Sometime in the ‘80s, my husband watched in fascination as a beautiful woman in a yellow saree cut down a whole murunga (or moringa) tree. The Tamil film was K. Bhagyaraj’s Mundhanai Mudichu, the title a reference to the knot at the edge of a woman’s saree pallu where she might tie a few coins for … Continue reading
Armidale, Australia – What can white cotton underwear tell you about the health of the soil in your farm or garden? Quite a lot, it turns out. Hundreds of people – from farmers to schoolchildren – are burying their cotton underwear in their back gardens to dig up eight weeks later as part of a … Continue reading
I brace myself against the side of the minivan as we rattle down the remote red dirt track leading to The Mudhouse. The wheels scrabble for grip and the driver slows to a crawl. Buffalo – with a dozen egrets along for the ride on their backs – have created a traffic jam, while a land … Continue reading
It is difficult to predict when the elephants will come. As darkness falls around Udawalawe National Park, the 52 villages that speckle its borders go on alert. Thin wire fences hum with the threat of electricity. Across the dry zone, farmers climb up into rudimentary treehouses overlooking their paddy fields. They must try … Continue reading
For a change, Kevin Sanders has decided to let someone, or more accurately, something else count the apples in his orchard. This isn’t the first time his idyllic farm down in Australia’s Yarra Valley has played host to robots and their handlers, so Sanders knows what to expect. Moving soundlessly down the corridors between trees, … Continue reading
Puhudiwula, Sri Lanka – In the district of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, Puhudiwula is a village of abandoned wells. Though new and well-built, these wells can be found in every garden, costing around 100,000 rupees ($700) to build. The villagers, however, will not drink or even cook with the water, which they believe is driving … Continue reading
Daisy has trouble with her table manners – she can’t seem to resist putting her feet into her food. Scolding her affectionately, Ayesha Perera urges the pregnant cow to step out of her feeding trough. Luckily, we’ve all been introduced already – Daisy, Molly, Elsa, Goldie and Preeti have just celebrated their second birthdays at … Continue reading
