levels of organic carbon, nitrogen and electrical conductivity (EC). The last reading was particularly important as low EC goes hand in hand with low soil holding capacity for nutrients, a typical condition of sun-exposed soil. While this can be managed with soil amendments and an aggressive planting strategy, what was more challenging was water quality of the borewells. Unseen by the human eye, deep within subsoil water aqueducts, the predominance of aquaculture farms in the area and dumping of saline water waste had compromised borewell water quality, raising alkalinity, hardness and Total Dissolved Solids to unacceptable levels in two of the four existing borewells.

Water management became the main part of this project. I began with detailed calculations of water consumption requirements for the estimated human and animal population along with water requirements for 600+ trees, a vegetable garden and fodder fields. Once known and tabled, non-compromised borewells were identified, rainwater ponds were located optimally and Panchayat water routing, pumping and storing was plotted in an elaborate 2 D design. Building on the pieces of the water puzzle, we then finalized locations of the various orchards, agricultural activities and human and animal habitation. It was particularly challenging to create zones where acid loving trees could be placed in proximity to rain water/treated borewell water, and alkaline tolerant trees in proximity to the alkaline borewell water feeder system.

What emerged at the end of this project was a detailed design that drilled down even to exact locations of tool rooms, coconut storage cages, biochar kilns and landscape elements like pergolas! The client got the North East orientation he desired for his farmhouse along with complete privacy, external inputs were minimized, internal use/re-use of all farm waste was rationalized, and boxes for each and every other function of this very complex, integrated farm were all ticked to satisfaction!

The blueprint is done and the design, IMHO, is true to context and needs. In time I hope to post updates on how the Vetapalem farm is evolving under the guardianship of this inspired client!