Permaculture Living with MLG
Episodes
S2E3 The lull before the storm
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 2016, we decided to camp out at Aanandaa one summer night. This would be the first time we were spending the entire night on the land...
S2E2 A big onion harvest
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Soon after we loved to Gurgaon, we got our first large harvest - of onions. The local arthiyas did not buy onions. So we had to find other ways to dis...
A step closer to the Land
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Coming to Gurgaon suddenly felt like a huge leap for us. The physical proximity was there, but also the mental proximity. Moreover, Agam had retired f...
Our Habitat
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We set out to grow some food and harvest our own water. But we got so much more in return. We realised that land is not a place of extraction. It is n...
The Gift of Life
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we integrated vegetables into our plantation design, we realised how the green revolution has completely wiped out all the varieties of heirloom an...
Grasses are for grazing
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A big problem of modern agriculture is our choice of crops. All across the world our focus is on growing grasses like wheat, maize, rice and millets. ...
Feasting on Fruit
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Within years of setting up Aanandaa, we had a stream of fruit available around the year to feast on. Its crazy how people choose to plant monoculture ...
Continuously Improving Soils
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Building soil is not an overnight exercise. In fact it may not be completed even in one lifetime. Our soils are so degraded worldwide, that it require...
Baby steps towards the land
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2015 saw us making some big changes. Some of those decisions were taken by us, and by the end of the year destiny steered us in another direction. Eve...
Animal instincts
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we share this space with so many other species, we start observing the instincts they have regarding raising their young, findings their food and h...
Living the life of a pig
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pigs are intelligent and loyal animals. They have been domesticated by humans for centuries and used for meat in many cultures. Many farms in the west...
No till farming
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A big source of inspiration for our work was Masanobu Fukuoka's book One straw Revolution. he spoke about do nothing farming, and no-till farming. We ...
Integrating cows in permaculture
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2014 was the year of learning about animals. After our adventures with keeping goats, we now wanted to integrate cows in aanandaa. We believed that co...
Annexe
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A parcel of land came up for sale across from our second entry gate. It is rare to find land adjacent to or near your existing land. So we took the op...
Hira and Moti
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After reading so much about permaculture practices in teh west, we decided we must also integrate domesticated animals into Aanandaa. Our first introd...
Another year another adventure
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just two and half years into the project, the land was already looking like a piece of heaven. Flowers, fruit, vegetables and crops grew everywhere. T...
Meow Meow to You!
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The year end of 2013, saw us headed back to Aanandaa and Chandigarh for our vacations. No holiday was complete without undertaking some kind of a proj...
Perks of Permaculture
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Doing a permaculture project close to your home town comes with some perks. The perks are that you get a chance to establish new adult relationships w...
Raja Rani
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Integrating animals and birds into food production is a large part of permaculture. All the books and videos we read suggested that we should introduc...
Back to Back Weekends
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This summer the family insisted we take a holiday elsewhere. While coming to the land was nice they said, it was also work. And as a family we were bu...
Expansion
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was time to design the new 2 acre plot of land using permaculture design principles, and all the learnings we had got from Aanandaa. We added bambo...
Mother's Day!
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some flowers bloom at a specific time, and a permaculturist tends to associate fruits and flowers with seasons and important dates! For me, the flower...
Harvest more Water
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our first visit of 2013 was in March, during the Easter break. It was a work cum leisure trip. We augmented our water harvesting infrastructure. But a...
The Right Time
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When is the best time to start a permaculture project? In your 30s, 40s or 50s? When you are in your 30s, you may have your hands full with small chil...
The Hindu Calendar
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the city, we are familiar only with the Gregorian calendars. But in the village, the HIndu calendar is commonly used for sowing, harvesting, predic...
Water Water Everywhere
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the heart of our climate crisis is our broken hydrological cycle. Our cities get flooded whenever it rains heavily. Our rivers fill up with muddy w...
Rain Gods, be kind
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While we waited for the monsoons of 2012 to arrive on our land, we passed our time hanging out with our children, playing games, mulching and singing ...
Garden of Eden
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Influenced by the film www.backtoedenfilm.com, we decided to do a small experiment of growing the peanut crop using the no-till method prescribed in t...
Forest Fires
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Forest fires are a common phenomenon in the countryside. We had our first experience with one in June 2012. We were surprised at the various trivial w...
A Storage Shed
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Within a year we found ourselves to be short on space again. Since we visited the land with our friends and children, we needed some privacy for ourse...
Digging a Pond
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Digging a pond proved to be a challenging experience because it was very very hot. Moreover permissions were required at the last moment. Levels had t...
Recce for a Pond
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Having a pond on your land is something everyone dreams of. But it is prudent to make a pond only if you have excess water entering your land, which y...
Mulching for Survival
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The summer of 2012 was brutal for our newply planted saplings. Our farm staff was watering the plants morning evening. Yet, we would lose most of the ...
Striking the Balance
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As Aanandaa became more of a second home, we found ourselves travelling back and forth between Mumbai and Chandigarh. We started appreciating the time...
Fruitarianism
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our quest for good health sent us down the path of experimenting with different approaches to our diet, one of which was fruitarianism. We understood ...
Becoming animal lovers
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of integrating animals into the farm introduced us to animals beyond dogs adn cats. We learned how chicken, pigs, cows, goats were equally in...
Your fish in my Pond
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In January 2012 we receved a panic call in Mumbai that our neighbours had thrown a fence around the village pond and taken possession of it. My act of...
Ecosystem in a Pond
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My father's 75th birthday was another reason to go back to Chandigarh in November. Since it was winter I could not do any plantation work. I decided t...
Why are we sick?
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A close friend's brush with cancer had us thinking about why we fall sick. We started reading and researching about food, sickness and ow to heal natu...
Revisited
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A quick 3 days trip to Aanandaa with Radha & Ira, gave me a chance to review and finish the Caretakers cottage and the Weir which was being restor...
To a Village, not Disneyland
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's not easy to convince the children that its more fun to spend their summer vacation in 42 degree summer in a village in north India, rather than g...
Farmer in the Microbrewery
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our two weeks at the farm forced us to interact with people from all walks of life. It opened our worldview and helped us to reconnect with the real I...
Odds & Ends
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our summer stay at Aanandaa was soon coming to an end. We still had a few tasks to accomplish before we left! We had to build a basic irrigation syste...
Festival of Plantation
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday, 3rd July 2011, we gathered with our friends and family to begin the tree plantation. Panditji had arranged for extra labour to help with th...
Dealing with the deluge
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We managed the deluge with some temporary hacks, knowing very well that we will have to find a permanent solution once teh rains are over. We added ba...
Flooded!
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rains arrived on time when we landed in Chandigarh for the planting season of July 2011. We made a day trip to Saharanpur and bought 1000 trees from F...
Gearing up for Execution
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Restoring a ravaged piece of land is as simple as managing rainwater through earthworks and planting trees. It does not take rocket science or any gre...
Designing the Farm
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the corporate world we are taught to get professionals to help us with everything. Pay them the money and outsource. You can't do everything yourse...
Life is a trade off
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our life in the cities is so fast paced, that we can barely find time for our hobbies, interests or even for our families! In that context to take on ...
Lets renovate our home
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We need money to invest back into nature, because resources have been exrtacted from our environment never endingly for the last several decades or ev...
The reality of fresh water
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On agricultural land, you come face to face with fresh water resources. There is no municipality, no tanker water, and no back ups. Just rainwater and...
It literally takes a village!
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Finding people to help you with your long distance permaculture project can be a challenege. But by paying a good remuneration, giving them respect fo...
We live in an absurd world
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us describe ourselves as nature lovers. It is time to convert this adjective into a verb, and work towards restoring the nature we love so muc...
Starting a Permaculture Farm
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Living in cities we are so far removed from what is going on in villages. It is a very extractive economy, which is taking natural resources like food...
Always meet friends for dinner
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all feel a latent sense of anxiety about climate change and the state of the planet. But we have a sense of helplessness at the problem. Manisha &a...